2010- 2019

One more day of the decade left. Monstrous really. I am sure the pace was slower some years ago.We have lived through 2010 - 2019 and now round the corner we meet 2020. Everybody has their version of events. This is mine. In this world we all experience loss, friends, workmates, old folk. In this decade loss has touched us especially - the loss of a favourite uncle, brother, son and father to the disease my mother called the big C. The tragic loss of a sibling to the road, senseless and shocking to the extreme and the aftermath of loss and anger even, at her passing, but loss is often compensated in our lives though we may not feel it immediately at the time. The addition of a daughter in law who is beyond joyful and three young sprouts who are more precious than anything else on this planet and totally adored, have taken their places firmly in our lives. 

A decade of adventure and discovery, moving to India and exploring the sub continent and coming away with a fraction of understanding of its essence, the culture and the history of this enormous and varied land. Meeting special friends and appreciating how this has opened a whole new page in my book as I return most years to the Jaipur Literature Festival with dear friends and other bookworms. 

Then unexpectedly and most surprisingly ending up on an island continent I would never have dreamed of, Australia which has somehow embraced me and bolstered me with its values and Aussie quirkiness in ways which I never envisaged. I love this sprawling, dry, ravaged by fire continent and all it stands for and it is with considerable emotion that I can call myself one of its citizens even though I have not mastered the clipped way of saying "Gdday" yet.

We have lured two sons closer to us, though they have wisely kept a reasonable distance from their overprotective mother, while we have released the eldest into the arms of the most adorable and loving family he could possibly have away from us. 

Australia may have kept us at a safe distance from world events, but that is not to say we have not felt engaged, distraught and incredulous as populations were wiped out in the Middle East, refugees lost their lives trying to escape to safer lands, terrorist activities abounded and Brexit delivered an unexpected blow to those who always viewed the UK as part of Europe. This was just the start and Trump and all he stands for came to be a daily ugly reminder of how those politics serve little more than the leaders who do not lead or inspire. Brexit is still unravelling but the boys' Cypriot passports are in the pipeline. Who would ever have believed that I can confer on them something so valuable as their connection to the European world in which they have spent so much of their lives?

The year ends with daily reminders of the importance of the words spoken by a 16 year old girl and we hope more will be made of her warnings and those of the experts and that true meaningful action will shape the decade to come. We chose to spend these last days of 2019 among the rainforests of Queensland, among the eucalypts and the bush and we have loved every minute. We look up to those age old trees, tall, tested, and tempered by the weather and we know we will be back to see more of them. They have stood the test of time as someone else who is very dear to us. We look forward to the beginning of the new decade to celebrate our first family centenarian, Nancy who turns 100 and has inspired us with her clarity of thought, razor like memory and curiosity about life and all it holds. So in closing this decade which has been bleak at times, there is no better message of hope and longevity to deliver than this one: 

Live, Love, Be a Nancy ! Happy new decade everyone. 

Discoveries with Dougall 13 Drama, Storms and it aint over yet

Its been too hot to walk with D and I have missed his company.  Today was overcast so we decided to head out. He was super excited to see us. A way to relax and think about the UK election results, another term of Tory rule, Brexit and BOJO to head it all up. Beggars Belief but there we have it. Its Friday the 13th and our 13th walk. 

And then the heavens opened and there was a right downpour and we got soaked. D loved it. He kept drinking the raindrops and running circles in the water that was pooling. A welcome relief. Now we wait to see how the UK will face the new decade, more turmoil, more Brexit trauma or just more Tory spin.

The Enchanted Garden

Do you have that special memory of childhood when your parents or someone dear to you introduced you to something new which stayed with you for your entire life? I certainly do, and I would want every child on this planet to have similar experiences. Brisbane City has gone the extra mile and has created the most magical experience in Roma Street Parklands, an inner city park which I have written about before, as it is so central and offer so much. 

They have taken the existing garden and its pathways and lit it up in the days leading up to Christmas.The garden is open from 29th Nov to 13th Dec from 600 pm to 9.30 pm.  They have called it the Enchanted Garden and I went along with my friend Linda Zupancic, who is visiting Brisbane to see what was on offer. Everywhere we looked there were wide eyed children taking in the spectacle and enjoying the experience. Truth be told, the grown ups were just as excited and so I share with you some of the photos of our walk in the Enchanted Garden which once again is an initiative of the City and FREE for all. Bravo Brisbane. I love being a resident in this beautiful, caring, sharing community. 

 My take home conversation was hearing a mum say to her little boy -"Isnt this beautiful and he answered "Yes mum its beautiful but I cant see the fairies mum- where are they?"

Laughing kookaburras

We all love a good laugh - kookaburras have an unbelievable cackle of a laugh. It brings a smile to my face every time I hear them. I love the fact that they take over a tree, have a good laugh and move on. They register their presence loudly.  Until now they have been fairly elusive, sitting on a fence or a branch in the garden but never coming to the deck. Now,(and I speculate as to the reasons - shortage of food or water, willing woman who enjoys their company and usually has a little titbit) they are coming right up and are being extra friendly. I think it is a mother and a young one. I have been known to make mistakes sexing birds so if anyone sees something I dont, please let me know. 

They are the largest kingfisher with a large head and a very large bill and have a distinct eye stripe. The sexes are often similar, with females being slightly larger and less blue. They mate for life. They share parenting responsibilities and are of course carnivorous. I think this is mum or it could be dad.

Younger one hasnt quite got his colours yet 

Now this is him or her on a challenging hair day ! 

Love its silhouette against the light on the palm. 

Here is a little recording of them laughing from you tube.

1st December 2019

Summer is officially upon us though the temperatures for November would suggest that it has gained an early entry. To mark the day, and indeed the festive season, Brisbane sang the Messiah with gusto and temperament and we had goose bumps all the way through their uplifting performance at the beautiful Brisbane City Hall. To cap the day and start the season, the neighbourhood has been decked in the most festive colours, some plum natural, others slightly aided and abetted by a socket and the effect is mesmerising and magical. We love the warmth and the beauty of it all. We have a son celebrating a promotion, a bounty of boys or should I say young men, sharing brunch with us and a gentle storm trying to unleash some much needed rainfall. With such events there is much love and laughter to share, praise for musical talent and popping bottles of bubbly. 

Lovers' tiff

They happen right here on my deck and I watch with some fascination and amusement. 

"What do you mean you ate all the sunflowers seeds you greedy thing? I am fed up of all this selfish behaviour. I am going to fly away on my own to a distant branch and don't you dare follow."

 "No, I am cross so don't you try and cosy up to me and pretend nothing is wrong."

"Oh come on, stop making such a song and a dance - its just a few sunflower seeds and frankly that woman is always around. All you have to do is squawk and she comes straight out with some more. "

"And anyway I love you and will happily cuddle you until you feel happier". 

Camphor Laurels

Look at these magnificent camphor laurels - trees that create a whole canopy, provide the best wood, give shelter to animals and birds and provide fertile branches for tree ferns. I parked in this street today and then looked at it in absolute awe. Someone got the planning and planting right here didnt they? 

You would have thought so but in fact as with many things in Australia the initial idea is good and then nature takes it course.The Asian native camphor laurel was introduced in the early 1820, with the first recording at the Sydney Botanic Gardens. There was some talk that the name may have been misunderstood for a Bay tree Laurus Nobilis instead of Laurus Camphora.It came to Brisbane in the 1860s and was widely planted because it grew quickly and was spread by the currawongs. Another tree which is now declared as an invasive weed. Hard to believe but so it is. 

Discoveries with Dougall 12

Today's adventures started with  a carpet of yellow as we walked down to the creek which I have struggled to identify and will need a revisit to pick up sample flowers and leaves.I have done that and can now tell you it is the Yellow Jacaranda, Tipuana Tipu, the Pride of Bolivia and another environmental weed in QLD - Pretty nevertheless.

A little further THE treasure for today - the most beautiful hot pink feather- galah perhaps.

A sample of the yellow Jacaranda and the hot pink leaf together with one from the King parrot baby who visited the other day. 

Then onto the pure white blossom of possibly a Yellow Box Eucalypt famed for attracting bees and making superior honey and here is one complete with buzzing bee. A good sign. 

That was followed by the pinks and oranges and soon thereafter ...

...a vista of receding purples as the reds slowly make their appearance on the horizon. In short a kaleidoscope, a rainbow, against all odds in this parched land and one which I am happy to walk in everyday with Dougall who takes it all in with equal interest.

A small rant

When we bought the house nearly six years ago it came with a tiny outdoor's fridge, for those cool beers on a hot day. It must have been owned by the previous owners for a number of years and we happily took it on. The beers come out icy cold, the white wines perfect in their crispness. We were expecting it not to last long and yet it seems they were once built to last. Not so anymore. 

All the other appliances we bought new and a few have been going wrong recently. I find the service companies and ask them to come out and on two occasions in the last couple of weeks, the young men arrive, take a five minute look at the appliance and declare it dead. The call out fees for the last two were $130 and $185 for today's visit. Today's visit was exactly 7 minutes long. I wonder if these companies would not consider that this is a real turn off for its customers and in cases where there is really nothing more to be done a reduced call out fee is applied. I can't help feeling that at the end of the day when they have ten appointments to fulfil calling it dead as a dodo is easier than getting into the complexities of fixing an appliance. Two more for the landfill or the appliance heaven they end up in which makes it doubly worse. 

Introducing Sid Little

Last night we sat on the deck and had a late dinner. Sometimes I leave some fruit out for the possums but when I approached the bird table to put my pear scraps onto it I found Sid Little - aka Sidlet. Clearly a new addition to Marina's Mad Critter list. We saw his beautiful markings before he decided to slither onto the lilly pilly. It proved a bit of a stretch so he turned around and headed for the wire. Now that is some balancing wouldn't you say?

I guess it is springtime here down under and babies are popping up everywhere ! 

The stuff of weekends

The boys came to see us - young men to most of the world, and to our American cousins who pointed this out. We welcomed them with open arms, halloumotes and kixia, and set out to catch up on months of travel for each of them, one to Japan the other to America, their work and their social life. A weekend is clearly not enough but we packed in as much as we could over home cooked ribs. We met friends from Geneva days and explored the bank vaults of Donna Chang and the Bar in George St. 

Dougall is a part of my life and theirs so we borrowed him and headed out on Sunday for a walk - these photos are just reminders of how little is needed for a sense of well being, happiness and inner warmth. We hurried home to slow cooked lamb courtesy of http://melizskitchen.blogspot.com and some fresh steamed green beans. Before we knew it the weekend was over and we were dropping them off at the airport. At least their tummies were full. No greater joy for a Cypriot mum.