It’s over a year since I wrote In the Thick of It, something of a paeon to the lovely Lovett Bay.  In the space of it, I’ve gone from a deep-seated fear of boats, to learning to drive one. I got my boating licence last week. I feel rather like Toad of Toad Hall, when he first…

THE THICK OF IT I have made my peace with the giant huntsmen; with the bird that throws itself against the window of the cabin as I write; with the thing that rustles each night in the wood basket; and the resident wallaby, Robert, who, overcome by the smell of a barbecue or perhaps our…

Walking down Berghofer’s this morning I experienced something of a ‘moment’, glancing down at my feet, shod in old walking boots, to discover them ably negotiating the badly eroded track. It came to me how clever and determined they were to overcome the many obstacles in their path–rock, sand, branch, cliff edge, gulley–and carry me…

For those who ever wondered what the wallpapers cited in Flock actually looked like…with sincere thanks to talented sound and video artist, Marie Innes. Love that music! https://vimeo.com/53964694

Lovely piece in this week’s “Review” magazine in the Blue Mountains Gazette, showcasing the aims of the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The Shorefast team, headed up by Zita Cobb, is working had to put Fogo Island on the map, and regenerate what was, before the closure of the cod fishing industry, a small, proud and vibrant fishing community. A success…

It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. Even though my Mum and I lived in different  countries, I used to think about her a fair bit. A lot, actually. Now, if not exactly haunted by her, she pops up all the time–when I’m driving, turning the pages of a book, listening to music, stirring something on the stove.…

The Head of the Australia Council for the Arts, Kathy Keele, recently gave FLOCK the thumbs up, citing it as a memorable arts experience. Can’t say I’m not a little chuffed! http://bit.ly/JpRrpK  

Reading Victoria Glendinning’s biography of Leonard Woolf the other night (now there’s a man upstaged) I happened upon a reference to knitting. It pulled me up short. You don’t trip over knit-mentions too often in books. Then again, it probably wouldn’t have leapt out at me, if I hadn’t been about to begin on a…

I often feel a bit antsy, setting out on my daily walk. Probably because I know I’m supposed to be thinking about serious writerly stuff–plot, narrative, characterisation, dialogue–and not, as I was this morning, about what best to do with some quinces I’d just poached (in vanilla and rosewater, along with a few cloves and…

I’ve always felt a bit challenged by bread-making.  I never seem able to knead enough  (perhaps I need to lift weights or do press-ups), and my loaves are invariably a disappointment. So, for something different, I recently bought a 120-year-old German sourdough starter from the local health shop and, after reading up on various techniques…