A writer’s thoughts: March

A writer's thoughts: I've never been one for soppy love stories. Unless you count the first couple of series of Outlander which matched love and adventure and damn good story-telling. However after the author scurried her characters across the seas leaving Scotland and all those glorious men in kilts to wander the lochs and hills [...]

By | March 22nd, 2021|A WRITERS LIFE, Opinion|0 Comments

Coppers, crooks, cobbers & tall poppies.

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 [...]

By | January 16th, 2020|Australian History, Blog, Opinion|0 Comments

Have a look at the left-overs in your fridge. Should you be doing something with that.

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 [...]

By | March 1st, 2019|Opinion|0 Comments

Talking opinion – April

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 [...]

By | April 23rd, 2018|Opinion|0 Comments

Talking history & writing at Gleebooks

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 [...]

Best & fairest disappears from the baggy green cap.

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 [...]

By | March 25th, 2018|Opinion|0 Comments

Chivalry and the bush.

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 [...]

By | March 11th, 2018|General, Opinion, Uncategorized|2 Comments

Where stories come from and why they matter to you.

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 [...]

By | January 20th, 2018|A WRITERS LIFE, Opinion, Writing advice|5 Comments

Those were the days…

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 [...]

By | November 30th, 2017|Opinion|0 Comments

The Boer War. ‘Even if I wished to surrender, and I don’t, I am commanding Australians…’

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 [...]

By | May 8th, 2017|Opinion, Patriotism|0 Comments
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