Swimming For Pleasure - Part Three
Sylvia Watkins, a lady with a keen sense of humour, concludes her three-part series by telling of Christmassy fun and games in the swimming pool.
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February 25, 2007
February 23, 2007
Swimming For Pleasure - Part Two
…Apart from James, who is very blonde, and his redheaded mate Ginger, I hadn't a hope of keeping track of my group once their heads got wet. When a boy is wearing only Speedos (or budgie smugglers as they naughtily informed me) one wet boy looks much like another…
Sylvia Watkins takes to the water to help out at the school’s swimming week.
The third and final part of Sylvia’s delightful Swimming for Pleasure series will appear in Sunday’s Open Writing.
February 21, 2007
Swimming For Pleasure - Part One
When an opportunity to try water aerobics came her way Sylvia Watkins jumped in with both feet. Her account of her experiences is a most refreshing read.
This is Part One of a three-part series. Parts Two and Three will appear in Open Writing on Friday and Sunday this week.
May 19, 2006
Seventy-Five Knots, South
...I looked, and what I saw made me feel ten times worse. At the southern end of the Channel there was a big pillar of purplish cloud, looking like a 200 feet tornado such as I had viewed on TV. Behind that cloud the sky had a greenish tinge and fear struck deep inside me...
Bev tells of the drama of weathering a storm while sailing off Tasmania.
May 12, 2006
The Best Laid Plans
Rita tells a story which involves a dramatic rescue, and an arrest.
May 05, 2006
The Fairies
Those fairies are not as cute as you might think. They're enough to make you shiver, as Alison reveals.
April 14, 2006
Brushies
Frank Brown writes about brush possums, Tasmania’s outstanding wildlife characters.
April 07, 2006
Thirteen O'Clock In April
..8..9..10..11.12..13 Oh no! Graeme's prized grandfather clock has struck 13! But what month is this?
March 31, 2006
On South Molle Island
In this 10-line poem Honour paints an appealing portrait of a place of quiet.
March 24, 2006
Under The Doctor
....Grandfather kept chickens - lots of them. He was also a bit of a rogue; clever really, liked a good joke, a smart idea, or a problem needing to be solved. When us grand kids called around he'd wet himself laughing when he asked us all the schoolboy jokes....
Colin tells of the puzling rhyme in his grandfather's will.
March 17, 2006
An Eagle Eyed
...Scene: The Cradle-St.Clair Overland Track, just south of Cradle Mt at the head of "The Cirque". I am reclining on the ground with head resting on my pack, waiting for the rest of the party to catch up. As I am lying there, a Wedge Tailed Eagle comes swooping across the valley and then hovers only a few feet directly above where I am lying...
Frank writes of an encounter with a regal bird.
March 10, 2006
The Feather
It was there I saw a wondrous sight
A blooming great big feather.
Ellen has a surprise when she picks up the feather.
March 03, 2006
Aberfan '66
In 1966, the Welsh village of Aberfan attained world wide publicity when a vast tip of colliery waste became unstable and slid downhill, engulfing several buildings including the local school. Over a hundred children and their teachers were killed. The following poem by Alison, which includes quotations frorn Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin, was a protest against the practices which may have contributed to this disaster.
February 24, 2006
Friend
Elsa recalls a teenage school friend from her days in Haifa.
February 17, 2006
Dressed To Kill - A Tall Story
Colin tells a tall tale about a fox and an extra-large chicken.
February 10, 2006
The Bus Trip From Hell
...Gradually everyone began to relax and fall asleep. This eventually caused a disaster as the young mother had the baby on her lap and when she fell asleep the baby fell on the floor under the seat in front of her... Bev tells of a nightmare of a bus trip in Turkey.
February 03, 2006
Accent
An encounter with an Englishman at St Peter’s, Rome, compels Frank Brown to consider his accent.
January 27, 2006
Forward To The Past
Graeme advocates the benefits of simple manual work - and presents a poem to drive home his message.
January 20, 2006
Spring 1961
Wendy's poem recalls childhood games.
January 13, 2006
Fires Of 1967
"I wrapped young Keith in wet towels and tried to escape from the fires but I could not. I had to return inside to the home and wait. By this time the garden and all around the home was engulfed in flames. I ran the bath and Keith and I sat in the water, I would rather drown than burn to death...'' Elsie recalls a horrifying day in 1967.
January 06, 2006
Images
Frank Brown’s splendid tale will ensure that you never again to take TV for granted.
December 30, 2005
Dreams Go By Contraries
Graeme tells an astonishing tale about a highly superstitious gambling man.
December 23, 2005
The Little Wallaby
Bev is delighted when the little wallaby ventures into her back garden.
December 16, 2005
Jimmy
Jimmy was born with a disfigured arm and a lame leg, but he found someone who put him on the road to a happy life, as Elsa's poem reaveals.
December 09, 2005
Road Rage
David imagines what the poet John Donne would have made of road rage.
December 02, 2005
Ode To Mount Wellington
Ellen writes an ode to the mountain sentinel which watches over Hobart, Tasmania.
November 25, 2005
Mrs Zonaben
Why does Mrs Zonaben always make a grab for the bread rolls when dining aboard the ocean liner? Mary tells a story to break the heart.
November 18, 2005
Celeste
Where went that fine vessel, the Celeste? Graeme's poem reflects on a great mystery.
November 11, 2005
Targa Race
Avis has doubts about the wisdom in holding the Targa car race.
November 04, 2005
Lolly Shop
David faces the challenge of telling a story in one hundred words.
October 28, 2005
Cut And Thrust
A little nip, a little tuck,
A little bit off here for luck...
Movie stars require no persuasion to consult a plastic surgeon, as Bob's poem reveals.
October 21, 2005
Mt Wellington From The Eastern Shore
Rita's poem pays homage to a mighty mountain.
October 14, 2005
Venice
"Such is the spell of Venice,'' says Jim in this poem "who am I to tell the truth!''
October 07, 2005
The Plastic Fantastic
Colin writes an ode incelebration of fantastic plastic.
July 07, 2005
Weather Watch
Yet still I always watch the sky... Bob writes a poem about drought and rain.
June 30, 2005
The Vacuum Cleaner
As Avis wrestles with her vacuum cleaner she reflects that only a man could have invented such a troublesome thing.
June 23, 2005
Tales From The Crib Room - The Challenge
So when is a fellah fit to work in a mine? Bob tells a funny tale about about a safety test which resulted in acute embarrassment for the man who set it.
Continue reading "Tales From The Crib Room - The Challenge" »
June 18, 2005
Agonising About Acronyms - PC Or Not PC
A couple of letters can convey a variety of meanings, as Bob's witty poem reveals.
Continue reading "Agonising About Acronyms - PC Or Not PC" »
May 14, 2005
The New Captain
Peter, who was formerly the executive officer and second in command of an Australian warship, tells the hilarious story of the day a new captain first took his ship to sea,
January 21, 2005
The Last Stand Of Black Pete
<strong>Graeme tells a classic Western story in verse.
January 09, 2005
Julie, eat your heart out!
In this tuneful poem Frank tells us of some of his least favoured things.
October 28, 2004
Enter The 21st Century
Avis struggles to master a mobile phone. Be prepared to laugh out loud!
October 07, 2004
Jenny
Avis writes very movingly about a pet dog, Jenny, who filled a house with love, knowing instinctively what so-called learned human beings never learn in a lifetime.
October 02, 2004
The Highway Boys
Colin's poem tells of the larrikins, wild and drunk and young, who drive their way to disaster.
September 18, 2004
The Affair
Colin enjoyed every minute of his affair with Trudy, but his wife had her suspicions...
September 02, 2004
Thursdays
Avis's mathematical brain is overwhelmed by the illogical nature of spelling.
July 26, 2004
Ode To A Bush Stone Curlew
Bob is moved by the haunting cry of the Bush Stone Curlew.
July 17, 2004
Gold Rush
A canny Scot who ran a hotel in a small New Zealand town used to buy gold from itinerant prospectors. When he died, the locals waited a couple of weeks then ransacked the hotel, searching for hidden treasure. Jim tells a fascinating story about one of his forebears.
July 01, 2004
Sad Dog
Colin writes a sad poem about a vigorous young dog who likes to run - a dog locked up for the day.
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