That Holiday Feeling

Summertime and the living is...? Here, six cultural movers and shape-makers share what they’re planning, reading and thinking about this holiday season.

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Wendy Whiteley

Wife and muse to the late artist Brett Whiteley, Wendy is creator of the Secret Garden, a jewel on the Sydney Harbour foreshore

SUMMER IS... Sunshine and chirping cicadas. I love the beautiful light. It’s specifically why I decided to stop living overseas and come back here.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF SUMMER? They are all about the beach. We used to go camping down at Coledale [south of Sydney], right on the beach. Or at Ulladulla [on the NSW South Coast]. Wading into the water, pulling out bucketfuls of prawns and eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

QUINTESSENTIAL SUMMER MEAL? Really big Queensland prawns cooked in lots of garlic, parsley, and oil on black squid-ink pasta with a green salad. Everybody loves it. Summer food is about a lot of fish and a lot of salads. Simple food, simply prepared so you can soak up the flavors.

FAVOURITE SUMMER PLANTS? Gardenias. And great big blue echiums. And lavender, grevilleas, and hydrangeas. I love flowers you can pick and bring into the house.

WHAT’S ON YOUR READING LIST? Helen Garner’s Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume 1 1978-1987 [$29.99, Text Publishing]. And the biography of my friend, Anna Schwartz [Present Tense: Anna Schwartz Gallery and Thirty-Five Years of Contemporary Australian Art by Doug Hall, $59.99, Black Inc].

SOUNDTRACKS OF SUMMER? Indian music – Ravi Shankar. And I really like the music of Joseph Tawadros, an Australian oud player. Bob Dylan. Leonard Cohen. And classical music.

HOLIDAY FASHION STAPLES? Always deconstructed and loose clothes, like djellabas. And I’ve always worn headgear – headscarves and cloche hats.

FAVOURITE SUNSET TIPPLE? Pear juice with mineral water and ice. Or Fever-Tree ginger ale.