Storytime

Recently I spent a week with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. Nearly two years I think, perhaps longer. Some of you will know that I'm great ... okay ...terrible with phones. Never been known to phone unless practically forced to. Just the way I am, and my friend and I were a bit slapdash with email. Okay make that quite bad with email. So I did wonder if there would be awkward silences when we did finally catch up. Would there be nothing to say, as our lives had moved on in so many different ways. I needn't have worried. It was like we had met last week for a coffee. It was a great week in Brisbane, a city I had not experienced before. There was a lot of walking and talking. And talking and walking. Many sights were seen... and some new coffee shops discovered. And amongst all that talking (and walking) we reconnected with poetry. My friend had been working on a series of poems but hadn't sent any out for a few years....and I...

Ah, if only we could bottle it. Determination that is. Some days it is so easy to find. You have a list of MUST DO's and each one is neatly ticked off, often before lunch time. You are so motivated and determined that before you know it, three chapters from an old work are edited and you are 3000 words into a new piece. Other days... It's almost impossible to get off social media and the thought of a blank page is enough to give you nightmares. Last weekend I did my second Casey Relay for Life.  Along with a great group of people, we were the Mobile Bookworms. The majority of us work (or have worked) at the library. Others are friends/ partners/ children of those that work there...hence the name. A fantastic group of people, eager to put their feet to the test. We had dedicated folks who slept in their cars...others managed naps in chairs or tent. Some of us went home for a few hours kip, then back for more laps. The cause is something so many of us feel very...

It's so easy to whinge. To whine and complain. To give up even before most of us have even begun. It's easy to do the same thing day in, day out. The comfort zone is called that for a reason. We have comfort in knowing what's to come. What will happen tomorrow, the day after, next week, even next month. It's when you realise that you want more, need more, that it becomes difficult. Stepping out of a rut takes guts. It takes determination, will power and a real desire to do it. At the moment I have a lot of friends going through really difficult times. Emotionally, physically, mentally, personally. Difficult times that could so easily tear them apart. But these women are strong, in fact I know they are much stronger than they think they are. But it will be a battle for all of them. To keep on when all they want to do is curl up in a ball and give up. Giving up is the easy thing to do. The hard part is staying strong. Last weekend, four wonderful young women ...

On Saturday I joined in with the Mobile Bookworms for the Casey Relay for Life .  It wasn't exactly on my list of things to do. I had thought about it when the memo did the rounds. Thought it would be a good idea. And that was that. Until Mr M (organizer) came into work with a 'your name isn't down, why not?' I couldn't think of a reason why not so promptly put my name down. Now I did it easy, unlike so many that stayed the night...a few even went to work the next day...or is that the same day?  That is dedication. I could say I had my sister and 3 of her kids down and staying for the night...which in fact is true...and an excuse if I want one.  But I did arrive on the Saturday about 10 am...and walked...and walked...till the closing ceremony at six. There were rests of course. Not many, and not for long. Soon learnt the longer you rested the more your legs ached when you began walking again. So walk it was. Unless we were getting o...

Recently my daughter and three of her friends completed the Oxfam Trailwalker. A journey of 100 kilometres in 48 hours. It was intense. It was amazing. It was completely insane. As all good challenges go, there were preparations. The team trained and trained..they planned food drops by support crew....they planned appropriate clothing and medical needs. They began chipper and excited...although a tad nervous of what could / would occur. And so they set off.... They walked.....support crews met them, fed them, offered words of comfort and wisdom (well perhaps not exactly wisdom...more like encouragement)....and they walked some more... The trek took them from Wheelers Hill, to Lysterfield Lake, onto Ferntree Gully and then up, up and up to Olinda, over to Mt Evelyn, along the Warburton trail and the mind bending repetitive flats....to Woori Yallock and onto Warburton then the last sprint - up and over Mt Little Joe to Wesburn Park. After much walking, much cold and r...

Last weekend my writing group  ran a writing workshop with Phillipa Martin , who writes crime as PD Martin. Actually it was more of a masterclass than a workshop. Phillipa gave us so much information, so much to think about. It was an intense day, but one that left us really thinking about the writing process. Not only did we look at the basics of writing- character, dialogue, plot - we also looked at what makes good writing. We discussed research,writing styles, genre writing, and then the nuts and bolts of getting published. Definitely a masterclass. One of those where you go home to debrief and thoughts scurry round and round in your head till the early hours. Phillipa said that she would go over a wide variety of information, some of which we would know, some would be new to at least one of us. And as long as we went home with five new pieces of information it was worth it. Frankly I think we all went home with more than five. I for one am not big on research, unless...