A few days ago, my feminist ideals were put to the test and found wanting. I was having lunch in a restaurant whose main clientele were migrants to Australia. I think I was the only Australian-born customer at that point in time. In that nice, quiet haven, I witnessed an extraordinarily vile verbal attack by one diner on his female dining companion. As he was speaking loudly enough (just below shouting volume) for all of us to hear, we were clearly meant to be complicit in the drama. Or maybe it was just a tactic to embarrass and intimidate his companion. Probably the latter. It was horrible. Read more
Layers Of Orange
Wherever you may be, tread lightly, make haste slowly and be kind. Read more
Back On The Food Chain Gang
It is Friday, so it is time for a song. But first, a couple of photos and a story about the one that got away. There are some photos, ladies and gentlemen, that should never be cropped and enlarged, so of course, I couldn’t resist.
(This post contains content that may gross out some readers.) Read more
All My Trials – Ama Barks Again
About this time last year, my niggling concerns about the health of my little dog, Ama, were vindicated. I knew my girl and I knew the Finnish Spitz breed, so I knew there was something wrong. I think we should trust our instincts. Read more
Full To Overflowing
Yesterday (Thursday) was International Mental Health Day, so I am having a belated mental health day. Won’t you join me? What better way to do this than to chill out with a few of my favourite friends and some relaxing music. Read more
Outfoxed
In Australia, it is quite unusual to observe a fox going about its nefarious business, but we did indeed see one and have the photographs to prove it. One day, as my True Love and I approached the river, we heard a duck making a great cacophony. It was clearly very agitated. Perhaps this noise, and the fact that we were upwind of the duck and fox, masked our approach. The duck made its escape, much to the disappointment of the young fox. Read more
Bluey The Fly
I was astonished, ladies and gentlemen, to learn of the investigation by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) into the origin of the idiom — to run around like a blue-arsed fly; an idiom that means to be very busy. In particular, I was surprised by the OED’s initial proposition that the origin of the phrase could be traced to a 1970 quote by HRH Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. As many older Aussies can tell you, the phrase has been around at least as far back as the 1950s and probably longer. I was also surprised to learn that the phrase may actually have its genesis in another country – America. I’ll be blowed! (Word nerds can read about it here and here.) Read more
The Changing Seasons – September 2019
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Can a grey day fill the senses, ladies and gentlemen? I used to think not. However, on this particular grey day, after completing some chores, I stopped off at my new favourite bird watching spot. I encountered another photographer there — a very nice man. He had all the gear, but was lamenting the light. The birds though, were making the most of it. Read more
Horse Tales
A long time ago in a land far away, my True Love and I had a big adventure. It was on our European backpacking tour of ’91. While we were in Ireland, we decided we would lash out (spend up big) and take an organised day tour of Killarney National Park. Our mode of transport was horse and cart, and then dinghy for the return across Loch Léin to Ross Castle (I hope I’ve got that right. It was such a long time ago). For the more intrepid traveler, there was the option of riding a horse. Now I’m not that intrepid but I used to be a good rider, so I chose to ride. My True Love wisely chose to travel by cart. Read more
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 