It’s been quite a week for watching the results come in. Over in America, voters have sent Donald J. Trump a message, handing the Democrats control of both houses of Congress. I’m delighted, although I’m far from convinced the intended recipient will understand it. The sight of him standing in the building site of his…
The picture above has nothing to do with what I’m going to write about. It’s a reminder that in these difficult times there is always beauty in this world – and the sun will break through. But some things have to be talked about, unpleasant as they are. Not so long ago, I remarked to…
I watched some cricket this week. Australia playing Bangladesh in a women’s one-day international at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. And a very entertaining afternoon it was, too. Women’s cricket, like so much women’s sport, tends to live in the shadow of the men’s game. I think that’s unfortunate. There’s plenty to enjoy if you…
I was going to write something cheerful this week. Maybe share some of my lorikeet photos. Everybody loves them. Then I opened the newspaper. There went that idea. I find this government so frustrating. So often it does things that have me raising my eyebrows and wondering who came up with that brilliant idea. Anti-semitism…
I considered writing about the grim stories that have dominated the news this week. There are the allegations that a young woman at Cornell University was drugged and raped by seven men, while members of their fraternity discussed her in a group chat as if she were a commodity. No criminal charges were laid, although…
It’s Finals time The AFL Grand Final is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground every year, apart from the COVID years when Melbourne wasn’t available. It’s one of those fixtures that seems carved into the national calendar. The last Saturday in September means football at the MCG. This year, neither team comes from Victoria. Brisbane…
11 September 2001 This week marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Peter and I didn’t hear about them until we turned on the television the following morning. Like millions of people around the world, we watched the footage in shock. The aircraft striking the towers. The buildings collapsing. People…
Last Sunday I went whale watching with friends in Hervey Bay. The weather was kind, the company was good, and the whales were underwhelming. We saw a few, but there were no breaches and no close encounters with curious whales gathering around the boat to inspect the humans. One whale managed a lazy spyhop, poking…
Tomorrow I’m going whale watching with friends. That might not sound especially momentous. I live in Hervey Bay, one of the best places in the world to see humpback whales, and I’ve been going out to meet them for years. Some seasons I’ve even managed two trips. But I didn’t go last year, and that…
Most evenings, if the weather is kind, I sit outside in the garden with a glass of something and watch the change of shift. First come the corellas. They stream overhead in noisy, squawking groups, calling to one another as they head off to wherever they spend the night. I have no idea what they’re…