Archive for the 'Events' Category

Australia Day

2 Comments »26th January, 2007; Category: Events, General

January 26th is celebrated throughout Australia as our National Day. It was on this day in 1788 that this new country was founded by the first European settlers to arrive here. I thought I’d share a few images of things that are quintessentially Australian as my way of celebrating Australia day, and sharing something of our country with others.

Western Grey Kangaroo

Australia is known for its wonderful wildlife. The kangaroo would have to be one of the most recognisable members of our fauna. The cuddly look of the Koala would also be recognised world wide.

Koala and Magpie

Australia is also known for its amazing array of plants and wildflowers. Probably the most easily recognised tree would be the eucalypt (or gum) tree. There are hundreds of different species; I will show only one here. This scene, taken in the mid north farming area of South Australia, is typical of many parts of our land.

Balaklava Plains near Blyth South Australia

Of our stunning array of wildflowers, the banksia is easily recognised by many Australians. These magnificent plants give an amazing display when in full flower. The birds go crazy feeding on the nectar and seeds they produce. Photographers, artists and gardeners go equally crazy over them

Banksia flower

Now we turn to the birds. With about 800 species Australia is a plentiful land for the bird lover. Our vast range of parrots and honeyeaters, blue wrens and emus, waterfowl, waders, bush birds and sea birds attract birders from the world over. I’ve just chosen several to feature here.

Mallee Ringneck Parrot

Australia has so many beautiful birds it is hard just to show only two. Many more are featured in my photo gallery here.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Finally, one of Australia’s most recognisable landmarks, the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Opera House

Birthday reflections

2 Comments »16th November, 2006; Category: Blogging, Events, General, The Writer's Life

Birthdays are good for you – the more you have, the longer you live.

Happy birthday to me.

No – it’s not one of the BIG ONES (that comes next year).

Birthdays are a good time to reflect on the year just completed. What kind of a year did I have? When I look back over the last year it has been one of some big highs and deep lows.

Highlights:

My first trip overseas last December and January (see my travel blog).
Trekking in the Himalayas
Seeing Mt Everest up close (20km is close when you walk in those mountains).
Getting some fabulous photos on my new digital camera (see my photo gallery)
Getting my three blogs up and running and getting steadily increasing traffic (hi everyone)
Getting some of my short stories published
Accomplishing more writing this year than ever before.
The depth of the relationships developed in the Bible study group I lead.

Lowlights:

Being diagnosed as diabetic earlier this year
Struggling for months to adjust to this diabetic life (a work in progress)
My wife having two serious operations this year

I won’t dwell too much on the lowlights. I struggle with the wise advice to accept such things and confidently say, “This too shall pass.”

There is so much to look forward to, including the exciting potential of my blogs, some writing projects with great promise and the freedom to explore other possibilities, including the prospect of further travel next year.

The passing of a great Australian

No Comments »4th September, 2006; Category: Authors, Events

I was shocked, like many others, of the tragic death of Steve Irwin, the “Crocodile Hunter.” In all the news hype however, I was pleased that the passing of a truly great Australian was not overlooked.

Colin Thiele 1920-2006

Colin Thiele, the much loved South Australian author and poet, died this morning. He was the author of over 100 books, many of them for children. He was also very influential in our education system, serving first as a teacher, then as a principal and finally in one of our leading teachers’ colleges training young teachers.

His most famous work for children was the novel “Storm Boy” set in the world famous wetlands area known as The Coorong. This story was later made into a highly successful film. Several of his other novels were also made into films and one of them into a television series.

I only ever had the privilege of meeting Colin on one occasion, that being at a poetry writing conference. I shared a special bond with him; both of us celebrated our birthday on November 16th.

The Queen tells children to read books

No Comments »5th July, 2006; Category: Events, Young Readers

Queen Elizabeth has recently celebrated her 80th Birthday. As part of the celebrations she hosted a big literature party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. It sounds like great fun.

Read books, says the Queen to children A Children’s Literature Party at Buckingham Palace, a pantomime-style play featuring stars like Jerry Hall and others, and a reminder for kids to “read…wonderful books…and to discover the pleasures of reading.” That’s all part of the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations in the UK recently. Just as Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant would say, it was clear from the very start that the children’s event was going to be one “golden phizzwizard” of a dream come true. It was held in the Queen’s back garden, which has been transformed into a living treasury of tales. There, the overawed youngsters – selected by ballot – got to mingle with their favorite literary characters, including Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse. When the Queen entered the scene, she was announced as – “Her Majester, Ruler of Straight Lines” and vanquisher of bad giants. More on this at the links below.

Queen hosts children’ party (ITV News)

Photos of Queen’s party

I do like happy endings

Queen’s tea party

Courtesy of SCBWI Australia (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)

Writing Competition

4 Comments »4th April, 2006; Category: Competitions, Events, General, Magazines, Poetry, Short Stories

Had some bad news in the mail yesterday. I received the results of a literary competition run by an Australian magazine. I had submitted three poems and three short stories. None was successful. [Update: That last sentence should read: “None were successful.” See comments for an explanation.] Same result as last year, but with a different set of poems and stories. Oh well, all it means is that the judges didn’t like what I wrote. Print them out and resubmit elsewhere is the usual advice at writers’ seminars and workshops.

The poetry judge actually made comments on every poem submitted. The only comment on one poem was “Inventive.” Mmmm, wonder what that means? Does it have some merit? Is it worth resubmitting elsewhere, or does it mean that the judge couldn’t understand it? The comment for the other two poems was “Attempt a rewrite”. Yes, I have done that over and over and over until they were both so different from the original draft that they were essentially new works.

Judging literary competitions must be a thankless task. I’ve never done it and I’m sure it is very hard. I’ll try not to be too despondent – and try again elsewhere. Trouble is, my hit rate has taken a battering in the last 2 years with far more rejections than acceptances. (My success rate is around 10%) You get that. Now on with the next project.