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! […]

Australia loses three treasures within nine days  

Archie Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) Archie Roach was so much more than a musician, singer, author and activist. He was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who fought hard for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Through his music, he created awareness about the plight of the stolen generations […]

Elvis: the death of a King (a personal recollection)

It was mid-afternoon on Tuesday, 16 August 1977 in Memphis, Tennessee.  Elvis Presley was at home in his mansion at Graceland. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. But sleep didn’t come easily to Elvis. So he was pumped full of drugs and left alone to die. The way I see it, is that […]

The Chevrolet gets a scratch

The day my father discovered a parking spot that had always been ‘reserved for him’ was actually reserved for a tourist bus was a memorable day indeed. My father was a quiet man most of the time. He rarely spoke about anything. But he was also very bad tempered too which was witnessed by a […]

The day my brother’s childhood ended

It seemed like a perfect day. I was soaking up some rays on the beach. My youngest brother Sam was inside the caravan playing games with his teacher. It was clear I wasn’t welcome because the teacher latched the door of the caravan. I was OK with that. Playing board games wasn’t my thing anyway.  […]