We have some interesting slang in Australia. You’re standing on the side of the road feeling like a drongo, next to your choc-a-block car which is cactus hoping that the first vehicle to stop isn’t one with a load of no-hoping bogans. You’re probably dividing your time between doing the Aussie salute and telling the [...]
I often find myself having discussions about food security. The availability and access to food is something taken for granted by many of us. We go to the supermarket or butcher and purchase our groceries with little thought that one day an item may not be available; that is until we reach for say the [...]
Isn’t it strange how we make an effort to do some things, but not others. If there was a bucket list for daily chores surely washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom would never see light. Nor book-work for that matter. That is unless you have something else you’d rather not be doing and then [...]
Recently I was invited to chat briefly about my work at Gleebooks in Sydney. The idea behind this video series is to showcase the Sydney Mechanics School of the Arts (SMSA). It's Australia's oldest lending library having started way back in 1833 when reading was high on the list when it came to entertainment, for [...]
I remember when I was elected vice-captain of one of the sporting houses in senior school. I was so excited by the honour. It’s the principle of the thing. You’re recognised as having some leadership qualities and a bit of ability, no matter if you’re adept at egg and spoon racing or high diving. The [...]
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 [...]
Where does a story come from? Each of us has own own personal story. A series of moments made up of triumph and tragedy. If we look back at our lives we can link each step together and sometimes we can understand how we got to where we are today. Sure some of it is [...]
My father was born in 1931. A time when things were saved and reused, repaired or modified and the word excess was rarely mentioned except perhaps when a person overate. Brown paper and string were kept for parcel wrapping, cereal boxes and wooden spoons were a child’s delight and a day trip to town included [...]
In August 1900 during the Boer War in South Africa, Colonel Charles Hore commander at the Elands River Post received a request from Boer(Dutch-Afrikaner) general Jacobs Koos de la Rey to surrender. His reply: “Even if I wished to surrender, and I don’t, I am commanding Australians who would cut my throat if I accepted [...]
How different are regional rural and remote Australian’s compared to those of us that live in major cities? And how willing are we when it comes to trying to learn about or at the very least trying to understand the diverse nature of Australian society. It’s a question we probably rarely consider. We all have [...]
