Storytime

We went recently to see the show Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (great show, not only for kids!). We took Little Miss (who I'm afraid will be Little Miss forever in my eyes ), daughter, other half and myself. There were dumplings before hand, much walking from car park to said dumplings then to the theatre. We found our seats fifteen minutes before the show started when Little Miss said 'I'm bored, entertain me.' She was told, politely, to suck it up. That the show would start soon and surely she could entertain herself for (by now, ten minutes). She shook her head. 'I need internet or something,' glancing hopefully to my handbag. Not a chance. Her aunt got her to look around the theatre to find out who the youngest person was (baby of about three months)....then she began to count seconds. Very very fast seconds. It is an interesting phenomena that we don't allow people to be bored. Boredom is necessary. Especially for child...

As writers we should have an abundance of imagination...and more importantly, use it. As children we have so much imagination, often told too much, and we use it constantly. We dream and play and anything is possible. However we grow and are told not to be dreamers, to be realistic, to stop 'playing' and we use our imagination less and less. It's school holidays so it is program after program for us at the library. So far we've had a maker space which consists of putting out a table load of craft items and allowing the children to make what they could/ would. We had tubes of all sizes, aluminium foil, icy pole sticks, long sticks, feathers, patty pan papers, twine, pom poms, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, coloured paper, googly eyes and so much more. The children made puppets and rockets, rabbits and collage pictures, machine guns and kites, kaleidoscopes and binoculars, dolls and mobiles. It was so much fun. They can look at something and see so much more in...

A few weeks ago I was pottering around a nursery (surprise, surprise) when I heard two women talking. One was obviously a gardener, the other along for the ride. When the gardener was putting some plants in her trolley, her friend said 'Why are you bothering to do the garden? No one but you sees it. And what happens if you decide to move, someone will probably come in and tear it all down.' I was shocked and frankly didn't hear the gardener's response. But the idea that you wouldn't do something that you obviously love, or even like doing, because no one else would see it left me speechless. Unless we have a hobby that has turned into a source of income, we participate for the enjoyment. It's a passion or a joy. We get something out of it. To me a garden is a part of the gardener. No one else will put things together exactly as I do. It's a part of me. I want a rosemary hedge, so I've put in cuttings (that are doing great). I thought ...

We all have them, expectations that is. There are expectations in your workplace (mostly along the lines of do what you are meant to do and you will get paid)...there are expectations in your home life. The groceries are bought on such and such day, the magic fairy does the washing and ironing and cleaning of the house, beds are made, meals are cooked. And so many events seem to thrust more expectations upon us. Every holiday, whether birthdays, Christmas or the Easter just past, and we are bombarded with images of happy families and big groups of friends celebrating. Every image shows people happy and laughing. So what happens if that doesn't happen? People move on, family moves away or have other plans. Friends lose touch...and with so many blended families, life becomes more and more complicated. But we know what will happen, what the media tells us should happen...we should be with loved ones having FUN! Easter, for us, is a family get-together. There is...

Whilst away...on a cold and rainy grey day...we headed off for a drive. About twenty minutes out of Queenstown as you head to Glenorchy we happened upon Little Paradise Lodge and Garden. This place is amazing.  The lodge, with not one boring white wall in place, is stunning. You can even be guests here...what a place to stay! This was created by using paint and sand for texture on the grasses. The owners, a Swiss man and his wife, have worked hard. Although she claims it is all his work, she simply keeps it all clean and tidy. (There was a lot of garden to keep tidy)  He has built all the bespoke furniture and painted every room. He created the mosaic on the floors and the wall mural...and the bathrooms! Real live fish in the flushable water tank. The outside toilet (for the public) also has a water run so that the plants and moss growing on the floor are watered each time the toilet is flushed. Amazing. But what really inspired us were the gardens. ...

Last weekend was our yearly writer's retreat. For some reason we tend to go away in the chill of autumn/ winter (probably because it takes that long to find a weekend we are all happy with). It's a weekend where we take so much more food than anyone can eat...where we bring laptops and note pads....magazines and books.....pens and highlighters....and walking shoes. These weekends are usually spent with lots of talking and walking. This year however the weather didn't play ball. There were a few walks, when the weather decided to behave....but mostly there we were, spread out on the couch or dining table, fire lit and inspiration flowing. That is what the weekend, for me, is all about. When we first began going away I would feel so guilty. Guilty that I was out there going for walks and doing anything BUT write. Oh I would scribble some ideas down, perhaps work on a poem, or maybe edit a bigger piece of work...but there was none of this 'I will now put down...

Recently saw the Bowie exhibition at ACMI in the city. What can I say....it was amazing! I am a Bowie fan but who isn't....and it was great to see so much of his personal collection. Letters and notes, lyrics and stage ideas, costumes and shoes, movie clips, video clips....all revealing his rise as Bowie from the early days. Even a mention of one of my favourite early songs, 1967 T he laughing gnome  . And while I admit to being a huge fan, it is his creativity that really inspires. He was not afraid to try anything, and I do mean anything. I also think it was his early dabblings in mime and the theatre that make him such a great entertainer. I was lucky enough to see him perform twice, in 1987 the Glass Spider Tour and then 2004 his Reality Tour. Great shows full of showmanship and theatre, as well as fantastic music and performances. It is a dying art- a performer entertaining. Listening to one of his early interviews when he talked about whether it would be e...

At the moment, I'd rather be doing anything else but write. And so I am...not writing that is. Oh I dabble, an attempt of a poem here, rejigging an idea there, but actual getting stuff done...it's not happening. I sometimes like to think 'if only I had more time'.  Well I do have time, unfortunately I tend to spend it doing anything else but put pen to paper. If for every photograph of a sunrise I took I wrote a short story.... Or every time I wandered in the garden snapping away at flowers and plants I spent the equal amount of time editing... or redrafting.... Imagine how much work would get done. But I don't. Sometimes I get the guilts...I have this free time and I SHOULD be at the computer, hard at the novel...instead I am... making tarts for the girls at work...(these limoncello tarts were delish by the way) or stuffed toys. Why exactly am I making toys? No babies in my life that would happily drool over them. I make the...