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.
There was always some wag who would whisper “make like a stick” when we were playing with guns in the bush (and earning the Queen’s shilling) – an oblique way of saying “stay still and hope your camouflage efforts are up to scratch”. The Tawny Frogmouth does a great job looking like a stick. In…
The Great North Walk is great because it starts in Sydney and not because it links you to Newcastle 200km away. Sorry Novacastrians, cheap shot. We knocked off 10km of it today – from Thornleigh to Lane Cove. Here are all the usual sights and sounds of walking through the Sydney bush, though on this…
The worst thing that can be said about the AWM if you live in Canberra is that it is used on wet weekends by locals as a place to entertain the kids. Of which I confess to being very guilty, though a five year old son who confused his story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem…
I have been meaning to write up Leigh in this blog for some time now. This morning I was reminded why I should do so when he was “interviewed” at church. Apparently he used to have “JDI” at his work desk and “just do it” seems to sum up a large part of Leigh. Remarkably…
Somehow summer snuck into spring and thirty degrees or more baked Sydney today. But for the best part of the afternoon we hardly noticed as we plugged along the Governor Phillip track through cool thermals of fern moist air, to the background tune of water spilling over rocks and sucking along fallen logs. Though all…
Sometimes there are leads in the inbox that take you to things you just have to share. Meet Synchiropus Spendidus, or Mandarin Fish. Most splendid indeed.
We tend to think of the Australian environment as a pretty harsh and unforgiving one. And its bush as monochrome, brittle dry and full of things that bite. All true enough. But spring is a comin’ and some of the smaller, finer and daintier elements of the flora scene are out to impress right now.Like…
Named after an Irish bay in southern Ireland, Bantry Bay in Sydney is an odd spot. Standing on “the Bluff” at its head you can see Sydney CBD in the middle distance and aircraft letting down into Mascot. If you are paying attention you can just see the top of the Harbour Bridge. You would…
Family is, well family. And you love them regardless of what they stick up their nostrils. And you love them when they are prancing around in Nepal impressing the Gurkhas with just how barmy their officers really are. But let’s face it there is far too much vanilla out there and not enough Spike Milligan,…
Surprised myself by discovering not so. My own ceremony was held with a small handful of others in the office of some Melbourne based Minister. I can’t recall who he was. Last week I attended a citizenship ceremony in North Sydney and discovered it was a quite emotive and sentimental affair. I lost track of…