I almost made it through the summer without getting burnt. Either this summer was mild or I’m only just getting used to the weather again after 4 years. The house I’m living in faces west and traps the heat. For three summers I have cursed the 4 months of hot days and sleepless nights, but… Continue reading Deserve to be Scorched
Category: Countries
Baker Rises to the Occasion
Once again, Australians have stunned me with generosity. I spent the weekend with 20 newly arrived AFS exchange students, 20 newly returned exchange students and 10 or so hopefuls. The purpose of these quarterly weekend camps is to prepare the kids for their time in a new culture and that means lots of sessions to… Continue reading Baker Rises to the Occasion
Facebook Valentine
Have you ever heard people say ‘If it’s not on facebook, it’s not real’? You’re not really in a relationship until you’ve acknowledged it on facebook. I guess the corollary is that you haven’t broken up until you’ve acknowledged it on facebook. So what happens if only one person in a new / broken couple… Continue reading Facebook Valentine
Arrested For Smoking
When I arrived in Bhutan at the beginning of 2005, Bhutan had just ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the nation-wide ban on tobacco had just been introduced. It seemed a rather odd law at the time, but I was supportive. As a non-smoker, I find cigarette smoke more intrusive and irritating… Continue reading Arrested For Smoking
Aussie Attitude About-Face
After my recent post about loving the Aussie attitude to adversity, it seems that we’re in the middle of a major turn-around. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is driving a change in the culture in a way that may not be so small. Last year she promised to turn her government’s spending habits around and to… Continue reading Aussie Attitude About-Face
Gone To Print
Dragon Bones has gone to print. Thank you to everyone who pushed and supported me along the way. A special thanks to the people who kindly offered their photos for the cover. The designer chose to use other photos, but that doesn’t reflect on the photos you shared. They were all fantastic.
When It Rains It Pours
After a decade of drought (with rain appearing only for my return trips) Australia finally has water again – lots of it. Over the past few months large areas of Queensland have been under water. According to one local blogger, the submerged area is greater than France and Germany combined. In 12 hours of January… Continue reading When It Rains It Pours
Plans for the Old Swan Brewery
During the course on Aboriginal interests that I did over the last 6 months, I took particular interest in the conflict over plans for the old Swan Brewery in Perth. Edge of Empire: Postcolonialism and the City by Jane Jacobs was written in 1996 so the issue is long since resolved, but it could easily… Continue reading Plans for the Old Swan Brewery
Reviewing the Edits
My publisher sent me the edited version of my manuscript last week. It came as a pdf locked with a password and the formatting all as it will appear in the final version. It looks beautiful. I’m also glad that the endless knot image I chose as a section break has stayed in the print… Continue reading Reviewing the Edits
Intervention
The more I learn about the NT intervention, the angrier I become. Last night I read The Emergency We Had To Have by Larissa Behrendt, the first chapter in Coercive Reconciliation: Stabilise, Normalise, Exit Aboriginal Australia. The book is a critical view of the intervention, written by experts in the weeks following its announcement. The… Continue reading Intervention