Mugshot 5

Lucy pointing to the rare, collectable, pocket edition of the Burra Charter, February 1998

I took this picture to warm up an audience of officials from the Peoples Republic of China. They were in Sydney to learn about Australian conservation practice. My job was to explain The Australia ICOMOS charter for the conservation of places of cultural significance (the Burra charter). Easy? No, I didn't think so.

I started with this slide and said that the charter was so interesting and easy to read that my little daughter Lucy liked it. I chuckled, the interpreter translated, and they seemed to relax. Some even laughed. So far so good.

Then I talked about the precepts in the charter, each one spelled out on the screen in English and Chinese, with some slides and a few words to explain.

I couldn't tell what the visitors made of it, but several came up to me at coffee break. With open smiles and a few English words they told me that my daughter was very beautiful.