It’s never ending isn’t it? Argh. I’ve now cancelled our trip to the Clunes Book Festival which I was looking forward to all year. Two days of book talks, book fairs on the streets and all the seven bookstores of that town open to public. Bloody hell. 🤬 Oh well. On the plus side, my […]
I Started a Book Club
Late last year, I came up with an idea to start a book club for our golf club and put the idea out there. Here’s Tiger reading this month’s book, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath👇 Well anyway, I was surprised with the response. I had 24 people who were interested and out of that, […]
Playing Sandhurst Golf Course
This is a post I finally got around to writing. I’m lying in bed coughing out a lung then painfully swallowing, what feels like tiny razor sharp blades in my throat, as I caught my first ever bout of Covid. During the day, I’m well enough to sit up in bed, read a bit, watch […]
If You Write Dull Shit, It Doesn’t Matter What You Die From
Finally Caught COVID
It took some years but I finally caught it. I was holding onto the hope of never getting it but unfortunately, it happened. I’ve had all my boosters, I tried to keep as safe as possible but now, it’s everywhere. It didn’t help being in an overcrowded classroom last week when there were a couple […]
Come Book Shopping With Me
When we were in Canberra last week, I had an opportunity to visit book stores in the city. Some general and others more specific related to the galleries and other tourist locations I visited. I had heard that there was a great bookstore (and also a yarn shop) in Manuka, a trendy and more up […]
A Typical Evening Scene
Evenings at ours means a lot of time spent on the sofa watching television, reading books or listening to music. Tonight as we listened to a CD by Suede, I shared the sofa with Pud who had fallen fast asleep with my foot on his belly. It’s pretty relaxing to do this. I quite enjoy […]
Being a Tourist in Canberra: What I Saw & Did in Our Nation’s Capital
We travelled to Canberra for a few days for family reasons and while there, I had an opportunity to act as a tourist. I worked there for four years and I loved this city. It’s Australia’s national capital and full of institutions, museums, galleries and so much more that means there’s always something educational and […]
Personality Tests
Many years ago when I was in the corporate world, every team bonding activity involved some kind of personality test. These tests evaluated our preferences against others in our teams and shed light on how we prefer to lead and work with others but also come to understand our own strengths and weaknesses. (I’ll say […]
Spaceman from Bohemia Book Review
So I guess now you can say I’m being paid by YouTube for my book reviews. It was a nice surprise to see $100 in my account from people watching my videos. Although it’s a pittance, I don’t care. It’s enough to buy myself a few new books. As long as I enjoy making the […]
Morning is My Favourite Time of Day
It’s Wednesday morning. Outside, except for a call of a magpie, it’s quiet. I pulled out of playing golf early this morning because I hadn’t slept well last night. I’m the type of person who needs to have a good night’s sleep or have things perfect order (clean house, swept floors, bed made, general tidiness) […]
The Lifespan of a Fact
On Saturday night, Andrew and I went to a local theatre group to see a performance of this play based on a book called The Lifespan of a Fact. We hadn’t been to amateur theatre in many years and we do have some local groups in the area. I had seen this as advertised in […]
The Cult of Taylor Swift
I don’t know how many times this year I’ve thought to myself that “I don’t understand the world we are living in right now.” It’s as if the lines are blurred between fact and fiction; real or fake. Nothing makes sense yet nothing is surprising anymore. To be honest, I think we have lost our […]
Battered by Melbourne Storms
The day was sweltering hot on Tuesday. It was 38 and with strong winds. The worst weather you’d wish to have in a state that still remembers the worst bush fires that decimated entire regions, homes, livestock, flora and fauna a few years back. I had just started my French class when there was a […]
What’s in My Book Haul?
Here’s the latest book haul video I filmed this morning to share on my YouTube channel on some new and second hand books I’ve recently bought to read sometime…. I’ve got a whole heap of videos banked up to be published over the coming weeks. Here are some of the reviews I’ll be sharing: I […]
Celebrating Our 18th Wedding Anniversary
Today was our 18th wedding anniversary and we usually celebrate the day with a dinner somewhere. This year, I decided to instead see an exhibition in town followed by some lunch. The Titanic Artefact Exhibition was on at the Melbourne Museum and it was a fantastic one that walked us through gangway right to the […]
Fake News in Our News Media
Everyone is talking about how one of our biggest news channels this week used generative AI to Photoshop one of our politicians photos. Of course she was a young woman and she called it out in X even saying that she knew the photo was clearly wrong because she also has a stomach tattoo that […]
Live Writing
This year I joined Writers Victoria based out of the Wheelers Centre at the back of the State Library of Victoria. The centre supports writers by providing an excellent library, events, workshops and other resources for people to write. Twice a week they run Live Write sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays online. However on the […]
Conversations with People Who Are Still Working and Those Who Aren’t
I’m at this weird age where some friends, family members and acquaintances are still working, close to retirement or just decided to retire early (like myself) brought on earlier than planned due to various factors in their lives such as “post pandemic life rethink”, ageing parents or career transition. I’ve got various groups of friends […]
Time Without Clocks
I’m excited!!!! I’ve booked myself to do this creative writing workshop at the wonderful home Mulberry Hill, of writer Joan Lindsay (author of Picnic at Hanging Rock) and artist Darryl Lindsay. WORKSHOP: WAYS OF LOOKING Saturday 17 February 202410am – 3pm Created for writers, this is an interactive workshop where participants encounter a work of […]