There is nothing inherently foolish about holding a climate meeting in Fiji. If the purpose is to draw attention to the problems faced by Pacific nations, Fiji is a logical venue. It puts delegates in the region under discussion, rather than in another European conference centre where everybody can admire the catering and agree that…
The Australian Labor Party is holding its fiftieth national conference in Adelaide this week. Or, as I prefer to think of it, the annual gabfest where several hundred people gather to decide how the rest of us ought to live. Naturally, the unions have arrived with their shopping lists. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union wants…
Cholecystectomy By the time you read this I’ll be home from my laparoscopic cholecystectomy. At least, I hope it will be laparoscopic. The lay term is ‘keyhole’. Being cut open is much more invasive. Whodathunk. The operation removes the gallbladder through several small incisions. Without a gall bladder, the liver still produces bile, but instead…
I had an MRI this week. Or rather, I attempted to have an MRI. There is a difference. This was meant to be part of the preparation for next week’s gall bladder removal, which sounds delightfully simple until someone slides you into a metal tube and the ceiling is five centimeters from your nose. My…
Has anybody else noticed the football world cup is on? I suppose the first thing to ask is – which football? Rugby League, Rugby Union, American football, Australian Rules football, Irish football? Or that round ball game where you’re not allowed to pick the ball up and run like the hounds of hell were after…
Some of you may recall that back when I was working for a living, I was a computer programmer. That was before somebody invented the much sexier term, “software engineer”. This was back in the early 1980s, when the IBM PC was being hastily cobbled together and the future arrived in beige plastic with a…
Here in Australia, we’re at the winter solstice. The shortest day of the year. The longest night. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, of course, it’s the opposite. Midsummer. Long days, warm evenings, probably people saying cheerful things like “let’s eat outside,” while those of us down here are clutching cups of tea and…
Back in the Stone Age when I was still a working girl my go to lunchtime destination was a bookshop. Some of you might remember them. Rows of shelves labelled by genre. Special displays where the latest releases by popular authors were given pride of place. Comfortable corners where you could browse for half an…
What passes for winter in Queensland has arrived. It was 6c – SIX degrees overnight. Now, before anyone from colder climates spits out their coffee, yes—I know. “Winter” here is mostly a suggestion. But when the air turns crisp and the mornings have that ooh, that’s fresh bite, my whole routine shifts. The ceiling fans…
Australia is still a very long way from almost everywhere. This isn’t a complaint, exactly. I love Australia. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. But nobody can look at a map and pretend we’re conveniently placed. We’re tucked away at the bottom of the world, surrounded by a lot of ocean and a great deal of…