MANNERS AND OTHER MATTERS

The autumn tonings are showing in my trees and the wisteria vines... My two favourite seasons here in Western Australia are autumn and spring, and somehow they affect me the same way...positively...despite that metaphorically autumn is aligned with the coming of the end of…life, relationships, and more;  while spring signifies new life, new beginnings. For me autumn is a time of gentle beauty;   and reflection.   Because the climate here is not overly distinctive between the seasons,  as it is in the east of Australia, having mild temperatures in autumn and spring,   mild to hot summers and mild to cold winters, with never a snow flurry, the leaves on the trees are often the first indicator that the season is about to change. The autumn sky is a vibrant blue but the pool water is too chilly for me to swim... I planted, in front of my house, five deciduous trees 25 years ago and every year when their first leaves begin to either fall or tur...

Teenagers in the early 1970s...(Google Images) I am going to celebrate a milestone birthday later this year and unfortunately it doesn't commence with the number "5"!  The year is going to be filled with adventure.  I am returning to France for a month to immerse myself again in a course at the Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer; I will be visiting my beautiful grandson on the other side of my continent;  and hopefully visiting Far North Queensland with my partner as well.  And in between, indulging myself with the contracts I will choose and enjoy with  The Percy Institute of International Protocol. Recently I have been trying to place myself in this "age" in which I find myself;  perhaps the easiest way to do this is to revert to remembering the people my parents and their friends were in their 60's? In the early 1970's I was still at high school, looking very similar to the girls in the photo above...somewhat awkward.  I al...

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...