As I got bigger, the balls got smaller …
No wonder everyone thought I was bad at sport when I was at primary school. In those days, basketball was the sport of (no) choice for primary school girls, while the boys got to play football. And I really wanted to play, but spent half my time sprawled on the ground, skinning my knees and […]
Keep a lid on it
Temu – you’re cancelled. By me anyway. I’d heard about you and checked you out online. It wasn’t long before I started buying heaps of your plastic snap-together puzzles, a tiny plastic farmyard set and a plastic pet shop with plastic pets. It didn’t stop there. Next, I bought two look-alike Barbie Dolls and wardrobes […]
Putting around the presidential debate
A letter to my grandchildren. Dear Kieran, Alana, Patrick, Angus, and Luna, This is June 2024, and the world has gone completely mad. Over in America, two old men are vying for the for the position of the 47th President of the United States of America. The candidates One of them, Donald Trump, somehow became […]
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 […]
Fàilte agus madainn mhath
‘Fàilte agus madainn mhath’. That means ‘Welcome everyone and good morning’ in Scottish Gaelic. Now, I must admit, not many people these days would understand that Gaelic phrase. It’s the latest language I have been trying to learn, not to mention the hardest, but unfortunately, it has defeated me. Scottish Gaelic, or Gàidhlig, was historically […]
‘We are going to vote for the Aboriginals’
‘We are going to vote for the Aboriginals’. That was my grandson’s response in his sweet little 6-year-old voice, when I asked him what he was going to do today. Today happened to be Saturday 14th of October, 2023 when all Australians over 18 fronted up to polling booths all over the country to vote […]
A trip to Brickendon Estate, Longford, Tasmania
We weren’t political protesters, or petty thieves who had to steal a loaf of bread to survive. Or steal clothes from washing lines. We didn’t even steal a sheep or steal from a dwelling. These were all transportable offences to Van Diemans Land where you became a convict and got hard labour, often for the […]
A Walk in the Park – Werribee Gardens
The formal gardens surrounding the Werribee Park mansion are stunning to say the least. Trees and shrubs from all over the world set in well maintained lawns are a prominent feature of the gardens. In spring and summer, there are also fragrant displays of flowers. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Werribee Park […]
King Charles gets a new hat – a modern day fairytale
Once upon a time in a distant land, there lived an aging Prince who was finally crowned King Charles, the third of England. The prince had waited patiently for 70 long years, yearning for the day when his Mummy, the beautiful Queen Elizabeth, would find eternal rest. In reality, the prince did not have to […]
How I discovered my kids are geriatric millennials
Recently the Blindboy Podcast caught my attention. At first, I found the host really disturbing. I thought I was listening to a computer-generated voice – a spooky one. It could’ve been Siri or Alexa’s aging cousin from Ireland. Anyway, I checked Blindboy out on the internet to see if he’s real. Sure, enough he is! […]