The question of chivalry or more correctly the demise of it got me thinking on my last trip to Sydney. I wonder what King Arthur would make of our world where he alive today. Looking down from the lofty parapets of Camelot, would he weep or take note of those who continue to uphold the [...]
How To Get Your Child To Read It can seem an impossible task to get children interested in reading. They have short attention spans and some school age children, particularly boys think that reading is boring. Throw in sport, homework and any number of electronic gadgets and sitting in the corner with a book can [...]
In early colonial Australia, printed cookbooks were an indulgence, offering little useful information for Australian conditions, and often requiring unobtainable ingredients. Our first cookbook was written in 1864 by Hobart landowner and member of the Tasmanian Parliament Edward Abbott (18011869). Wait for the title, The English and Australian Cookery Book: Cookery for the Many, as [...]
Iconic Australian artists. The phrase makes me think of idyllic portrayals of pastoralism, of golden fleeces suffused with sunlight, frontier settlers framed by eucalypt trees and the blue haze of a never-ending landscape. There are also the confronting depictions rendered by more contemporary artists. Of men and women, communities and their profound connection to the [...]
Considering were not averse to chomping down on a nice piece of spring lamb or Bambi, if youre a venison lover, its surprising how many people dont like the idea of eating kangaroo or emu. Meat is meat after all, isnt it? And if it isnt, then what makes skippy and our own version of [...]
The Casterton Kelpie Association has been holding the Clark Rubber Australian Kelpie Muster in Casterton, VIC for 20 years. Over that period it has certainly become an iconic event with people travelling from all over Australia to buy or sell their working dogs at what is the Premier Working Dog Auction in Australia. Held over [...]
Thanks for having me over Nicole. At the moment everyone is seeding here and hoping for the right rain at the right time to get the crops up and away. So there is no time off for farmers. Luckily, I dont have a farm which means I can get away and I have few trips [...]
Thanks for having me over on your blog, Nic. Its lovely to be visiting you! As most readers will know, the Rural Lit genre has expanded greatly, in the last three years. From initially only having one or two authors, there is now more than a book a month being published in this category. Obviously, this [...]
It was with great excitement that I received the call to be included in the Australian Women's Weekly rural portfolio for their March issue. The logistics however were a little harder. At the time I had already decamped over to the main homestead following more flooding. The question? When can I get back in to [...]
This week we have been moving cattle around. The season is getting progressively worse with little rain on the horizon. Although the summer storms have been making an appearance every week or so they remain stubbornly dry. Gusty winds and bad lightning have everyone worried about fires and with the number that have been burning [...]
