MANNERS AND OTHER MATTERS

The floral memorial in Martin Place, Sydney (photo news.au) This time last week most Australians were riveted to the live streaming of the hostage situation in the Lindt Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place;  tragically the outcome was the deaths of two of the hostages. The situation was made particularly poignant for me because my daughter  knew the husband of one of the hostages and had spoken to him as he raced to the cafe where he knew his wife regularly enjoyed her morning coffee with colleagues after hearing of the hostage situation.  Australia has reacted to this crisis in a spirit of "mateship" and mutual support.  As the floral memorial has continued to grow at the scene politicians, local Sydneysiders, visitors from other States and from other countries, children and the elderly have made a pilgrimage into the centre of the city which, despite the tragedy, is filled with preparations for Christmas and the other religious occasions which occur at ...

A little hand feeling spring for the first time... This post is not so much about manners but spring...its influences and inspirations.  While I have written about spring and its impact on me previously, somehow this year the burgeoning rose buds, and flourishing new wisteria plumes have meant so much more.   Spring for me has always had a huge influence...the change in the light as the dawn calls me at 5.30 for a walk along the river with my dog...somehow the energy of the light infuses me with enthusiasm.  Ruby and I revel in the dawn light... And this year I have become  a grandmother for the first time; it is an extraordinary experience and can give, if one accepts it, a new view of the life which remains to be lived. The opportunities which are offered are more shiny somehow...the difficulties which were part of the last two or three decades somehow feel now like necessary experiences... I live a modern life.  My grandchild lives ...

The wisteria is in bloom around the pool Finally, after a very long and wet winter here in Western Australia, spring has sprung with full force, reminding us that she is here, encouraging new life and new opportunities.  The blue skies, the scattered rain showers making the heads of the newly emerging rosebuds shine, and the spring in my step as I walk my dog in the morning, remind me of the power of nature and the effect of the seasons on me. Ruby and I love our early morning walks A protracted dose of painful and exhausting shingles overwhelmed me throughout autumn and winter...the cold and wet days, the grey skies and blustery winds all contributed to my malaise.  I realised, again, that I am a "victim" to the brightness of the skies, the calm of the air and the green of the foliage around me. The Chinese Tallow trees are bursting with new leaves But life goes on and some months ago, I was asked to give an interview about the etiquette of...

My iMac is now at home.... After much deliberation I decided last week to upgrade my computer.  It was a decision not taken lightly, because a computer, used for many purposes during the trials and tribulations of daily life becomes a close ally, and most of the time, a friend. Mine had been my daily companion for over five years, and we knew each other's foibles.  However, with the passage of time, and I have no doubt some unrealistic expectations on my part about its performance after such a relatively long time in "computer life", it became obvious that, like me, it was slowing down and needed a gentle nudge into semi-retirement.  And so it is confined to the rather boring process of accounts and bill paying and mind-numbing record keeping, rather than the excitement of new voyages towards beckoning horizons in the world of the internet. I took the leap of faith to an iMac from a PC, and despite my incredulity about it's beauty and accessibility, I felt some...

My little prince. .. I have had an extraordinary experience in the last few days...I have become a grandmother for the first time.  While some of my friends had tried to explain the emotion I would most likely encounter when I first saw the tiny baby with my daughter, nothing I had been told prepared me for the overwhelming emotion of maternal protection I felt for my daughter and her four hour old son. It was a powerful memory of maternal intensity I had not felt since my daughter was born almost 32 years ago and then my son a few years later. My mind has wandered over the last few days to the morning when my mother first visited me and my new daughter.I remember clearly her emotion...a mixture of happiness and concern about my labour, my daughter's health, and inclusion as a woman in the maternal experience. We shared tears of joy when she first held her granddaughter.  I clearly remember her looking into the baby's eyes,and then up at me,  with an expres...

A Baby Shower Brunch in my Courtyard Yesterday I hosted a Baby Shower for my daughter who is due to have her  son, and my first grandchild, soon.  It was a fabulous day, filled with love and laughter and joyful thoughts for the future. Her friends included girls with whom she had been in school, both primary and high school, at university and from her work environments;  they were drawn from her lives both here in Perth and Sydney.  My friends included those who have know me since before her birth, 31 years ago, and who have been in her life for all those years, in one way or another.   Organising the Baby Bingo .. . Baby Showers are relatively new here in Australia.  When I was pregnant with my daughter they hadn't entered the realm of the  "celebrations" of Valentine's Day and Halloween;  we had a   kitchen tea for the bride before the wedding to help her stock her kitchen utensils...but baby showers?  No. The c...

It's the season for long, languid lunches in my courtyard Having had an afternoon cooking and simultaneously watching a cable cooking channel I have been annoyed by the number of presenters who use the " we" when speaking to their television audience: "Now we take our eggs, break them into our bowl..." etc. We, the audience, are not there with the presenter; they are joined by a camera operator, lighting operator and others to assist in their presentation, none of whom are helping with the actual cooking process. Prawns and oysters to start... By the time "We are now plating our meal" was announced, I was so removed from the whole experience that irrespective of how delightful the menu appeared, I was distracted and uninterested in its outcome. Language is continuely evolving, but irrespective of whatever language we are speaking, or learning, we should try to grasp the correct use of it's grammar. The taste of summer... Telev...