Thanks for reading. This blog is an opportunity for me to capture some of the diversity of my writing interests. My muse tend to appear on my shoulder as I board an international flight although not all of my writing is inspired by travel and foreign places. These blogs have been the basis of a novel (Flowers of Baghdad) but there are a few other writing projects in progress besides. Please feel free to leave a comment. Or two.

Cheek by Jowl

Follow on from Knot in Stomach It’s a natural reflex to want to hug someone in distress. I struggled with that response when dealing with the toddler a couple of days ago. His face was so banged up, bruised and bloody and impossible to touch. Yet when someone, especially a child, hurts you want to…

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Knot in My Stomach

A postscript to “Blood in my Mouth” It’s the following day and I have walked around with a knot in my stomach, been flippant at work and not very productive in general.  Sorry. In the past I have done a reasonable job of keeping my emotions in check but in this case I have decided…

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The Stark Reality

Twenty years ago this year we moved our family back to Queensland, this time just creeping over the border to Ipswich rather than living in the far north which was almost like moving to another country altogether. A highlight for me was to be working with the F-111 bomber aircraft at 6 SQN. But an…

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His Majesty’s Pleasure

I heard an interesting challenge propositioned to a gathering yesterday. In the movie Chariots of Fire the character playing  Olympic gold medal winner Eric Liddell is trying to assure his fretting sister he remains committed to his call to China. He tells Jenny “I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also…

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