Celebrating Winter Solstice in Hobart, Tasmania
There’s something truly special about stripping down to your bare skin, wearing nothing but a bright red bathing cap, and wrapping yourself in a big white towel. Your skin might be a bit different to the skin you were born in; it’s definitely hairier and shows signs of aging and sun damage, it might be […]
Rub-a-dub-dub, three kids in a tub
There were three little kids in the tub: Kieran,7, Alana,5, and Patrick 15 months, aka Paddy. Their mother, my daughter Hannah, was giving them a bath. My only job was to pass the towels. As the cleanest of the three, Paddy was the first out. The other two had used their arms as canvases and […]
Mini Getaway to Wilson’s Promontory
It was a beautiful sunny morning, the first Friday in May, when Sarah and I set off for our weekend getaway. She had come over from Tasmania and hired a Tea Rock City Life especially for the occasion The car was an average size SUV, that we had managed to pack full to the brim. […]
Take that, you old piano
As kids, my brothers and I usually spent part of the school holidays with our cousins at Old Greenhills, Triabunna. The property was nestled along the rugged east coast of Tasmania, where our grandparents lived on a farm. It was a rustic and remote place, about 20 km from the main road with the closest […]
“Good evening, Officer, can I help you?”
At a time in my life when my kids should have been a constant source of teenage angst, they defied the norm. Rather than loitering around shopping malls after or during school hours and being rebellious when asked by the authorities to ‘move on’, they stepped into the role of responsible adults. Meanwhile, I transitioned […]
The tale of two bastards and a car
There once was a school groundsman whose hobby was fixing cars. Let’s call him Steve (not his real name). I thought he was a nice dude, but he wasn’t. Then there was Murray (not his real name). He lived next- door to me and his hobby was gardening. I never thought he was a nice […]
Twalking in Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
We’ve all done it. But we didn’t know we were doing it. Twalking, the timeless art of merging talk and walk, has been a cherished pastime since time immemorial. But who knew we were twalking? This term sprang to life from the fusion of “talk” and “walk,” coined by a friend of my cousin, Jeanette’s. […]
A Walk in the Park – Westgate Park (Birding by Ear)
Recently an exciting opportunity landed in my lap – an invitation to lead a park sensory walk. As someone who cherishes the tranquillity of park strolls and embraces every chance that comes my way (well, most of them), I eagerly accepted. The focus of this adventure aptly named ‘Birding by Ear” was to learn, listen […]
Gen Alpha’s Tooth Fairy Pay-out: How much are Baby Teeth worth today?
Kieran was so proud of the gap in his mouth. Being the youngest in the class, he was surrounded by a whole bunch of gappy toothed kids. After weeks of obsessively wiggling his first loose tooth, it finally came out on its own bringing him a great sense of accomplishment. $20 for a single tooth? […]
Nannie Memes – third instalment
When words aren’t necessary.