To Be Free
"Life in the gleaming goldfish bowl that is the ubiquitous shopping city is stressful to all who go there,'' declares Dermott Ryder.
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"Life in the gleaming goldfish bowl that is the ubiquitous shopping city is stressful to all who go there,'' declares Dermott Ryder.
A man very like the author goes to stay in a town called Beddgelert in Gynedd (North Wales) for three months. This is a small village under the shadow of Mt Snowdon. He walks in the hills looking for the remains of an ancient fortress called Dinas Emrys (Emrys in Welsh means Merlin … the Merlin of the Arthur legends.) He’s not sure at all where to find this fort, writes Jeff Lynch.
Ian Arkell finds reassurance in a late season.
Ian Arkell finds reassurance in a late season.
Ian Arkell challenges an age-old prejudice.
Ian Arkell challenges an age-old prejudice.
"Wonderful logic this Feng/Foong Shui stuff,'' wrote John Powell.
...'Did you know that I have five "mature" European girlfriends?' asked Mohammed, answering my question with a question, as we sat faceing each other sipping coffee in an outdoor cafe in the central market square of Marrakesh...
Gehan Wijesinha tells of an astonishing encounter.
Al McCartan and the resident Redhead chose their own TV award winners.
Some romantic songs really do work, as Al McCartenr reveals.
Some romantic songs really do work, as Al McCartenr reveals.
"There’s more to holidays than spending your time always doing the same thing – especially when someone else keeps telling you that ‘you are going to enjoy it’,'' writes Dianne Hill.
Al MCarten tells of L Frank Baum, the most prolific author of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.
"Perhaps the paper shredder is a reflection of the nature of today’s society. Trust, implicit and otherwise, can no longer be taken for granted. Identity theft threatens our security, and protecting our personal information is becoming a major challenge,'' writes Lytrice Hood.
John Powell imagined a challenge in the after-life.
"It’s hard to think of a course of action in the middle of a tantrum. The child isn’t listening, a bunch of strangers are judging you and there are constant reminders of the child’s desire on display.'' writes Mary Pearl.
Continue reading "Children Behaving Badly In Supermarkets" »
Dermott Ryder tells of a troubled lady whose good friends from Toohey's and Resch's helped her to drive dull care away.
...Written in the Chinese record of rites is the passage: poetry is the expression of earnest thought, singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression...
Dermott Ryder recalls a place where music was not allowed.
Ian Arkell keeps his sense of humour during worrying times.
Eugenia Gomes tells of a man who has gone beyond the end of his tether.
...I felt sorry for this regal beast reduced to walking round and round the wind filled park and wished he would rock the children from his back. He knew how I felt and we winked at each other...
Anni confesses that elephants hold a special place in her heart.
...'Well, you certainly do the dress justice. It looks totally different on you from the other lady who bought the larger size.'...
Annitells a tale of double-dealing.
John Merchant's poem brings to the mind's eye a perfect Sunday meal and walk.
Eugenia Gomes tells of 85-year-old fisherman Bert, who recalls how he came to be in Australia.
"Perhaps the most significant effect of dealing with Alzheimer’s is the sense of loss that creeps into the relationship.'' writes Lytrice Hood.
Al McCartan listens in to an avian conversation.
Al McCartan eavesdrops on a feathered conversation.
Colleen McMillan tells of a mare with a mind of her own.
John Merchant tells of sailboat racing on Cayuga Lake in upstate New York.
Kath Mounsey brings a hatful of jokes to brighten up your day.
John Merchant tells how medical science might benefit from the mammoths.
John Merchant tells how medical science might benefit from the mammoths.
Al McCartan's tale tells of the Pretty Pinks, and a lass for company.
Al McCartan's tale tells of the Pretty Pinks, and a lass for company.
Phillip Flockhart brings a deeply-experienced poem.
Wendy Ogbourne remembers a night when thundered boomed and lightning lashed its terrifying power.
Ken Sillcock recalled his early school days.
John Merchant brings a most mysterious tale.
Dermott Ryder says he wrote ‘Right of the Line’ not as an anti-war song, as some singers assert, but rather as a pro-peace song because I believe that the secondary role of the military of a Christian Nation is to justly gain and humanely maintain the democratic peace.
Thoughts of a laggard lamb carry Brian Leaver back in time.
"He towers above me and can probably carry his Harley under one gigantic arm. He is wild looking, loud when he talks to the rest of the family and I think the chance of us becoming fast friends is somewhat remote...''
Ian Arkell recalls a bizarre conversation at a maximum security prison.
"As a part of a personal memoir of a boyhood visit to Laugharne to see the friend of a friend some little time prior to the last fatal visit of the friend to America, I wrote: ‘To Nimbus Darkened Laugharne - A Sonnet’ dedicated to Dylan Thomas.
Presenting this short work at a reading, at Strathfield Poets, Sydney, shook my kaleidoscopic memory bank and produced a series of images of my fourth and so far final visit to Laugharne many years later. ‘Laugharne, Revisited’ was the result of this, in many ways, challenging return,'' writes Dermott Ryder.
Charles Huckelbury tells a great yarn about the day a baseball crowd thought he had lost his head.
"Our contemporary obsession with, and dependence on time, could easily be mistaken for a manifestation of modern life.,'' writes John Merchant.
"At the heart of all the avoidable accidents is human error – errors of judgment, moral and otherwise, and errors of commission,'' writes John Merchant.
Ken Silcock told of his early enthusiasm for words.
Ian Arkell's poem tells of a beautiful confusion.
...The jury room was quiet as we waited to be called. Sitting around the table just the right size for six we were comfortable enough, but silent. Plenty to think about. No reason to share. I can’t believe I’m here. That’s what I was thinking...
Gloria MacKay tells of a lonely time in the jury room.
...The jury room was quiet as we waited to be called. Sitting around the table just the right size for six we were comfortable enough, but silent. Plenty to think about. No reason to share. I can’t believe I’m here. That’s what I was thinking...
Gloria MacKay tells of a lonely time in the jury room.
Brian Barratt has warming memories of a village bakery.
...Then a sniffer dog checks us out, stopping twice at the same guy who is looking just a touch twitchy but checks out ok. Then after another short walk and two more locked gates we’re ushered into a large, cafeteria sized room and given a table number. Ours is 17...
Ian Arkell recalls a prison visit.
" I see this whole thing as being a bit like the blind man trying to picture an elephant – feeling first the trunk, then the ears, the tusks etc. Unless we are able to step back, we will never get an overall picture....''
Wendy Ogbourne considers attempts to understand the nature of the Universe.
Continue reading "String Theory - Enough To Tie You Up In Knots" »
Phillip Flockhart pays tribute to a hard-working man.
"At the heart of all the avoidable accidents is human error – errors of judgment, moral and otherwise, and errors of commission,'' writes John Merchant.
Sandy James longs for a boring mum.
John Merchant takes time to investigate time.
...It’s interesting that photos are one of the things that people choose to save when faced with fire or flood. Now I don’t have photo albums any more...
Wendy Ogbourne has mixed views on the arrival of digital photography.
...most delicious smell of coffee I have ever experienced, before or since, permeated the cabin...
John Merchant tells of a fraught snow-filled day enhanced by the aroma of coffee.
"I am convinced that most people under the age of 50 years are dangerous radicals and that they conspire, daily, to make life difficult for we wise elders. However, all will be different after the revolution,'' writes Dermott Ryder.
"I've always wanted to explore Tasmania.'' writes Coral Andrew.
"Written in the Chinese record of rites is the passage: poetry is the expression of earnest thought, singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression,'' recalls Dermott Ryder.
"How do you stop smoking? All of us smokers have asked that question of ourselves some time after midnight. A heavy cough has woken us up and we lie there thinking dark thoughts and despairing of ever being rid of our foul addiction,'' writes Mary Pearl.
"Can anybody write? I say yes,'' declares Mary Pearl.
"Can anybody write? I say yes,'' declares Mary Pearl.
Kath Mounsey brings another choice selection of giggles.
" I always felt somewhat embarrassed to tell people what I did, as being a tax collector ranked only marginally above a checkout chick, a traffic warden, or a nude model in people’s eyes,'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
Kath Mounsey presents a hatful of good chuckles.
John Powell was far from impressed by what he saw in present-day UK.
There's hope and assurance in Phillip Flockhart's poem.
...The numbers on the clock were still flashing off and on, but it didn’t seem to matter so much any more. Time had been defeated...
During a bad storm Wendy Ogbourne finds herself without time.
"TV debates and discussions have become futile — atheistic proponents cannot prove scientifically that God does not exist, just as believers cannot prove scientifically that there is a God. Both sides are limited to presenting their own versions of evidence for their cases in the argument which amounts to science versus faith. A third viewpoint is needed,'' writes Ian Arkell.
"I soon discovered the root of their discomfiture. A couple of young girls sitting directly in front of them were smoking up a storm,'' writes Lytrice Hood.
"Writing is like any other art or skill: as aerobics instructors say, use it or lose it,'' declares Mary Pearl.
"I am convinced that most people under the age of 50 years are dangerous radicals and that they conspire, daily, to make life difficult for we wise elders. However, all will be different after the revolution,'' writes Dermott Ryder.
"I prefer to think of the act of changing one’s mind, or being willing to change one’s mind, as being intelligent, flexible, open to new ideas, willing to listen, forward-looking,'' declares Wendy Ogbourne.
Phillip Lockhart's poem sees life as a blind babbling whisper.
Ian Arkell has a theory concerning Tarzan's behaviour.
John Powell's tale really does make you think.
Dermott Ryder dedicated this poem to the memory of Trevor Winn (1947-2010), musician, artist, fire fighter, wine buff, folk club supremo, and "friend of my turbulent twenties, thirties, and far beyond''.
Brian Leaver is humbled by time on a Dorset beach.
"The battle of Sedgemoor was the last battle to be fought on English soil. It was fought outside the Somerset village of Westonzoyland. I lived in Westonzoyland from 1973 to 1977,'' writes Val Wake.
"Coffee has become an integral part of our lives and until somebody offers us something to equal it, we’re sticking with the devil we know,'' declares Mary Pearl.
Just one word resulted in Marmaduke McNab settling in Australia rather than the USA, as Al McCartan's story reveals.
Coral Andrew tells a heartbreaking tale.
Lytrice Adams is welcomed to Grenada by birdsong.
John Merchant's poem captures the perfection of a childhood day on the beach.
"I have reached the point where I would trade all of my Christmas cookies for one piece of fresh strawberry pie,'' declares Gloria MacKay.
...He was an atheist, perhaps too strident for many, perhaps too vitriolic for others, but nevertheless a man committed to his beliefs and the inequalities around us...
Ian Arkell pays tribute to an outstanding writer and thinker.
Michael Lee Johnson's poem tells of a restricted life.
Ian Arkell tells of an unusual friend.
"Berrima NSW: Lunching in a somewhat pretentious restaurant, we had a very pleasant view of a jacaranda decorated garden. The obsequious waiter served tea. The aroma created a time-shift and I remembered an English garden on a summer afternoon; shading oaks, early blooms and butterflies... how could I forget?'' writes Dermott Ryder.
M F Batson sees similarities between card players and the cards with which they play.
Coral Andrew brings a heart-warming account of the joy of being a grandma.
"Now, I don't wish to be classified as Mr Scrooge but this custom of sending Xmas Cards is 'Bah! Humbug!''' wrote John Powell.
"Having lived in the outback of Queensland until the late seventies I experienced the quirky behavior of a wide assortment of automobiles,'' writes Patricia I'Anson.
"Not many of us get to a great age with our wits entirely intact,'' writes Michael Grounds.
M.F. Batson's poem looks forward to a special harvest in Spring.
"Memories of my early childhood are occasional, random, non-sequential and fleeting—like flicking through a cardboard box of old sepia snapshots with nothing written on the back,'' writes Heather Stone.
"Memories of my early childhood are occasional, random, non-sequential and fleeting—like flicking through a cardboard box of old sepia snapshots with nothing written on the back,'' writes Heather Stone.
...In spite of all the uncertainty and fear, people are still getting married, friendships are forged, and babies are born. As a species, we keep on evolving...
Lytrice Adams found herself filled with hope for the human race.
...Was he there again; that bag of huddled clothes humanised only by black staring eyes—eyes she felt were staring at her?...
Colleen McMillan tells an intriguing tale.
M F Batson tells a sobering tale of a ruined life.
Dermott Ryder tells how he came to write the Red Lion Carol.
"If you haven’t heard a good string quartet playing, look out for the opportunity. You may be surprised,'' writes Michael Grounds.
Merle Batson tells of a very happy encounter.
"I live in a brown land, but I love it,'' declared Margaret Kendrick. returning to Australia after a trip to New Zealand.
"Home means different things to each of us, and our homes differ to an extraordinary degree. In my lifetime I have been in many homes other than my own: friends and neighbors, business associates, relatives, girlfriends etc., and I have always been struck by their distinctive characteristics,'' writes John Merchant.
"On some nights, ritual chants rise from the building underneath the garden, mingling with the harsh clanging of the city street-cars and the drone of traffic. I listen to the age-old music trying desperately to survive in a world of technology and noise, a world where the healing power of nature is no longer part of our daily lives,'' writes Lytrice Adams, telling of her delight at being able to look out onto a roof garden.
"What seems best in the short-term may be making a problem worse in the long-term,'' writes Val Yule as she considers aternative methods of controlling wildfires in Australia.
"After that first breathless spell, the rain started, at first slowly, almost reluctantly, finally coming down full pelt. What a pleasure it was watching our parched ground soak up so much water,'' writes Goldie Alexander.
"...Suddenly, he thrust his head unceremoniously between my legs and placed a hand under each cheek of my bum. Straightening up with a jerk, he emitted a blood-curdling cry and gave a tremendous heave...''
Pat I'Anson recalls the indignities of disembarking.
Pat I'Anson tells a tale of long-delayed reenge.
Al Mcartan goes in search of the origins of a familiar soing.
Wendy Ogbourne tells a tale to negate the use of the word never.
" You cannot “waste time” if what you are doing is what you choose to do and gives you pleasure,'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
"When I made a mental list of all those things that bother me, I found to my amusement that many begin with the letter B.'' writes Goldie Alexander.
Paula Wilson outlines the life of Alice Betteridge, a woman who had a profound impact on the education of deaf blind children in Australia.
Lytrice Adams takes a walk in misty autumn woods.
Lytrice Adams takes a walk in misty autumn woods.
...Most of the earth around this area is full of rocks but much to my surprise most of our soil just turned out to be very fine-textured black sand. It was so much fun digging that I could hardly stop...
Ray Evans recalls shifting 200 tons of soil with shovel and wheelbarrow.
Wendy Ogbourne recalls a special day in the history of the human race.
It's not how much time we have but how we choose to use it, writes Wendy Ogbourne.
"If you were to craft a tapestry, a mosaic, or painting of our young lives, the Eel River would run through it,'' writes Ray Evans.
Al McCartan tells a tale of a happy co-incidence involving red sneakers.
...“That is Mr Gede,” the woman who saw us in said to John and me, “he is in a trance and he is possessed by a 10,000 year old spirit.”...
Gehan Wijesinha tells of astonishing events which unfolded when he tried to deliver a letter in Bali.
"I harbour great animosity towards the cockroach. There’s something about the little buggers that I find sly and maddeningly taunting,'' writes Lytrice Adams.
"I harbour great animosity towards the cockroach. There’s something about the little buggers that I find sly and maddeningly taunting,'' writes Lytrice Adams.
"For me, the most profound auras occur when I am in a room that is dimly lighted. For example, sometimes I lie in bed with only dim light entering a window and hold my hands over my head, with the fingers of the right hand opposed to those of the left hand. As I separate my hands there appears to be a stream of colored light between opposing fingers, writes Colin Fisher.
Heather Stone smiles her way through a series of problems.
Margaret Kendrick tells of an unfortunate encounter with a kangaroo.
Ray Evans tells of learning to fly.
Margaret Kendrick tells of a couple who discovered that two honeymoons are more than enough.
When Lytrice Adams announced that she was planning to attend a Wiccan festival her beaming daughter said "Wow! You've come a long way Mom.''
Michael Grounds told a lie which brought about a good result.
"Deep in the mountains, in the Cape Province of South Africa, there is a tiny isolated village on the edge of the Great Karroo called Nieu-Bethseda.
Some years ago, a lonely woman called Helen Martins died in this little village, but not before her strange creation, “The Owl House”, brought her troubled dreams to fruition and made her name famous,'' writes Barbara Durlacher.
...On one occasion I sent her big brother to entice her out of bed. After a great deal of shaking, a bleary eye emerged briefly from the bedding. “Go away Michael. You might wake me up.”...
Heather Stone tells of children who are reluctant to be prised away from their bed sheets.
Wendy Ogbourne treasures the books written by her maternal grandfgather who recorded his delight in the natural world in meticulous detail.
"Power Loom weaving started in Northern England in the 1830s. The workers, predominantly woman and boys, slaved long hours and gained little pay for their piecework. The equipment was dangerous, serious injury common. The spectre of no work, no pay, food or shelter haunted workers lives,'' writes Dermott Ryder, introducing the song “Poverty, Poverty Knock”.
"On the banks of Melbourne’s Maribyrnong River is a little rotunda. It sits comfortably under the branches of overhanging trees and looks out over the river once known as the Salt Water River. Set into the floor of the rotunda is a plaque that reads “Dedicated to Pioneer Irish Women who operated punts, hotels and farms from the 1840’s along the Salt Water River”. Around the dedication are the names of six women, one of them is Anne (Dowd) Harrison,'' writes Paula Wilson.
Wendy Ogbourne wonders why we have a largely unquestioning respect for everything "scientific''.
"When you child is a small infant, select a thoroughly soiled diaper, roll it up and insert it into a jar that has a tight-fitting lid; for example, the kind of jar and lid used for food preservation. Make a label with the child’s name and affix it to the jar. Then, store the jar in an accessible place,'' writes Colin Fisher.
Colin Fisher warns that it is very easy for us to take water for granted.
Colin Fisher tells us how to play the game of bridge via the internet.
"On 3 December 1910 a woman stood by herself looking out from the snow-covered top of Mount Cook. Freda Du Faur felt “…very little,” and “…very alone,” after climbing to the summit of New Zealand’s highest mountain,'' writes Paula Wilson.
"I must have been a bit bonkers, but then young blokes of 21 often are a bit round the twist, especially in the army as I was. To me it was a glorious opportunity to do something different. Thus it was that I found myself volunteering to transfer to the famous 6th Airborne Division to become a paratrooper,'' wrote John Powell.
"Common thoughts can be distracting and even cause the kind of problems associated with multi-tasking that are associated with using a wireless telephone while driving a car. These “common thoughts” are the subject of this article,'' writes Colin Fisher.
"Common thoughts can be distracting and even cause the kind of problems associated with multi-tasking that are associated with using a wireless telephone while driving a car. These “common thoughts” are the subject of this article,'' writes Colin Fisher.
He came over and stood behind me. “Cling peach,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck.
“Sling peach, more like,” I laughed, tossing the offending fruit in the compost can.
Christina Ratliffe is not happy wityh today's fruit.
"As we get older there are certain gifts which, given or received as a child, stand out in our memories for a variety reasons,'' writes Norma Kawak.
Ray Evans confesses that water witching does not work for him.
"I have always been able to see auras, although I must admit that my sense of auras is not necessarily the same as for others who claim the same,'' writes Colin Fisher.
Wendy Ogbourne ponders on the undefinable.
"Relationships in our coastal village are as complex as in any African village,'' writes Goldie Alexander.
"We grew up on the wrong side of the river, civilization was on the other side, and schools were on the other side,'' writes Ray Evans.
Dermott Ryder presents an opus that has been a country pub session song and dance in Britain for more than 400 years.
"I married Peter, a cat person who could not resist a waif or stray but eventually I got Pip a Silky Terrier. He was my dog and could hardly tolerate Peter and bit or tried to bite every child that came into the house,'' writes Margaret Kendrick.
"I married Peter, a cat person who could not resist a waif or stray but eventually I got Pip a Silky Terrier. He was my dog and could hardly tolerate Peter and bit or tried to bite every child that came into the house,'' writes Margaret Kendrick.
"Although some may disagree, the science of weather forecasting has improved in recent years, due to greater investment in research, more powerful computers and more accurate observational methods,'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
...tucked away on the top shelf, sit two neat volumes, the most precious of all – The Camera in the Fields and Nature Studies by Night and Day. The author, my maternal grandfather, F.C Snell...
Wendy Ogbourne tells of treasured family possessions.
...Did you know that the worker bees are all females? Perhaps that was the reason for my dilemma! It is just normal that as soon as you learn the rules that apply to females, they change the rules!...
Ray Evans recalls the day he got a sore head.
...Early in 1910 Kate and Gustav made their first excursion onto the mountain, and Kate became the first women to climb it. The idea for a national park was germinated and from then on they put all their energy into seeing that their dream would come to fruition...
Paula Wilson outlines the life of the woman who played a key role in establishing Cradle Mountain in Tasmania as a national park.
...It was his eyes that caught my attention. They were bright and alert with a mesmerizing quality which I found difficult to resist. As I stopped to rummage in my wallet for a coin to soften the emptiness of his cap, he smiled at me with such an air of familiarity, that I felt I had known him all my life...
Lytrice Adams tells of a mystery man.
"Though I love bees for all their hard work and for making honey, I don’t fancy bathing with them,'' writes Goldie Alexander.
"In the nineteen sixties and early seventies, in Australia, British immigrant Colin Dryden had a voice among voices. His interpretation of folksong, both traditional and contemporary, made him a leading activist of the day. Solo, duo, in a group, in a great hall or small folk club, he had the power to charm and capture an audience and keep it working with him from introduction to encore,'' writes Dermott Ryder as he introduces us to one of Colin's songs.
Heather Stone tells of a spider scream.
"My newspaper seemed to be the key that opened up my morning routine. Getting through breakfast without the smell of ink on paper, the unwrinkled feel of a brand new edition, the urgent appeal of the bold headline, was overwhelming,'' writes Lytrice Adams.
"'The Leaves# takes the entire world into a raindrop that contains life, death, joy, sadness, men, gods, old age and youth,'' says Dermott Ryder who is deeply moved by these words from a Vietnamese writer.
Wendy Ogbourne introduces us to the old Chinese game, Mah Jongg.
Anthony Ward tells if a cat with three names - or maybe more.
Is baking soda the wonder home remedy for a cleaner, happier and healthier life? For the answer read Wendy Ogbourne's article.
"It’s just a little brown bird, I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl but it has been coming to our back steps for at least six months,'' writes Ray Evans.
"I have a love/hate relationship with coffee. It keeps me awake and it sends me to the toilet in the middle of the night.'' writes Heather Stone.
Dermott Ryder tracks down the origins of a song which takes the entire world into a raindrop that contains life, death, joy, sadness, men, gods, old age and youth.
...those hungry rabbits chomped through our veggie patch, dug into our flowerbeds, ravaged our lawns, ringbarked our fruit trees, excavated our driveways and played “chicken” with our car...
Goldie Alexander tells of a plague of rabbits.
Wendy Ogbourne tells of the day the world changed for a caring school teacher.
...Phoebe had many jobs, one of which was to drive a wagon through inhospitable terrain for nearly a thousand kilometres. Any roads were just tracks but most of the way was over unmade bushland. It was a formidable challenge for the most experienced let alone a girl of thirteen....
Paul Wilson introduces us to an astonishingly tough lady.
Margaret Kendrick tells of the wonder of love, and the hurt of losing a loved one.
"I am all for raising awareness of our responsibilities to other living creatures. But I draw the line at being told that being omnivorous is barbaric and insensitive,'' writes Lytrice Adams.
...Once when my husband was away, self-motivation failed! In the “Hurry, hurry, we’re going to be late for school” chaos that ensued, I mentioned that the alarm hadn’t gone off. “Yes it did mummy”, SHE chirruped, “it was making me wake up, so I went in your room and turned it off”....
Heather Stone tells of the difficulty in prising some people from their beds.
Goldie Alexander highlights the irritating Bs.
Colin Fisher tells a tale of seaside romance.
Colin Fisher tells a tale of the friendship between a widower and his singing-dancing canary.
...She hid her bright dresses discreetly beneath a pale grey coat but the flowers on her hat glowed purple, yellow, brilliant green. And soon the grey coat disappeared. Into the dye vat I suspect...
Jean Needham reveals that her grandmother was a scarlet woman.
"At one stage or another, in one relationship or another, in one mood or another, most of us sense a slight disparity between the way men and women think,'' writes Gloria MacKay.
...A worm might be better off if he just held back a little while and then leaned back in his rocking chair and had a second cup of coffee. After all, one could not expect to build an acre of perfect garden soil in one day anyway...
Early rising guided Ray Evans away from a certain career choice.
Colleen McMillan tells the tale of a youg woman arriving for the first time in the big city.
"I also know I am not always brave enough to tell the truth when a simple white lie will get me out of trouble,'' acknowledges Michael Grounds.
...I stall the car on the railway track. Dear God, thank goodness there is nothing in sight. I try to restart, to no avail. Fear leaps into my throat like a living creature...
Shirley Henwood tells of a driver's worst nightmare.
Dermott Ryder tells of a song commemorating a great sea disaster.
"History books are full of the faces of men, board rooms and hospital lobbies are framed with the pictures of men, government resounds with the voices of men, and calendars are printed with the birthdays of men. But not in March. Not on my calendar,'' writes Gloria MacKay.
Margaret Kendrick goes on an entertaining ramble, from bottoms to friends to a stuck finger.
Lytrice Adams tells of an ending and a new beginning.
Colin Fisher tells the tale of the day of the gredat coffee tasting.
...Just over the bridge, we passed the open doorway of a little shop—at least, we never did pass it, because from inside the most delicious smells wafted forth...
Wendy Ogbourne recalls the tempting delights of a chocolate shop.
Paula Wilson outlines the life of Jane Bell, a Scottish-born woman who brought about major changes and improvements to nursing in Australia.
'Jack, why is it cruel ter stick pins in beetles yet it ain't ter sew buttons on flies?'
And Bible Jack had an answer to the question, as John Powell reveals.
Colin Fisher gives some tips on fuel-efficient driving.
"January is here which means the footie season is fast approaching. Apparently, the Magpies and the Kangaroos have been playing football in Australia for centuries,'' writes Paul Newbury.
Wendy Ogbourne's speaker puts in an impassioned plea for a return of those days when the pen was mightier than the sword.
Continue reading "There's Less To This Than Meets The Eye" »
Colleen McMillan tells a tale of failure - and major success.
Continue reading "There's Less To This Than Meets The Eye" »
Lytrice Adams ponders on the significance of the Christmas season.
Colin Fisher tells a tale with a punchline which will make you groan appreciatively.
Heather Stone remembers a night out when she was the one drinking the wine.
Colin Fisher tells a tale with a memorable punchline.
"I'm no head doctor. The only thing I know is that my brain sorts things out by immediacy, not priority,'' writes Gloria MacKay.
"I stood on the window-sill, terrified and in awe. The whole district, as bright as day, seemed on fire. I was in the centre of a circle of flames...''
John Powell recalls a far-from-peaceful wartime Christmas.
Shirley Henwood tells of the Christmas goose which arrived alive.
Rodney Gascoyne imagines the home of the future.
"With Christmas fast approaching, maybe you are struggling to find the perfect gift for that friend or relative who has everything. Perhaps a voucher for a trip into space would fill the bill—though the cost would probably blow the budget for some time to come. But what wouldn't you pay for such a unique experience?'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
...As soon as we drive up to the house and they see our shadows on the glass, there's tapping on our window, a piercing cry and a small grey and brown bird hopping on the sill looking for food...
Goldie Alexander tells of fickle feathered friends.
...I first heard it in a folk club in an otherwise forgettable pub in Bradford, in the early sixties. A couple of verses of it stayed with me for ages. I wanted to sing it but I could only remember the first and third verses. It was an annoying Yorkshire haunting. Finding the missing verses became a personal crusade...
Dermott Ryder searched for the words of the song which epitomises the character of Yorkshire working folk.
Can Trevor resist the invitations to join the Hallelujah gym?
Wendy Ogbourne tells a most satisfying tale.
Mairi Neil touchingly tells of a role-reversal.
...When we sat down to a white-clothed table festooned with dishes, Dad's comment, 'I wonder what the poor people are doing now,' was said partly from Presbyterian guilt but also pride that a working class man could offer a feast to family and friends...
Mairi Neil recalls her first Christmas in Australia.
Heather Stone tells of her fight to dcrive of the fearthered maurauders attacking her orange tree.
John Ogbourne terlls of living life at a more relaxed pace in the Yorkshire Dales.
"When the presiding judge at the trial of Elizabeth Scott pronounced she 'was to be hanged by the neck until dead' most people thought surely she would be reprieved. A woman had never been hanged in the Australian State of Victoria, and they were certain Elizabeth Scott would not be the first,'' writes Paula Wilson.
...'Watch out for Maggie, won't you, he won't hurt you, but don't try and touch him.'
Maggie was a magpie, who'd arrived with a sore leg, and had stayed around when his leg got better...
Shirley Henwood recalls a visit to Mrs Hull's house.
...I put my hand into the bag. Something was very wrong. 'Oh my God!' Not a curse but a prayer. Instead of my sandal—money. A pile of notes were crammed into the bag and they spilled out onto my lap...
Robin Hillard tells a most satisfying tale.
Gloria MacKay, elaborating on a Cole Porter song, exudes a wonderful enthusiasm for life.
"Astrology, unlike astronomy, is totally unprovable. Even adherents admit that they don't know how it works, though that doesn't prevent them believing in it,'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
"Musical evenings at my father's family home had a well-defined structure. Three of his unmarried sisters had social accomplishments, ranging from culinary skills to musical comedy. Two played piano, one played violin and, after her third dry sherry, the banjo-ukulele,'' Dermott Ryder recalls.
Carolyn Hirsh's story tells of a financiaql adviser who missed an opportunity.
Colleen McMillan's story tells of an unwelcomed encounter in a motel room.
...He giggles and tries to play with little children but often mothers yank them away from him. He used to paint stunning oil paintings and read books prolifically but now his canvas is blank. His horizons know neither book nor paintbrush...
Colleen Szabo compels us to understand the feelings of a woman who is caring for a husband who suffers from dementia
"Both my daughters were avid soft toy collectors and had a large and motley assortment of soft toys that, until last week, crammed their rationed personal space to the exclusion of many valuables. These were known collectively as 'teddies' and assigned names and personalities,'' writes Heather Stone.
Continue reading "Teddies (Or The Velveteen Rabbit Re-Visited)" »
...Thunderstorms on a mountain aren't trivial, in my opinion. Once while coming down Long's Peak a fierce thunderstorm broke over us that several times sent Elmo's fire along our backpacks. Beautiful it was but one experience of that sort does it for me....
Sanford Russell tells of adventures in high places.
Wendy Ogbourne tells a brief tale which encapsulates the trials of bringing up children.
Wendy Ogbourne mourns the loss of a beautiful lake in Tasmania.
"The Australian Dictionary of Biography describes Maybanke Anderson as a feminist and educationist. If you had only two words to describe a person these are probably as good as any. But there was far more to Maybanke Susannah Anderson than two words can have any hope of covering,'' writes Paula Wilson.
"Many of us have been persuaded that unbridled capitalism is the same thing as democracy. It's not,'' declares Sanford Russell.
"In today's world of internet and instant email communication, we receive much information that is accurate and true, but also much that has absolutely no basis in fact, and others that are pure and simple hoaxes.'' writes Wendy Ogbourne.
...The song came to me in the late nineteen forties from a lady who visited my grandmother from time to time. Originally of Limerick and later of Dublin and later still of Manchester, she knew many songs but always needed a bit of a gossip and a taste of the stout to kick-start her memory...
Dermott Ryder tells of a 19th Century Irish song which still journeys on.
...In the early years, colonial authorities expressed fear that settler Australians would degenerate and go native. In many ways, they did. Clendinnen concludes, 'Here, in this place, I think we are all Australians now.'...
Paul Newbury delves into Australian history.
...'Eeeeeeek!' A piercing scream tore through our blissful soirée.
'A mouse!' One of the women yelled. 'It just ran underneath the TV!' She was shaking as she drew her legs up on the sofa, and wrapped herself up in a tight bundle....
Lytrice Adams tells of problems when trying to set a trap.
Les Yemm tells a story with a chuckle in its tail.
Continue reading "If You Have Tears Prepare To Shed Them Now" »
Brenda Bryant tells a tale with a satisfying conclusion.
So how about a generous plateful of tripe.
Carmel Fitzgerald tells a tale to challenge your taste buds.
"Writing represents a unique human skill. While spoken words drift away and are forgotten and lost, written words are permanent. They create a human history and shape a sense of who we are,'' says Carolyn Hirsh.
...Now you can go into any nursery and order a tree whose ancestors were living on the planet in the Jurassic period. And this with as much fuss as you would buy a geranium....
Sonia Inczedy tells of the rediscovery of the Wollemi Pine.
Continue reading "The Bequest Of Nature - The Wollemi Pine" »
Arthur Hay tells of his early ventures in the world of work.
Heather Stone tells of a cockatoo named Horace.
Paula Wilson tells of Guide Alice who was instrumental instrumental in making the magnificent Mount Buffalo in Australia accessible to all.
"In hospitals, motels and hotels there are the most user-unfriendly beds of all, with square corners and with top sheets tucked so tightly around the mattress that it takes a tyre lever to loosen them before use,'' writes Ken Silcock.
"When my father decided he was going to go to New Zealand, where he could earn more money, my mother said, 'Well, you needn't think I'm going'.'' writes Shirley Henwood.
...Or the weirdest idea of all—our universe may be one of many in a multiverse—a bubble or pocket universe, complete in itself, and totally unaware of all the others. Theories, pie-in-the-sky philosophy, or just plain rubbish, it's all fascinating....
Wendy Ogbourne contemplates the biggest issue.
"Eventually I discovered that 'Kathleen' is not Irish at all, at all, but American. Why was I not surprised?'' says Dermott Ryder, writing about a much-loved song.
Paul Newbury tells of an important court decision regarding the ownership of the intertidal zone off Arnhem Land, Australia.
...Looking ahead, I could see the entrance to the restaurant straight in front of me. Without thinking, I walked towards it, only to crash headlong into an unmarked glass partition! I literally lost a moment of my life...
Lytrice Adams tells of pain and frustration.
Colleen McMillan tells of trouble and disappopintment during a Moroccan visit.
Patricia Cannard imagines a two-year-old's view of the Ekka.
Colleen Szabo tells of a collapsed bed.
"Get fit, get social and help save the planet with Conservation Volunteers Australia!,'' Elizabeth Cowan suggests.
Mairi Neil tells of cheerful Pierre, a Melbourne tram conductor.
"I believe that if everyone stopped using soap the alarming problem of the antibiotic-resistant 'super-bug' would resolve overnight. Overmonth, anyway,'' says Michael Grounds.
...The jaunty-looking red and white Pitt’s Special plane looked innocent enough on the ground, but when he went up by himself, and started flying fast, higher and higher, I knew what it meant to feel my heart in my mouth. I couldn’t bear to watch, as he went into a barrel roll...
Shirley Henwood recalls a day when her heart was in her mouth.
"I have not had many encounters with snakes because if I think I see one I usually back away at a very unlady-like pace, but they are very shy creatures and are well on their way before I can spot them,'' says Margaret van Dyk.
Dermott Ryder recalls the first time he heard the song, Floral Dance.
"Torres Strait Islanders have a sea culture that sets them apart from other Australians,'' says Paul Newbury. "Their history from the mid-19th century is a narrative of the development of a pan-Island identity. Islanders became Australian when Queensland annexed the inner islands of Torres Strait in 1872.''
Continue reading "Torres Strait Islanders - Uniquely Australian" »
Lytrice Adams concludes that it's best to stay connected to the outside world rather than become "imprisoned'' in an exclusive retirement community.
"How did it happen? How have so many interpretations of organised religions become what I now see as Blake's 'mind forged manacles'?'' asks Glenice Whitting.
A gravestone in Melbourne Cemetery set Paula Wilson on an investigative trail which had its beginnings in Belgium.
Continue reading "Alice Jacqueline Hyacinthe St Denis (née Maës)" »
...Finally, one day, I said to him. 'Why don't you take me to the pictures?'
He hummed and hawed a bit, then said, 'Okay, it will have to be Saturday night, I'll pick you up at seven. Where do you live?'...
Shirley Henwood recalls asking the question which changed her life.
“Every year it recedes 2 inches further away from us,’’ writes Wendy Ogbourne in this introduction to our sister world, the Moon.. “Originally it was 10 times closer to earth—what a sight that would have been!’’
Dermott Ryder writes about a deliciously depressing song.
"On July 1 annually, the people of Torres Strait celebrate the festival of the 'Coming of the Light'. The festival marks the time in 1871 when the London Missionary Society placed two teachers on Erub Island to begin mission work,'' writes Paul Newbury.
“Perhaps the triumph simply lies in the will to push ourselves to the limit. To face our deepest fear. To know a pure moment of freedom bought with tragedy and loss,’’ says Lytrice Adams.
"She has one of the country's best known butts. But few people outside her family and friends would recognize the face of Fiona Walker - the woman whose cheeky lift of her tennis skirt became famous on the Athena poster,'' says columnist David Thomasesson.
Continue reading "Bottoms Up – Name Of The Tennis Girl Revealed" »
Colleen McMillan tells a tale concerning pretty Patti Perkins, she with the petulant lips.
...Outside, I could smell a strong fire smell, and had that same eerie feeling. The sky was hazy, the world seemed to begin and end right there in my back yard. There was no sign of the house next door, nor the one across the road. All was shrouded...
Carmel Fitzgerald recalls a day that is remembered in Australian history.
'Mum, did you see his leg through the hole in his trousers? It was black with dirt. His hands were filthy too. And he didn't take his disgusting hat off to eat.'
Carolyn Hirsh tells a tale which confirms that everyone is deserving of respect.
Glenice Whitting tells an encouraging tale about those special Old Age Pills.
...On the far side of the field was The Lawns Estate. To the children of the road, it was a fairyland—50 acres of woodland and forest paths, with two lakes and the ruins of an old house. What more could a child want?...
Wendy Ogbourne recalls her childhood wonderland.
...In 1917 she married Harry Bonney a wealthy Queensland businessman. Lores soon tired of her life style, so while her husband was off playing golf she hitched a ride with the milkman to the local airstrip and took flying lessons...
Paula Wilson outlines the life story of pioneering Australian aviatrix, Lores Bonney.
Shirley Henwood tells of a bold letter from her driving instructor.
...They remind me of Charlie Chaplin with their funny sideways walk, head down and flashing their beautiful colours under their wings. All the time screaming 'LOOK at me, LOOK at me, am I not the most BEAUTIFUL and SEXY thing you have ever seen.'...
Margaret van Dyk tells of the wildlife visitors to her garden.
...By far the most effective and sophisticated method of rabbiting was spotlighting. My mates and I drove a ridiculously dangerous paddock bomb around the farm at night, picking up the rabbits' eyes in the spotlight and then administering a dose of 'lead poisoning'.,,
Rod Wise spent his childhood living on a sheep (and rabbit) grazing property in central Victoria, Australia. He is now a teacher and writer.
...For the human inhabitants of earth, the amazing thing is that the distance of the earth from the Sun is exactly right to provide the conditions needed for life to flourish. Closer and we would fry, further away and we would freeze...
Wendy Ogbourne brings information on the great generator of light and life, the Sun.
Continue reading "The Sun – Giver of Life, Ruler Of The World" »
...So here I am again this spring, struggling to deal with the flotsam and jetsam of my life....
But Lytrice Adams shies away from having a big clear-out.
Colleen McMillan tells a tale concerning an unwilling patient.
“'Trust the bloody Jerries to write a love song in march-time,' one of my more cynical uncles said, as he flaunted, in song, his only German,’’ writes Dermott Ryder.
And the song the uncle was singing was of course Lili Marlene.
How on earth did a horse thief end up as a face on Australia's currency?
Paula Wilson summarises the life story of a most remarkable woman.
"Not content with polluting the earth, mankind is now creating a cosmic junkyard,'' declares Wendy Ogbourne.
Carolyn Hirsh tells of a couple of cats who refused to take their medicine.
Colin Fisher tells a story with a chuckle in its tail.
Ann Bristow recalls a childhood holiday in the Malven Hills.
Wendy Ogbourne tells a moving tale in few words.
...Danny Boy is an all pervading malady that attacks all male members of the Irish Diaspora over the age of twenty-five...
Dermott Ryder takes a critical look at a famous song.
...'Tom, is that somebody we know?' I questioned my husband. He turned from where he was about to put the card through the swiper, to stare at them.
'Never seen them before in my life,' he said, and turned back to swiping the card. I glanced at them again. She was still nodding and smiling, and her husband was smiling as well. I started to feel very uncomfortable....
Shirley Henwood tells of a mysterious look-alike.
Margaret van Dyk declares war on cane toads.
Gehan Wijesinha received an impromptu address during a visit to Havana on the the benefits of living in Cuba rather than the USA.
...It was wonderful. I would lie in my bed at nights listening to the wind in the trees, the barking of dogs and hooting of owls. I grew accustomed to the clanking of the galvanized roof as it cooled in the night air, and reassured myself that the diverse creaking and groaning of the house was just that—the building's response to the elements, and not the footfalls of my ancestors protesting at the modernization of their earthly home...
But then Lytrice Adams was awakened one night by a loud crash.
...'Well, birthday girl,' the oily voice simpered. 'It must be wonderful to be 100. What's your secret?'
Silly girl, I thought, she has absolutely no idea. Inside I still feel like I'm 16...
Wendy Ogbourne wonders what it really will be like to live to be 100.
...Auntie Em didn't really seem to change, to grow older as we did but then we'd always thought of her as old. Her nondescript clothes seemed to change little with the season: wispy, greying hair poked from old-fashioned little hats or drawn into un unbecoming knot. Aunt Em was just part of the streetscape and as for the babies, well they just came and went...
And nobody knew Auntie Em's real name.
Colleen McMillan tells a most intriguing tale.
"The jewellery I own represents people I have known and loved and reminds me of favourite times and places,'' writes Judy Judge.
What a shock! To wake up with a hangover and discover that you've lost a leg.
Isolde tells a remorseful tale.
...I'm old enough to remember a time when a single woman could obtain credit, although certainly not as easily as a male, while a married woman needed her husband's permission. Well it seems things haven't changed much, at least in the area of telecommunications...
Norma Jean Kawak presents the reasons why she has every right to feel angry.
But who is getting the best Valentine’s Day gift? Gehan Wijesinha’s story has a surprise in its tail.
Carolyn Hirsh writes about a harsh exodus from Ireland.
Colin Fisher considers the nature of happiness.
Paul Newbury reflects on the nature of Australian mateship.
...The tractor, an orange Allis-Chalmers, had a clutch so stiff that I had to slide off the seat, hang on to the steering column and push with all my might to depress it...
Ellen Fisher recalls that she was nine-years-old when her hard-swearing father taught her to drive.
...My grandmother was fond of telling us that we would have whatever we wanted when our ship came in. This ship was always running into storms, and getting lost. I can't remember how old I was before the ship faded from my mind...
Shirley Henwood recalls her early days.
Norma Kawak’s tale emphasises the need to keep things in proper perspective.
Lynn M Williams tells of an outing by folk travelling in classic sports car to Broken Hill and Beyond.
Colleen McMillan tells a tale that is sure to surprise.
Paula Wilson tells of Australian woodcut artist Margaret Preston who experimented with Aboriginal inspired designs.
Wendy Ogbourne takes us on a quick guided tour of the Orion constellation.
Shirley Henwood recalls the day Cousin Albert sent them a goose for Christmas. A live goose!
Is dirty old Ryan really who he seems to be?
Robin Hillard tells a surprising tale.
Lytrice Adams tells of an enigmatic encounter on a bus.
Violet Hall tells the the inspiring story of a little girl, and how she dealt with her Lily Lump.
Gehan Wijesinha introduces to to Bartholomew Browne, aman who adopted brown shoes and white suits as a uniform.
...A soft voice, definitely not that of his teacher, answered, 'I think it is wonderful.'
Frank's mouth opened and shut but the pretty dark-haired girl looking at his painting with such intense scrutiny went on, 'the colour, the life of it. I wish I could instill such life into my work.'..,
Colleen McMillan tells of the arrival of love in a young painter's life.
...The very first minute of the course, Miss Tubino stood up in front of the class and said: 'Este es un curso de inglés y sólo se usará este idioma. Esta es la única y última vez que hablaremos en castellano, que no está permitido.' This means: 'This is an English course and we will only use this language. This is the last and only time that we speak Spanish, that is not allowed.' Then she started....
Argentinian José Miyara tells how he came to speak and read English.
...From July 1914 until December 1918 she penned one letter a week describing conditions in Germany. The first 52 made it to her sister and probably into the hands of the British War Office. The other 175 were kept hidden from the Germans. The letters contained sensitive information and if discovered Ethel would have most likely been executed as a spy. Despite Ethel's home being raided many times throughout the war the letters were never found...
Paula Wilson tells of thge life of Ethel Cooper, a most remarkable woman.
...'Your mither'd nip a currant in two', he'd say with pride when he came home on leave. 'She c'n mak a meal oot o' a' dishcloth.'...
Christina Ratcliffe tells of her frugal Scottish parents.
Rodney Gascoyne visits gold rush country.
Colin Fisher suggests that our governments are not doing nearly enough to prevent what many believe to be the coming disaster.
Ellen Fisher tells the troubling tale of the black cat on the roof.
...From out of the great ocean of our personal experience, the whales surfaced in that magic space between the everyday and the dream. They floated through the shallows of the bay and into the deep water of our memories...
Roger McAuliffe sees Wright whales when he goes flying off the coast of Western Australia.
Paula Wilson introduces us to campaigning writer Catherine Helen Spence, the first woman in Australia to become a professional journalist.
Tom Powell met an old-timer with a Welsh accent in the Rockies.
Colin Fisher assesses how he knows what he knows.
...Perhaps in this age of ipods and MP3 players, hobnobbing with ghosts
and witches and remembering the dead is a good thing; allowing our
imagination to travel beyond today's logic and technology could give us a
chance to think of the unknowable...
Lytrice Adams sees a bonus in Halloween customs.
John Turner tells of the perfect tenant.
...The tide has turned in my grandma. Her hand fumbles around until it finds my hand and the fingers close around. She's heading out to sea, and I can feel myself pulled along with her...
Lucy Treloar's profoundly moving story says all there is to say about love.
Gehan Wijesinha tells of a good night that turned bad.
Wendy Ogbourne tells of a late-night dash to the hospital.
...Wanda had known from the time that she first saw a broom that she was a bona fide witch...
And tonight was a very special night for Wanda, as Colin Fisher's tale reveals.
Ken Sillcock wonders whether we should give up on names and merely identify people by their DNA codes.
Colleen McMillan's tale tells of a far-from-perfect evening.
...No longer having to structure my time, I began to relax. Become spontaneous. I started to learn how to give myself to time, and just let things happen. Of course, in the beginning, my old self-exacting demons disapproved of such indulgence. You're not productive, they taunted. You're wasting your time...
Lytrice Adams tells of the delicious privileges which come with retirement.
Paula Wilson introduces us to the Australian artist Portia Geach, a tireless fighter for women's rights.
John Turner recounts the plot of a famous film.
Paul Newbury introduces us to the most magnificent coastal drives in Australia.
...As someone who has spent a lifetime in the 'logic' business, but with a fair amount of emotion thrown into the pot, no pun intended, it amazes me that rational people can have a faith that there is no God, or gods, and believe sincerely that this is more rational than to believe there is a creator God. Given the preponderance of evidence of rational order in the universe I believe it is completely irrational to believe that it is all happenstance, or happened irrationally by accident...
Robert Heller considers fundamental questions.
'How could God get a needle to come out of her foot by people praying?
As a child Shirley Henwood found herself asking a profound theological question.
Wendy Ogbbourne muses upon the strangest things in the universe.
John Turner tells of tenants who worked on Millionaires' Row.
...My paternal forebear, known to all generations of her family as 'Mama', was the very essence of a lady. Despite the family falling on hard times during the Great Depression of the late Twenties and early Thirties, she maintained the same elegance of manner which was always so much part of her...
Val Jones delves into family history.
Robin Hillard tells a tale of a murder mystery which was quickly solved.
...He cast his mind back luxuriously, over the myriads of pikelets, sponge sandwiches, fruit cakes, nut loaves, gingerbreads, fruit flans, meringues, upside-down cakes, lamingtons, even pumpkin scones that had passed his lips. Not for him the 'taste and spit' method employed by wine tasters. He insisted on a large slice, to truly relish the delicious textures and flavours, and sometimes even a second slice...
But Peregrine Nightingale has just heard the worst possible news.
Wendy Ogbourne tells a tyasy tale.
Is Peregrine Nightingale for ever going to be a henpecked husband? Colleen McMillan tells a surprising tale.
Continue reading "Peregrine Nightingale Brushed A Crumb From His Tie" »
...Grace Bussell sat on her horse at the top of a great sand dune looking down at the scene below her. A steamship lay wedged at an impossible angle in the surf. The deck was lined with people unable to get to safety as a violent sea tried to destroy the vessel...
Paula Wilson tells the dramatic story of Grace's never-to-be-forgotten rescue efforts.
...And so began one of the most unpleasant spells he had experienced in his 35 years in the organisation. Being hounded by Amanda was bad enough, but now being hounded by Mr Wonderful too was more than he could suffer—and working all day without a break!...
But Peregriune the hard-working Muffin Man is about to wreak a most satisfying revenge on the two people who are making his life miserable, as Les Yemm's tale reveals.
...One day, to my total embarrassment, Mrs Batchelor said to me, 'I'm letting you go at the end of the day. Pick up your wages at the wages office. You're not fast enough at doing the job.' I stared at her flabbergasted...
Shirley Henwood recalls the day she she was fired from her first job.
Wendy Ogbourne considers the "demotion'' of Pluto.
...I like to imagine the sky and the lake are knitted together in the horizon by the dark green scalloped seam of the Toronto islands, creating a background for a vast watery stage on which the theatre of life is acted out...
As Lytrice Adams admires her cityscape view she ponders on one of the possible challenges of aging.
...Nico's visits, on his monstrous motorbike, passed from andante-moderato through to FURIOSO-AGITATO as their relationship disintegrated.
Eventually raised voices, staircase-stomping, door banging, kerb-side arguments and accusations signalled the end of the affair. Suddenly F.C. yanked off her shoe and slashed her stiletto heel at the bike...
John Turner tells of a tenant he called Fur Coat - or FC for short.
When Val Jones lost her engagement ring on an Australian beach she discovered something much more precious.
Robin Hillard wrote this letter to his local newspaper, the Toowoomba Chronicle. Not surprisingly, the local council did not take up his suggestion.
...When Eliza Forlonge arrived in Australia in 1831 she came with a family, a flock of the finest wool sheep and an amazing story of adventure...
Paula Wilson tells of another fascinating settler in Australia.
...With the help of a swarm of interpreters in Trivanderum, we had agreed on a fare before commencing our expedition. Unexpectedly, our first port of call was the petrol station, where the driver pumped a few gallons of fuel into the tank. It was a new experience for me, although not one that I would cherish, or savour. He was evidently a man accustomed to living from hand to mouth, or so I gathered, when he stretched out his empty hand in my direction. This could only mean one thing: 'Give me some money to pay for the fuel!'...
Gehan Wijesinha brings an account of an Indian taxi journey.
...'Yes,' she said in softly accented English. 'It is a big case but there is always a kind gentleman like Tom to help me.'
Taking in at a glance Rani's lovely face and her huge kohl-accented eyes, Susan thought, I bet there is...
But is Rani all that she seems? Colleen McMillan tells a surprising tale.
Elaine Lutton tells of "serpentine friends''.
Shirley Henwood wonderfully recreates the thoughts and feelings of childhood.
...I now realize how much influence my mother had on my character. Whether it's her love of reading, her careful way of managing the family finances, her impeccable style of dressing, her unwavering sense of duty-I am very much her daughter. She will always be part of my life...
Lytrice Adams tells of a powerful mother-daughter bond.
Colleen Szabo writes movingly about the sad winding down of a great romance.
...Street parties to mark Victory in Europe Day, Victory in Japan Day, and Armistice Day were times of celebration and singing. The return from war of fathers, husband, sons and daughters brought more songs, not so much of victory or loss but to share the joy of being alive, home and safe at last. Then it was time to get on with life in post war austerity Britain, but the music didn’t stop...
Dermott Ryder celebrartes the ubiquity of "social'' song.
Robin Hillard tells of the disasterous day she took Scamp the dog on a shopping expidition.
...Dinesh, our driver, pulled over to the side of the road and nimbly hopped out. No sooner had I heard the boot pop open, I saw him jump down the embankment into the paddy field at a trot. He broke open the double barrelled shot gun and loaded the cartridges before his feet hit the raised levee separating the rice paddies...
Gehan Wijesinha tells of an "unofficial'' duck shoot in Sri Lanka.
Mary Clemons wants to be a survivor.
...'Just thought I'd call and say hello, Ma.' He was wary, his voice a little shrill around the edges.
'How did you get in?' Was his mother's greeting...
Colleen McMillan tells the sobering tale of a visit from an unwelcomed son.
...Joan would like to wear tracksuit pants but Doris won't let her. 'They look cheap, Joan,' she mutters disdainfully. 'The only thing for you is crimplene pants, like mine. Much more flattering.' So now their hair and their trousers match...
Joe Lee tells of two battling sister-in-laws.
Paul Newbury introduces us to two historic towns in Western Australia.
Shirley Henwood tells of being stuck in a lift.
Lytrice Adams tells a cautionary tale involving Trade winds and noisy kites.
Some tenants are so unwelcomed, as John Turner reveals.
...I watch them swim past and out of sight. Their sleek bodies, their closeness and the rhythm of their passing take my breath away, and I raise my head. My son is shouting, 'Did you see them? Did you?' I can't stop smiling and give him the thumbs up before plunging my head under again, struggling like a fish caught in a net to keep my body in position. A large dolphin effortlessly, sensuously glides past...
Glenice Whitting goes swimming with dolphins.
Paula Wilson tells of some of the women imprisoned in the 19th Century on Sarah Island off the west coast of Tasmania.
Joe Paris Lee tells a tale which illustrates the occasional cruelty of kindness.
...Mind you, the Hipster colours are a bit exotic, South Sea Island Aqua, and Golden Sunburst Splendour; so vivid I wondered if I had wandered into the wrong Department and bought ladies' knickers...
John Powell treats himself to some new underwear, spoling himself on his 82nd birthday.
...Now we are not allowed to trust the purity and quality of anything we buy, unless it is so securely sealed that you have to keep in the kitchen a whole range of tools needed to break the seals, at some risk of damage to hands if the tools should slip...
Ken Sillcock abhors the inordinatly safety-conscious society in which we live.
Continue reading "Grievance Day In Our Frightened Society" »
Shirley Henwood tells of the day adventurous Tammy came into her life.
...The old house - no longer a house, but an assortment of decaying boards, fallen windows, torn roofing and rotted floors. It has now taken on a dissolute character, attracting all kinds of vagrant low life: illegal kittens and marauding tom cats, snakes and lizards and the occasional mongoose. Rats and mice have staked out their claims and dare anyone to evict them...
Lytrice Adams tells of the cottage in which her grandmother used to live.
...For very little effort, a person could create important smells that traveled all over the house. I knew that I was doing well when my mother came down to the basement to complain about the smells wafting upstairs...
Colin Fisher recalls the boyhood joy he had experimenting with the toy experimental sets manufactured by the A C Gilbert Company.
...Gilbert is the black sheep of the family and baa's his way blissfully to contented sleep each night, happy with his lot. His main crime as far as the family is concerned is that he hopped from job to job, depending on where he could make the most money and whether the job seemed interesting enough...
Les Yemm introduces us to his wickedly funny uncle.
...I took the wrong path!
Now here I was high above the beach looking down at a group of horrified onlookers, including my mother, and screaming as loud as I could...
Violet Apted recalls the day when, as a seven year old, she made the news by being rescued from a cliff face.
Colleen McMillan tells with huge delight of her astonishing, tale-telling Uncle Gilbert.
...Webster's says INVISIBLE means not perceptible by the eye. I say INVISIBLE is a woman with white hair in a computer store at lunch time...
Ellen Fisher eventually secured an ally when she went to the store for advice.
...suddenly I can’t hear properly, and the air shimmers in green waves in front of me. I wonder what is happening. Am I going to die?...
Shirley Henwood tells of childhood days of self-doubt and uncertainty.
...Robin approached the Western Australian Department of Health for permission to carry out a vaccination program in the North and North West of the state. Permission granted, she borrowed money and bought a Cessna 182. On 22 May 1967 she boarded her plane and headed out alone to the remote areas of the state to hand out her sugar cubes...
Paula Wilson tells the astonishing and inspirational story of flying nurse Robin Wilson.
Peggy Mitchell tells of the Thailand of 40 years ago.
Dorothy Moffitt makes an informed and profound recommendation for future food production in Australia.
Ken Sillcock puts in a plea for the wedge-tailed eagle and the dingo.
Continue reading " Should Have Saved Our Native Predators" »
Gehan Wijesinha tells of climbing the lion rock in Sri Lanka.
...Meanwhile life in the classroom was a daily battle to stimulate and educate, or at least keep 40 larky lads occupied for the remaining weeks of their schooling before those not gaining apprenticeships were condemned to the local brickyard...
John Turner recalls his early days as a teacher.
There should have been shoes in the brown paper bag but Robin Hillard found that it contained a wad of money.
This story by Mary Clemons tells of acute terror in a storm.
Mary writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Above her cot on the card was written, Baby Henwood, Mid Forceps Delivery...
Shirley Henwood tells of exhaustion and joy.
...As the fighting at the stockade ended a trooper tore down the Southern Cross flag and trampled it into the blood stained dirt, fragments of the flag were ripped off leaving it in tatters...
Paula Wilson tells of the three women who made the flag around which more than 8,000 miners rallied in the Ballarat goldfields of Victoria, Australia, in 1854 to protest against injustice.
Peggy Mitchell tells of Smokey, a cat with a devil-may-care attitude.
...Don’t get me wrong. I am not against giving to charity. I think we all have to give in whatever way we can. But I would like to make that decision myself without being hounded into it...
Lytrice Adams is tired of the constant appeals on her charitable nature.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Stepping up to the counter with my passport, I noticed that he did not wear a watch confirming my belief that being mindful of the time was not particularly harmonious with tropical living...
Gehan Wijesinha tells of arriving in Sri Lanka on a hot steamy night.
Ellen Fisher recalls her father's life as a farmer and his relief at leaving the land.
Colleen McMillan observes the behaviour of widows in church.
Colin Fisher sings he praises of domestic cats.
...Hourly they listened to the weather reports, noting where new outbreaks had started, and anxiously scanning the sky for tell-tale signs of smoke. He could smell the smoke in the air, long before it became visible. For days, the wind fluctuated, unpredictable, fire crews cut breaks and tried to establish containment lines, but suddenly, it was all to no avail. The fire had jumped the main road and could now be seen creeping down the hill opposite the township...
Wendy Ogbourne tells of a man who fought to save his home as an Australian bushfire came raging towards him.
...When the ship was wallowing, somebody said the stabilisers had not been turned on, and we accepted this explanation. That night my head slid, bump, into the wall at the top of the bunk; and next I was sliding down to have my feet bang the bottom of the bunk...
Shirley Henwood and her family rode out the aftermath of a cyclone.
...When the ship was wallowing, somebody said the stabilisers had not been turned on, and we accepted this explanation. That night my head slid, bump, into the wall at the top of the bunk; and next I was sliding down to have my feet bang the bottom of the bunk...
Shirley Henwood and her family rode out the aftermath of a cyclone.
...Legend has it Mary Ann swam across the shark-infested waters to the island carrying a file. Ward used the file to break his chains and they swam back to Balmain. Mary Ann hid him and a fellow escapee in a disused boiler until the search died down...
Paula Wilson tells of the life of female bushranger Mary Ann Bugg, who went marauding with Captain Thunderbolt.
Peggy Mitchell recalls a Christmas spent in Yokohama 40 years ago.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
"China strikes me as a country of contradictions,'' says Lytrice Adams.
Gehan Wijesinha presents a snapshot in words of the vibrant city of Hong Kong.
Shirley Henwood says that from the beginning of time, men have had sheds to escape to.
Rodney Gascoyne rides the scenic rail route in North-Western Canada.
...The proprietor greeted us in a friendly, if not astounded manner. To our enquiry as to whether there were any other campers booked in, he answered bluntly: 'Nobody else is that crazy!'...
Peter King recalls a stormy Christmas under canvas in the Lake District.
Paula Wilson tells the inspiring story of Mother Mary Berchmans Daly, the ninth child of an Irish blacksmith, who made a huge success of her life in Australia.
Peggy Mitchell tells of the day there was an almighty explosion in her Bangkok kitchen.
Robert Heller wrote this article expressing his delight in the Christmas season,and its real significance, three years ago. It is just as relevant in 2009 as it was then.
...Around the turn of this century, a small inn, named the Auberge de Saint-Michel Tête d'Or flourished at the foot of the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. The owners were a Normand couple named Poulard, and over the years, the little inn established a reputation based upon the wife's masterful omelette-making technique...
Poppy Fogarty telles of a delicious omlette - and how to make it.
Ken Sillcock offers some sensible words on the subject of food.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...If I had stuck with Anne, would she and I still be together? What of all the women I have loved since then? Their influences have helped forge the man I am today. If Anne had been my last and enduring love, I would not be the person I now am. Would I like myself more or less?...
Peter Lingard endevours to recall some of the loves of his life.
Peter writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Until you have been to a Cat Show, you have no idea how many dozens of breeds there are, and how obsessed their owners can be with them. Doting mothers entering their small daughters in a modelling contest could not be more competitive and, well, 'catty'...
Wendy Ogbourne reveals secrets of the feline show world.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Keith Ford remembers with affection his first car, a Fiat 500.
Keith writes for Bonzer magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Mother came home from caring for her mother and bought herself a Holden utility, and obtained her licence again at age 53. She had many adventures with this on gravel roads. One time, she turned the vehicle over and was found by a local minister calmly sitting on the side of the road drinking tea from a thermos...
Dorothy Moffitt recalls driving days.
Dorothy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...My favourite is a girl who makes me laugh. She tells me things about the story. She says, 'We have fun, don't we?' And we do...
Shirley Henwood tells of the pleasure of going as a volunteer into a school to help young children improve their reading ability.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of three Australian sisters who between 1926 and 1933 co-wrote, directed, starred in and handled the behind the scene workings that were required to produce movies.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Mitchell is invited by 'Bottler of the Year', Mrs Yomiura, to a celebration at the most expensive Geisha house in Tokyo. Mrs Yomiura is determined to teach the dominant males a lesson.
Peggy writes or Bonzer! magazinw. please visit www.bonzer.org.au
To read the first part of this story please visit http://www.openwriting.com/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=peggy+mitchell
"When I came to Canada as a young woman, I discovered the glorious reality of autumn,'' writes Lytrice Adams.
Lytrice contributers to Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...As a practicing Buddhist, it is my duty to work out my own salvation with diligence, while allowing all other people to do the same. In this way whatever refinement of the Buddhist path I achieve will stand as testament to others of the worth of the endeavour...
Terry O'Connor points the way to a path which could lead to a better world.
Terry writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Each life is like a rose, says Rose Perry.
Rose writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Should a man going grey dye his hair? Peter Lingard proves a point.
Peter writes for Bonzer magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
The person hiring the dinghy helped us in, and my father took the oars and started off. He'd only rowed about four strokes, when because of the waves washing onto the shore, the boat turned sideways and over, and tipped us all into the sea. Boy! What pandemonium!
Shirley Henwood, with a belated smile, tells of a holiday misadventure.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...We wrote everything in ink in those days before the Biro, when pencils were thought not good enough. We ordered nib-holders and nibs, plus other stationery, from the school office, as well as Quink ink, but if you were lucky, you owned a fountain pen that would save you from dipping into the inkbottle every few words...
Rodney Gascoyne recalls his days at a 1950s boarding school.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson presents a brief biography of May Wirth, a circus artiste who was the best bare back rider in the world.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Mitchell tells of the night when she was a guest of honour in the usually male preserve of a Japanese geisha house.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Throughout the ages, women have been socialized to focus their lives on nurturing others. To the extent of undervaluing their own growth, their own independence. But with the loss of the extended family, many women are finding themselves alone as they age...
Lytrice Adams writes encouragingly about dealing with a universal problem.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Picture if you will, a large round table, around which are grouped a dozen chairs. Each place has its glass, knives and forks, and a simple plate on which sits a folded serviette. A carafe of vin de table and a bottle of eau du robinet is in the middle of the table, and on the side are some long, crisp baguettes...
As you must already have guessed Poppy Fogarty is a "foody''.
Poppy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I’m sitting at the computer, eyes glued to the screen, fingers hovering over the keys. The message reads 'You are the highest bidder.' My hands are sweating and my heart racing, as I wonder whether to increase my bid or if someone else will come in at the last minute and gazump me. I imagine other bidders sitting at their computers just like me, trying to work out their best strategy...
Wendy Ogbourne tells of her addiction to eBay.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
"My welcome to Australia consisted of being sprayed with decontamination spray.''
Derek Smith recalls arriving in Australia at the age of 17.
Derek writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Joe Lee, an Aussie living in New Zealand, tells of an astonishing one-year-old and a ket.
Joe writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Derek Smith remembers with happiness and sadness those who figured in his younger years.
Derek writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer,org.au
...The curator had noticed our emotional reaction and came over to us. We related our story to him and he seemed to be looking at me rather intensely.
'What number did you live in? ' He asked.
'Number three.' I replied.
I was not prepared for what happened next...''
Violet Hall tells of an amazing counter in a war museum.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "Of All The Joints In All The World, You Walked Into Mine" »
...It’s certainly not an original observation that we don’t appreciate our parents until they’re not around any more. When we’re young, we’re much too busy with our own affairs to think too much about them as individuals. It’s only as we become the older generation ourselves, that we can begin to understand the lives they led or the difficulties they overcame...
Nick Ogbourne tells of his hard-working father.
Nick writes for Bonzer! magazine, Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted recalls one of the saddest days of her life.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...My dad from time to time suffered from unexpected sneezing fits for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, during dinner, he sneezed! Being a big man it was not just a little short sneeze, but a huge resounding sneeze that stopped everyone in their tracks!...
And that was the start of quite a performance, as Anne Mayne reveals.
Anne writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Derek Smith tells of his grandfather who worked on the railways in India - a man presumed by his family to have died.
Derek writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Some of the school staff were caring and interested in helping the boys, but generally we were expected to cope on our own....
Rodney Gascoyne recalls his days at a Kentish boarding school in the 1950s.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson introduces us to Molly Morgan, a lively lass who was twice transported from 18th Century England to Australia.
Paula writes for Bonze! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Mitchell tells of a visit to an active volano.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
I think that I shall never see
Waste paper lovely as a tree.
But if our current waste don't fall,
We may not see a tree at all.
Valerie Yule suggests a number of simple planet-saving ideas.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
"With all of the knowledge man has acquired it seems we are still at the lower end of the wisdom scale,'' declares Robert Heller.
Robert writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Poppy Fogarty visits St. Remy de Provence, a town of artists.
Poppy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Michael Hart tells the spooky tale of two mugs whcih disappeared, then reappeared.
Michael writes for Bonzer! magazine, Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Andrea Roberts suggests that when two people are planning a holiday serious questions should first be asked or disaster may ensue.
Andrea writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I squirm, pull and tug, trying to get my body encased neck to ankle in rubber. It's worse than a full body corset and I breathe in as I pull the zipper to beneath my chin...
Glenice Whitting dons a wetsuit to see life beneath the waves.
Glenice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Sometimes her hair hung free and loose, flowing over her shoulders, sometimes it was gathered back and held by a comb clip at the back of her head, sometimes two plaited braids swept back from her forehead and held it back from her face. What a face!...
Les Yemm tells of a man obsessed.
Les writes for Bonzer magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...visions of my child limping with pain along that long inhospitable course riddled my dreams the preceding night. I wisely kept my fears to myself...
Lytrice Adams began to suffer when her daughter announced that she was going to run the Montreal marathon.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Colleen McMillan tells a delicious tale of a mistake made by a proud new dad.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of Ausgtralian female nurses who sailed to South Africa to tend the wounded and ill during the Boer War.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule give some money and planet-saving tips.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Diamonds are the result of age and pressure. And we learn through our life experiences over the years. We can put the pieces of the puzzle together and see how they worked to land us in whatever pickle we find ourselves today. Or in whatever Shangri-la...
Lytrice Adams delights in the positive side of growing older.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini deplores modern manners - or rather the lack of them.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wendy Ogbourne mourns the loss of a beautiful lake in Tasmania.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Sandi Maroney tells of a life ruled by the phone.
Sandi writes For Bonzer! magazine. Olease visit www.bonzer.org.au
Colleen McMillan tells of a creepy incident experienced by her granddaughter.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...The cicadas of Yokohama were unlike any I had heard in Australia. They seemed to produce definite tunes and sounds ranging from 'keck-keck-keck' to a 'clicka-clicka' sounds.
Peggy Mitchell caused giggles while recording the sounds of cicadas in Japan.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Nothing sits collecting dust and guilt in the too hard basket in this house. I've taken the phrase the 'too hard basket' and made it into a physical reality, but removing the 'too'...
Andrea Roberts tells how she deals with the tasks that are so easily left undone.
Andrea writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of film star Claire Adams, who fell in love at first sight then set up home in Australia.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini muses on the nature of faith.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Poppy Fogarty is entranced by the "pigeon houses'' dotted through the Midi-Pyrenees region of France.
Poppy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Police who caught Aborigines spearing cattle put them in chains and sent them to Derby hundreds of kilometres away on foot. The torture of the chains around their necks in searing heat must have been unbearable. Many of these were sent by boat to Rottnest Island near Perth where few survived the cold or saw their country again....
Paul Newbury tells of Aboriginal resistence to European invaders.
Paul writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Sandi Maroney tells of a man who planned his funeral.
Sandi writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
....Harry Jensen's attempt at self-sufficiency began in April. He walked into the forest with a hunting knife and a digging stick and a crossbow set he'd bought at a Hobart gun shop....
But could Harry survive in the bush? This story by Michael Grounds reveals what happened to a man who tried to be at one with nature.
Michael writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Lytrice Adams tells the story of two sisters - and the relentless effects of passing years.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Derek Smith tells of the Significant Sixties.
Derek writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Mary Clemons tells of neighborliness when hurricanes come blasting into Florida.
Mary writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on www.bonzer.org.au
...We loved going to the zoo. Joy, my sister liked the monkeys best. I liked the cockatoos because they talked to us. There was one sulphur crested cockatoo, who always said, 'Hello darling, hello darling, give us a kiss. Cocky want a cup of tea? Dance cocky, dance.' If we bobbed up and down he would dance with us. Or if we made kissing noises he would too. He was always there when we visited. I thought he knew us...
But there came a day when Shirley Henwood decided that she did not like monkeys.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of Charlotte Badger and Catherine Hagerty, Australia's first female pirates.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I stopped running when I was 34 and began to meander through my life, one moment at a time, trying to appreciate each step that I take, making each one significant...
Anna Mancini brings sound suggestions on how to lead a happy life.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. www.bonzer.org.au
Paul Newbury visits Boodjamulla National Park, a place of tranquil waters and the land of the Waanyi people in North Queensland.
Paul writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Why would parents name a beautiful baby girl Apple? Does this name age with the child? How does a girl named Bambi or Honey mature with self-respect?...
Sandra Maroney discusses the naming of children.
Sandra writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Now I think that hyperthyroidism was the best gift that life could offer me...
Connie Herawati Lilie tells of horrible days.
Connie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on www.bonzer.org.au
...Grief can only follow its own path and take its own time. The paths are many and the time varies considerably...
Grieving is a lesson most of us learn as we journey the pathway of life, says Violet Apted.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gehan Wijesinha feels the pain as he tries to get fit.
Gehan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wendy Ogbourne tells of the roller-coaster emotions of those who write to be read.
Wendy's words appear in Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...When we came to New Zealand, I was fourteen. I was always falling in love with somebody. Or I imagined I was. My life existed mostly in my dreams and daydreams, which was a failing of mine, or so I was always told. Most of these dreams were unrealistic I can see now, but at the time I suppose they kept me sane in a strange country where I didn't fit in, and wanted to go home...
Shirley Henwood tells how she took one look - and fell in live.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted tells of a nightmare journey.
...She walked towards me, seemingly oblivious to my presence. Her hands were gripped together in front of her. She gave the impression of wringing them together in anguish, but there was no discernible movement...
Shirley Henwood tells of a hauntingly unforgettable encounter.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule suggests that to save the planet's water we really do need to rethink how we wash out clothes.
...We all carry the history of our people within us, as sure as we carry our ancestral DNA...
Alma Iris Ramirez tells of displaced people and a dying river.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini considers the mad month which ends today.
The naming of geographic features has a deep, deep significance, as Paul Newbury reveals.
Paul writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Betty Collins finds herself bemused by the world and its ways.
Sandra Maroney recalls an idyllic fishing trip of many years ago.
...'What's it like to be really old like you Poppy?'
'What do mean really old?' He pushed the laughing boy...
Derek Smith tells a touching story of age and youth.
Derek writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
The Northern Lights color this vengeful story by Mary Clemons.
Mary writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on www.bonzer.org.au
Unless Colleen McMillan's grown-up daughter reads Open Writing, she will never know what became of her pet bird.
Alma Iris Ramirez honours the Crone as a symbol that women still have a life to lead as they grow older.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I understood the concept of transferred affections and how what matters is who actually raises you. There will always be the biological, DNA vibrating connection to one's birth parents, but our hearts, minds and souls seem to be perfectly adaptable to becoming bonded with those who take the time to feed and nurture us...
Anna Mancini writes movingly on the subject of adoption.
Anna writes contributes to Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...An article describing the scene when Thorntown's town lots were auctioned off in 1830, mentions that a rattlesnake bit someone's horse, tied out to a sapling. It wasn't much of a horse, but still a pioneer could hardly afford to lose him....
Jerry Selby delves into local history.
...Women were, and still are, I've noticed, expected to be able to sew by instinct. Ladies were always expected to be able to 'sew a fine seam'; and girls who had nothing whatever to do, and no other talents or accomplishments like singing or playing the harpsichord, were expected to sew 'samplers' at the very least..
Betty Collins muses on the art of sewing.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...It is contemporary Politics that have been the last straw: I cannot make head or tail or of what is going on in the world...
Betty Collins expresses the views of millions of sane, sensible and bemused citizens.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rosemary Davison recalls the day she set out to buy lamb's fry.
Rosemary writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Women were, and still are, I've noticed, expected to be able to sew by instinct. Ladies were always expected to be able to 'sew a fine seam'; and girls who had nothing whatever to do, and no other talents or accomplishments like singing or playing the harpsichord, were expected to sew 'samplers' at the very least..
Betty Collins muses on the art of sewing.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Connie Herawati Lilie is attached to Indonesia. despite violence against those of her relgion and racial background.
Connie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
There is a disadvantage to using a digital camera, as Lytrice Hood reveals.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gehan Wijesinha tells of an air drama.
Gehan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Jerry Selby juggles with a few long word.
Jerry wrote for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
There’s a chance of revival when you enrol in a University of the Third Age course, as Maureen Foreman's poem reveals.
... I begin to wonder how I will ever find bus number two seven nine...
Glenice Whitting gets lost on a Jerusalem tour.
Glenice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wendy Ogbourne tells the wierd tale of an accident foretold.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...One could imagine that only good decisions could come from a government working in such beautiful surroundings...
Shirley Henwood visits Canbera.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer,org.au
Rodney Gascoyne tells of life aboard a Union-Castle passenger liner.
Paula Wilson tells of Australia's first film star.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule gives a guide to life's pleasures.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
"The male church hierarchy secluded itself from the lives of ordinary women, but in our community we celebrated motherhood.'' recalls Alma Iris Ramirez.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini tells a supernatural tale filled with true love.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ans Redelaar-Seinen brings a disturbing account of old age.
Ans writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
When Lytrice Adams returned to Grenada for Christmas she did not find what she was expecting.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rosemary Davison tells how Sebastian and his sister Melpomene changed her life.
Rosemary writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ros Schulz takes a hard, clear look at Christmas.
Ross writes for Bonzer magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Jerry Selby tells a wonderful, heart-warming tale of Christmas in the Army.
So where is home? Shirley Henwood tells an ex-pats tale.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rodney Gascoyne recalls joining the crew of the liner Stirling Castle.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule explains how to have a waste-free Christmas.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...One morning as I walked towards a bus stand, a small group of barefoot tribal women snaked their way through the narrow Kathmandu streets, heading in the opposite direction...
Alma Iris Ramirez tells of Nepalese festivals.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...What an interesting experience, this volume business. We are designed with two ears to hear and process sound. You would think that we would have evolved into having automatic volume control to go with the ever increasing blasts of sound coming at us from every aspect of life, but especially from young people....
But Anna Mancini cautions that we should not stereotype the young.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Jerry Selby delights in the month of November.
Australian Ken Sillcock, a man in his nineties, suggests economic reform.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Betty Collins tells of ladies who devote their lives to cats.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Musician Faye Harkness and her husband Blair collected a sackful of interesting experiences when they went on tour to find out what Australia was all about.
Faye writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "The Exploits And Adventures Of A Travelling Musician" »
Nick Ogbourne belives that dads should take a full share in their children's school days.
Nick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
There was a surprising reward for Good Samaritan Yvonne Becker.
Yvonne writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Colleen McMillan tells of a talkative cruise "companion''.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Kath Mounsey's story reveals the satisfactory result of a smile during a train journey.
Kath writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
So what was it that brought all those men to a stanstill?
Shirley Henwood tells a tale that ends with a chuckle.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rodney Gascoyne recalls the days when great passenger liners criss-crossed the oceans.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Betty Collins tells of the cats in her life.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...A most amazing thing greeted me in the backyard. The tall old man was standing in the middle of the garden with bomb craters all around him, each no more than ten feet apart, clearly they were targeting him as a moving object, without success, although the garden shed had disappeared altogether. The old beggar refused to come inside. According to him his day had not yet come to die and he did not fancy to be buried before being dead. Cellars had been hit in the past he said. He was right about that. He did survive the war and died of old age living past his 100th year...
Hennie van Dyk recalls the day during World War Two when he went to visit his grandparents while shells were exploding.
Hennie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Although we were complete opposites, Marcie and I became best friends and were still best friends when we moved on to Kirkton High. That was when I first realised that Marcie was stealing my dreams...
Marion McKeen tells a delicious tale of a dream too far.
Marion writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...We went inside, and our eyes bulged. The stark, modern beauty of the décor overawed us all. While the houses I had always accepted as part of my life had been mostly dull, fawn colours inside, this house almost shouted, ’Look at me, let me blind you with my colours.'...
Shirley Henwood casts her thoughts back more than 50 years to recall her first home in New Zealand.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells the sad story of Sydney-born artist Adelaide Ironside.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...The mice ate shoes, popped out of drawers, into pockets, vases, chairs, bicycle seats, lollies and soft toys. They showed utter disdain and contempt for the series of useless cats that we brought in one after another. They were not easy to catch with butterfly nets and dishcloths. They would not be chased out of doors...
Betty Collins is determined to take a stand against the tiny colonisers.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Shirley Henwood recalls the day she rebelled in class.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of Ada Jemima Crossley, an internationally-famed contralto singer.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I think sometimes we forget where we have been and where we are going. We tend to take the negative of our current lifetime and paint it with a wide brush that says, 'We've never been so destructive, lost, mean, ruthless, selfish and arrogant.' Yes we have, we just didn’t have TV and mass media to bring 100% of the entire earth's issues into our personal space. We used to only have to deal with our own small circle of life. Now we are asked to be responsible for 100% of life on a very large planet in a very large universe. That's a lot...
Anna Mancini is determined not to add to the world's problems.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www,bonzer.org.au
...So it was 'sorry' for this, and 'sorry' for that without ever stopping to consider the meaning of the word. And then we continue on our merry way, conning, browbeating, walking over, lying, saving face, all justified and sanitized by that little word 'sorry.' ...
Lytrice Adams is no friend of that oft-used five-letter word.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ken Sillcock casts a cold eye on our wasteful ways.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
There's a bundle of memories tied up in a coat called The Jilly, as Shirley Henwood reveals.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
There are advantages and disadvantages to living in the Australian bush, as Mal Lewis reports.
Mal writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ken Silcock thinks we may be educating young children too soon, and too quickly.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
James Cumes tells of the day a pudding bowl went astray while the Prime Minister was chatting to the Ambassador.
James writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/bonzer_words/
Glenice Whitting joins a writing course and finds she has embarked on a voyage of self discovery.
Glenice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Everyone got dressed-up for the funeral. The men wore black suits if they had one, but the women and girls always turned out in their best finery—white, or black, or a mix of black and white, or the occasional mauve dress, with shoes and hats to match...
Lytrice Adams tells of funerals as they used to be in Grenada, and funerals as they are now.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www,bonzer.org.au
Carla Sari tells of the excitement of one young lady on the day that Dino the mattress maker came to call.
Carla writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Was that drumming which disturbed Sarojini Seeneevassen in the middle of the night?
Sarojini, who was born in Mauritius, writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Some good turns can last for years and years, as Colleen McMillan's story indicates.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Goldie Alexander questions the reliability of memories.
Goldie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Blakeley recalls her teaching days in the city of Nottingham during World War Two.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...During one of these raids we noticed a cyclist going past and one second later seeing him fall flat on his face spread out like an eagle. What had happened was that a sliver of white-hot metal had sliced through the frame of the bike in at least two places severing the bike in several pieces. The man was lucky that it was the bike and not him that copped the shrapnel...
Hennie van Dyk tells of life in war-torn Holland.
Hennie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Alma Iris Ramirez tells of bears' claws and a fallen eagle.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw -
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there! - T S Eliot
"No one knows where McCavity hangs out,'' says Betty Collins "but I have an idea it may be down in the City with many Secrets, Adelaide, down at Westbeach.''
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ken Sillcock, musing on the world he knew ninety years ago, says "The human animal has come a long way since in technical knowledge and skills, but it has lost its former tribal common sense. Those people might have worked long hours when there was need, but if they finished the job early the rest of the day was theirs.''
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...In the dam nearby my home lived a platypus or two. How I loved to watch from the wooden bridge, their antics in the water. I remember the first time I spotted one. I was swimming, or trying to, with the aid of a tyre tube but rushed frantically from the water screaming, 'snake, snake'. My brother laughed saying it was a platypus but I needed Dad to confirm it before I would re-enter the water...
Jan Rodman tells of watery disturbances and delights.
Jan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Yvonne Becker recalls the sights, smells and sounds of a hot-springs holiday in South Africa.
Yvonne writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Although the twins didn't say where they came from, they told Mother they worked in the textile factory and lived in one of their boss's flats. Every evening, they strolled down the main street, tossing their long hair, indifferent to the men's bold stares. 'Here they come,' people whispered...
The twins are secretaries, but informed gossip says they are providing other services.
Carla Sari tells of lingerie and intrigue.
Carla writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Hennie van Dyk, recalling the German occupation of his native Holland during the war years, tells of his father's role as a resistence leader.
Hennie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Blakeley recalls her wartime college days.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gehan Wijesinha visits the ruins of a Mayan city in Mexico.
Gehan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Alma Iris Ramirez tells of Buddhist ceremonies.
Alma writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
He's there, in her face. She waves him away, but he cpomes back again. Can he survive?
Colleen McMillan tells of a pesterer.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Lytrice Adams tells of becoming a "prisoner'' during a holiday in Egypt.
Lytrice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rely on Gormitt Pottage to tickle - or should that be stun? - the taste buds
Continue reading "Stir-Fry Meatloaf Casserole Stew With Things" »
Paula Wilson tells of of the horrors which women convicts had to endure after being shipped out to Australia in the 19th Century.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule says a garden does not just involve sight, smell and touch. It is also filled with the music of nature.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...For most people, moving house is a traumatic experience. It was, for us, too. But pleasure came afterwards with the waking of the senses to all things new...
Edel Wignell tells of the trauma we all dread - and its happy aftermath.
Edel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Belinda Broughton's poem comes shimmering from the heat of Australia.
Belinda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...For no valid reason, those born in the latter half of last century formed the habit of breaking the speed limit of eight syllables a second, beyond which words become blurred and merge into one another. In the worst cases, they flow on monotonously in complete disregard of punctuation. Now their children have also copied the habit...
Ken Silcock reminds those fast talkers that the purpose of speech is to make oneself understood.
Ken, who is 97, writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gehan Wijesinha tells of a visit to a Turkish bath house.
Gehan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...'I haven't told my mother about us,' he said.
'What?' I just stared at him in amazement. We'd been going out at least twice a week for ages, well months anyway, and he hadn't even mentioned me? I could see there was some big problem here, and I wasn't sure I was up to facing it...
Was there something wrong with his mother? Shirley Hendwood begins an intriguing story.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rodney Gacoyne tells of summer fun on the canals of London.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule tells of the healing and comforting properties of flowers.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I don't think there is any way you can disguise that you have children in the house. Apart from the 'tram-lines' on the once highly-polished coffee table, and the crayon drawings all over the walls, the water pouring under the bathroom door is a sure sign that the boys are playing boats..
Bernard Heller tells pf the "joys'' of bringing up children,
Bernard writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Elaine Lutton takes the family to see a film while grandfather snoozes.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
A country lad has riches beyond gold and silver, as Jan Rodman's poem reveals.
Jan contributes to Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Lytrice Adams writes vividly of being an immigrant in a strange land.
Lyrtice's words appear in Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I hear there was a man who, when he read that smoking causes cancer, gave up reading. I have every sympathy with him, though I could never give up reading, even if it were proven to shorten my life...
Wendy Ogbourne suggests that we should forget our worries and enjoy our lives.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Sharyn Munro and her sisters make a very speical place for their father.
Sharyn writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of an Australian nurse who tended severly wounded young men during the First World War.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wendy Ogbourne tells of moving from suburbia to live in a small country town.
Wendy writes for Bonser! Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I conclude that every constructive and honest belief system has a 'placebo effect'. If you sincerely believe that some superior intelligence can guide you, it will, whether you call it God, Allah, Jehovah, or whatever, in conjunction with the effort of your own powers of thought and known principles of living...
Ken Sillcock brings us the wisdom of his 90 years.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer,org.au
Elaine Lutton and her husband Don have things in their garden which could cause a world-wide shudder....
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Jan Rodman recalls a vist, when still a child, to her grandparents.
Jan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted tells of a mysterious healing fog.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gehan Wijesinha tells of a misfortunate journey down the Nile.
Gehan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
"My mother collected strays, most of them cats, as well as people...'' - and Shirley Henwood reveals that she now takes after her mother.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
This column by Michael Grounds and Elizabeth Sinclair tells of the delight of making music imperfectly with other people. It's more fun and better for the soul than hearing it performed perfectly by someone else.
Michael and Elizabeth write for Bonzer! magazine www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini offers sound advice on how to live a happy life.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Edel Wignell retells a Russian folk tale.
Edel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ken Sillcock says it is possible for the whole of the human race to become one caring and sharing tribe.
"We have been hindered from achieving this desirable state by our Great Mistake: our failure to distinguish between wealth and money.''
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Elaine Lutton tells of a garden "miracle''.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I can still see John hurrying through the classroom door with uncombed hair, shirt hanging out and a smile that would melt anyone's heart...
Jan Rodman meets one of her former students.
Jan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Blakeley tells of being compelled to leave the farm where she grew up in a beautiful part of west Lancashire.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Paula Wilson tells of Gustav and Kate Weindorfer, whose hearts were stolen by Cradle Mountain, one of Tasmania's top tourist destinations.
Paula writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule points out that suburban gardens can harm the natural world.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine, Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Though the first time I flushed my toilet it made me jump. It is a moment I will remember, as it made me realize just how quiet my world had become...
Violet Apted tells how she determined not to be a victim of deafness.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "None So Deaf As Those Who Will Not Hear" »
...The cuckoo called and when in season there were mushrooms for the picking. The soaring song of the lark was ever with us and swallows and swifts glided and swooped; Willy Wagtails perched on the barn roof and thrushes and blackbirds nested in the orchard, whilst snowdrops, violets, wild roses and 'conkers' helped to define the seasons....
Peggy Blakeley tells of an idyllic childhood.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Elaine Lutton tells of holiday life on Bribie Island, off Queensland, Australia.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...When will humanity learn that a Caring Society, in which people ask, 'What can I do to help?' can accomplish so much more than one in which the motive is, 'You must compete, and make your economy grow faster than that of your rivals'?...
Ken Silcock presents wise words.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Edel Wignell retells a Japanese folk tale.
Edel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Shirley Henwood finds the charming young gentlemen backward in coming forward.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule tells of "treasures'' to be found in a garden dig.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Anna Mancini has come forward to offer help and instruction to today's harrassed drivers.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "Road Construction Driving Correspendence School" »
Jan Rodman tells of a day at the races, and a moment when resolve was lost.
Jan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Peggy Blakeley tells of an unfortunate "addition'' to a school nativity play.
Peggy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Colleen McMillan tells a tale of gratitude in the aftermath of Christmas.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Rodney Gascoyne recalls his days at sea with the Union-Castle line.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Whenever we heard our mother singing, 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' we knew there was trouble...
Shirley Henwood tells of dreams which never came true.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I asked her if anything was the matter. 'Yes,' she whispered. 'My panties are sliding down.'..
Gerda Aaberg tells of one of life's most embarrassing moments.
Gerda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Glenice Whitting tells a flavourful Christmas tale.
Glenice writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Listen to peaceful music, read poetry, watch birds and wild animals, play the piano or your favorite instrument, write notes to people you love and care about just to say hello, appreciate the sun, moon and stars, wonder at the glory of a flower, watch fish swim, paint a picture, write a song, read a book, talk to your neighbors and loved ones often, volunteer in your community, do chores for the elderly, bring flowers to someone as a surprise—be joyful.
We are magnificent creatures, we human beings, capable of incredible things, deep love, great laughter and high vibrating souls of peace and joy...
Anna Mancini brings encouraging advice for sombre times.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...These were the days when kids made their own fun. I remember riding my horse to school and then organising races against a friend's horse around the football ground next to the school. He had bragged that his was the faster of the two, I not letting on that mine was an ex race-horse, I took little wagers (3d & 6d) on the race and financially came out in front....
Jan Rodman recalls school days in rural Tasmania.
Jan writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Half-truths do not add up. Two half-truths don't make a whole truth. That is their great attraction for the dishonest. You cannot pin them down, as they are much more slippery than lies, damned lies and statistics...
Ken Silcock muses on statements which hide as much as they reveal.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...It was 24th June 1952 and I had just disembarked at Station Pier in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I took a taxi into Melbourne and as we crossed Princes Bridge, which spans the River Yarra and leads in to the city of Melbourne, the taxi driver retorted 'That's the River Yarra, the only upside-down river in the southern hemisphere—the mud's on top'. I've never forgotten it....
Bob Page recalls his early days.
Bob writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Oh but she was a golden beauty, as Samuel Fleck reveals.
Samuel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Suddenly, in the doorway, an apparition appeared. A shimmering-white, ghostly, naked figure, with long, black hair. My sister and I backed against the door, terrified...
Shirley Henwood tells of the last time she and her sister entered a neighbour's house.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...On turning the corner not only do I get my first view of the ocean but also the first invigorating blast of the wind to blow away any remaining cobwebs. As I quicken my pace to keep warm I can admire the pink and grey galahs breakfasting on seed they find in the grasses growing between the beach and the footpath. The crested pigeons, occasionally being distracted by the need to feed, keep up their continual wooing of each other, the males bowing and spreading their tail feathers to impress the ladies...
There's plenty to see on an early-morning walk in the land of Oz, as Elaine Lutton reveals.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Ken Sillcock is all for living life now, rather than living one's time all over again.
Ken writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "Time Over Again - A 90 Year Perspective" »
...WW2 was at its height. We had moved into our new house after being bombed out of our previous home. I hated it, as it was so much smaller and four of us had to share a bedroom. My bed was placed under a long window and became the 'box seat' for all of us to watch the nightly air raid 'shows'. How could we have known, tonight would be so different!...
Violet Apted recalls the night when she saw a flying bomb - a Doodlebug.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...On the third day I walked all the way to the lighthouse and looked forward to resting on the deck-chair. To my annoyance I found a child digging a trench. I coughed and waited for her to look up.
'What's your name?' she asked, continuing with her work. The breeze played with her hair, rolling and unrolling short black curls. Finally she turned to look. Her eyes were the same colour as the sea...
Carla Sari writes exquisitely of a chance meeting by the Adriaic sea.
Carla writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wordsman Brian Barratt takes us on a linguistic tour of our local fast food outlets.
For more of Brian’s assuredly entertaining words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
For hours of stimulating intellectual fun do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Shirley Henwood recalls her son's first day at school.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Shirley Henwood tells of an accident - and a teasing grandfather.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Gerda Aaberg muses on why humans are always longing for something else, instead of living in the "now''.
Gerda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I just love driving around rural America. Where else can you see so many unheralded wonders of the universe, like giant cement dinosaurs (so that's what really happened to them), the heads of rich, white politicians carved into the sacred mountains of stolen Indian land, an entire building made out of corn cobs, and a statue of Paul Bunyon whose head turns and talks to little kids..
Anna Mancini enjoys the freedom of the road.
Anna writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Can any food be more delicious than poached eggs on buttery toast?...
Elaine Lutton reveals the temptations to her taste buds on recovering from a bout of 'flu.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Giancarla Curtis's poems turn the ordinary into something special.
Giancarla writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted could see the cottage as she drove along the winding road to the cliff top. "The windows sparkling in the sunlight, gazing out across the sea, as if still keeping a vigilant lookout for my Grandpa, just as Grandma did for her sea captain husband, many years ago. My heart skipped a beat, as I stopped at the little white gate...''
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Dogs are just like many humans when it comes to taking medicine, as Gerda Aaberg reveals.
Gerda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I don't believe for a moment that my grandfather had a sadistic streak. He was an incurable tease, and I was just one of his unfortunate victims...
Shirley Henwood tells a story which will arouse many memories of childhood fears.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...The table was set up at the bottom of the yard overlooking the ocean. Our garden bench, also painted in fashionable mission brown, provided seating. It is to this little bit of Heaven that we retreat in the late afternoon. A bottle of Merlot and two glasses and all is right in our world. Here we can catch up on each other's day and relax before dinner. From our vantage point over the Bay we frequently see dolphins chasing baitfish. It is hard to say which is more beautiful, the graceful movements of the dolphins or the silver ripple of the bait fish in their anxiety to escape finishing up as someone else's meal. ..
Elaine Lutton paints a blissful scene.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Quite serendipitously Betty Collins found herself a breeder of goldfish.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...My father-in-law owned an aging blue Pontiac that floated down Sydney roads like a rudderless ship. For six days father-in-law drove me to the hospital and back. On the eve of the seventh day, he informed me that I must drive myself...
Goldie Alexander tells of days of fear on the road.
Goldie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...'Have you checked that the turkeys are all in their yard Colleen?' my ever busy father called as he hurried by.
To make sure the turkeys, all forty-three of them, were safely locked up for the night was my job...
And that job could arouse life-long fears in an imaginative girl, as Colleen McMillan reveals.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Shirley Henwood's poem tells of the wonder of true love.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
John Powell flew an aircraft for the first time when he was 80 years old.
John writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...'Mum was a goldsmith apprentice, and she believed that there was a Creator. He was the Apprentice Master: and everyone was an apprentice—at least during his or her life on earth. "As apprentices," she said, "we are here to learn what works and what doesn't work in the workplace of life...
Patrick Thomas tells of a woman who found a lodestar to guide her through life.
Patrick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Let's face it—English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat...
Bob Page considers the idiosyncracies of our language.
Bob writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Would you believe this? In an animal park, I once saw a snake yawning! I was fascinated. It nearly transferred to me: a real yawn, just like you and me...
Gerda Aaberg tells tales about the creatures some people don't like to think about.
Gerda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Edel Wignell retells a trickster tale from West Africa.
Edel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
It's a wise lady who learns not to indulge her toy boy, as Colleen McMillan's poem reveals.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...My husband and I are both what is termed 'frying pan fishermen', meaning if you can't eat it don't bother trying to catch it!..
Elaine Lutton brings a tasty account of her fishing days.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Just promise me you'll live life as keenly as you eat ice cream. Savour every moment as if it is your last...
Caregiver Kathy Berger-Sewell tells of love, of continuity, of the comforting strength of family life.
Kathy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...The cardinal sin, which was drummed into us well, was 'Never let go of the rope'. It would be better to go swinging up to the ceiling than to let go, as a bell out of control could cause the rope to go snaking around inside the tower in an extremely dangerous fashion...
Nick Ogbourne recalls bell-ringing days.
Nick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
Patrick Thomas declares that his interaction with his body provides unlimited opportunities for him to re-learn his essential God-essence.
Patrick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...My grandfather was a storyteller. Tall or true, we never knew....
Shirley Henwood demonstrates that the ability to tell a good tale must run in the blood.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Edel Wignell retells a Scottish folk tale.
Edel writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Wendy Ogbourne thinks we have a duty to children to warn them that "happy ever after'' does not necessarily follow marriage.
Wendy writes for Bonzer! magazine. Do please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Life is cruel.
Families split apart in different lands...
Shirley Henwood tells of a sad goodbye.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted recalls a childhood day when she discovered a mountain of "treasure''.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
....Forcing oneself to lead a spiritual life—and hating the effort—just won't work. It is a matter of priorities—God or materialism—of determining the reason for my existence. Before tackling that question, there is the important question of who I am. I have concluded after much searching that the real me is that invisible aspect of me called Soul, and that I exist because the Force which brought me into existence loved me enough to create me in ITS likeness. And loves me enough to give me an apprenticeship in god-ness with the promise that, when I complete my apprenticeship, I will be taken on as a permanent God-Helper...
Patrick Thomas contemplates the best way to lead a spiritual life.
Patrick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...When living in Victoria, one day I saw on the lawn a fair-sized spider with a white back. Maybe because the whiteness was unexpected, I recoiled. Then I came to my senses, and I said a prayer 'Dear God, help me not to be so scared of one of your other creatures.' And do you know what? I suddenly saw that the white 'body' was an egg sac. As a mother, that made me ashamed. Here was a different mother, albeit with eight legs, transporting her offspring to a safer spot...
Gerda Aaberg highlights a subject that causes many a shudder to travel down many a back.
Gerda writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
From crumbed lamb cutlets to fillets of wild kagaroo...
Mike Larder tells of a bush tucker chef.
Mike writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Shirley Henwood, who gives ample proof that age does not wither a keen sense of humour, gives advice to certain folk of senior years.
Shirley writes for Bonzer magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Continue reading "Advice For New Residents Of Retirement Villages" »
Marion McKeen writes a poem for the texting age.
Marion writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Betty Collins does a spot of house-sitting.
Betty writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Our marriage was planned for December 24th at eleven o'clock in the morning. Juul and Freek, two of our friends, promised to have coffee and rolls ready at our place, when we came back from City Hall with our family and friends. The wedding ceremony made me laugh...
Ans Redelaar tells of her wedding day in Amsterdam during the bleak days of World War Two.
Ans writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Kids don't care about the things that bother mothers, and my favourite things that disappeared with those renovations must have been my mother's despair. Like the 'dirty' fuel stove that warmed us as we dressed for school in winter; the 'dirty' open fire in the lounge-room where I would curl up on the couch and dream in the fire's glow; the big glassed-in verandahs, one with boxes of Mum's younger, town-based finery for dress-ups, one with iron beds for sunny winter snoozing over Sunday papers; and the lino floors, so cool to lie on after the Sunday roast and pudding had filled us to immovability in summer heat...
Sharyn Munro tells of her parents who were ever-willing to try life elsewhere.
Sharyn writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
John Powell, who served in the Home Guard in World War Two, was part of a crew manning an anti-aircraft rocket battery in London.
Here he recalls the night of an air raid.
John writes for Bonzer! maazine. Please do visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Pale headed rosellas, turquoise and yellow, scaly breasted lorikeets, green and gold, and rainbow lorikeets, purple, green, gold and scarlet, all taking their turn to feast and joining the honey eaters, butcher birds and magpies...
Elaine Lutton delights in the avian visitors in the yard of her Queensland home.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Colleen McMillan explains why a certain vase could not be given away, even though she didn't like it.
Colleen writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Violet Apted returns to the house in which she once lived to confront a ghost from her past.
Violet writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Love thy enemy makes good psychological sense and certainly embraces the approach which maintains that spirituality is also practicality. For who is the main victim of hate? He or she who hates. Hate consumes the individual, embitters him and his whole approach to life, poisons his relationships and is the molehill which becomes the mountain...
Patrick Thomas brings words of wisdom.
Patrick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Jerry Selby wonders whether we are passing on lessons about acceptable norms desirable goals and ideals to our grandchildren.
Jerry writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Valerie Yule tells of feathered friends.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...I myself had no prejudices. It was with my pure, prejudice-free voice that, as a college freshman, I carefully explained to a black man who'd graduated from my university years before—in fact, the first of his color to do so—that it was important that we as a country avoid interracial marriages.
So ashamed am I now, this is the first I've ever revealed this incident. To anyone...
Frank Kaiser says we seldom recognise our prejudices until we are through with them.
Mike Larder, who writes for Bonzer! magazine www.bonzer.org.au tells of the children's entertainer Mike Jackson.
The ring of a telephone can make a day special when you are a little girl, as Karyn Taylor's story reveals.
Karyn writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Tony Kearney tells an unusual tale to highlight the politeness of the Irish.
Tony writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Simon was forever finding animals to save on our small farm. Little birds; lost, cold hedgehogs; the odd rabbit. Even stray old cats. If there was a sick animal around, Simon would sniff it out. And bring it home...
Erik van Bommel tells of an animal in distress, and a caring boy.
Erik writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
John Powell, a member of the Civilian Home Guard (Dad's Army) manned a rocket anti-aircraft battery in London during World War Two.
John writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Easter Saturday. The church bells, which have been tied up for three days, begin to peal away. The sky is a glorious blue. Mina is pedalling fast down the road to the farm.
"Two dozen eggs, four bunches of asparagus and don't forget to pick up the Easter cake from the baker," Father had told her...
Carla Sari paints a colourful word portrait of Eastertide. Carla writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
..."Tell us about the Titanic, Grampa," we would plead.
He would take his pipe out of his mouth, carefully tap out the spit, and refill it with tobacco, tamp it down until he judged it was ready for lighting. We waited patiently, fascinated by this ritual. Sometimes he would let one of us strike the match. When it was alight to his satisfaction, he would settle back comfortably, ready to begin...
Shirley Henwood recalls a tale her grandad told.
Shirley writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...Rule number one in our household is: never open the aviary door, but today I can't resist showing off to my special friend, Cheryl...
Penny White recalls a day of terrible trauma in her childhood.
Penny writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Dermott Ryder gives a good-humoured account of attempts to publicise a Sydney folk music club.
Dermott writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
...We have built into our system a number of finely tuned receptors - intuition, which comes in the guise of inner nudges, conscience, observation especially of unusual occurrences, casual comments that make us prick up our ears, sleeping dreams, waking dreams and a mind which is prepared to think broadly. The Creator uses any or some of these to guide us, uses our patience to allow time for a path to appear, uses our calm to enable us to see what we wouldn't see if we allowed ourselves to be stressed...
Patrick Thomas considers the nature of free will.
Patrick writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au