Discoveries with Dougall 6 - Evening light and bats galore.

Evening light - sun burning on wood, leaves dappled with rays, calm in the sky, just before the night life kicks in. This walk took us to a bat colony. Hundreds of bats hanging upside down from the trees, all wrapped up and resting. Very soon they will start to stretch and fan their wings, ready to wake from their slumber, to take off into the sunset in search of fruit and berries.Their populations are decreasing and they can be noisy but they are very important for forest pollination and seed dispersal. 

 A rainbow lorikeet looking out of its box and checking the neighbourhood.

Discoveries with Dougall 5 was the bird call video I posted on Instagram. Go to my Instagram page if you want to hear it - marina marangos.

Women Stepping Forth

Some of these photos have been taken by a new acquaintance Nicki Cassimatis who kindly shared them with me. 

At the beautiful and iconic Meigunyah House in Brisbane I listened to speaker after speaker on the subject of "Women Stepping Forth". Stories of amazing women who in the late 1880s to more recent times, have challenged perceived norms and have made women's position in society more assured and equal. They carried out their work with no applaud but acted in ways that have left a lasting legacy on this state. The speakers, all experts in their field, were able to unearth correspondence, records, diaries and newspaper clippings from libraries and private collections which they shared with us all. I will share with you some memorable snippets. 

Lady Lamington's important work for laying- in hospitals and looking after women while she was first lady in Brisbane 1896-1901  - shaking the hand of a person suffering from leprosy after she left here, and went to Bombay in 1903. 

Mary Jones - a woman artist from the UK who arrived in Queensland in 1888 and who organised the first all women's art exhibition in the State and countered every negative review in the papers with her own considered opinion. Fiesty and self possessed. 

Kathleen McArthur, a close friend of Judith Wright. Both born 1915-2000. Between them they fought hard to protect Cooloola Park, instead of letting the area be sandblasted. She started a unique campaign throughout Australia with postcards calling for protection of the area. She painted wildflowers and wanted everyone to know about them. Her collection of wildflowers of Queensland is still celebrated in the Wildflower Festival every year. 

 The successful postcard campaign she began for preserve the area.

She was also a founding member of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland from where some of these photos have been taken. I belong to the Society today and they are instrumental in conservation work in the state. 

Two women, Margaret Scott and Margaret McCoy, who forged ahead with dressmaking in the state - previously women were only allowed to make undergarments - not outside clothes. They elevated and organised the art of dressmaking in the city. 

Women who became first solicitors, barristers and practising barristers in the State. Agnes McWhinney became a solicitor in 1905 but was paid as an office boy until she challenged this unfair disparity. Most of the women, though highly qualified could not find a job. No one would employ them as they said the men would be upset.

Lillian Cooper came to Brisbane in 1891-one of the first women doctors who travelled to her patients in a horse and carriage. Her life partner, Miss Bedford drove her around in her carriage. 

This was organised by The Queensland Women's Historical Association Inc. For more information and joining this amazing organisation go to www.miegunyah.org

The Night Parrot - A unique Concert at QPAC

The morning had been spent walking Dougall on the bike path where I recorded and posted a video of a concert of bird calls. The evening was spent at QPAC, at a concert entitled Night Parrot, commissioned by the amazing Katie Noonan who asked Jessica Wells to write a 20 minute piece of music about the Night Parrot. We also heard music on the Albatross, the Lark, the Magpie calling and of course the remarkable piece from Ralph Vaughan Williams on the Lark Ascending. The music played by the Acacia Quartet and sung by Morgan England Jones was feathery, furious, flighty and light and so much of it reflected the birds, their calls and their wing patterns. The words in particular of the Night Parrot told its whole remarkable story and this is one I would love to share with you, as everyone should know about it. 

 John Young's Photo of the Night Parrot - taken from an article in the ABC

A painting of the bird by William Cooper from the National Library of Arts.

This is it - it's unlike other parrots - its not loud, squacky or boisterous. It is quiet and unbelievably ground dwelling and those who speak Greek will see this reflected in its name Pezoporus Occidentalis - but the remarkable thing about this tiny creature is that it was thought to be extinct  for one hundred years, no one had seen it- yes, for many years they had given up on ever seeing it again .... until 2013 when John Young a wildlife photographer captured footage of the Night Parrot. Bush Heritage immediately established the Pullen Pullen Reserve where it was sighted. As the composer said this is a remarkable event- how important it is that we all come together to protect this bird at a time when climate change is threatening so many species. 

To find out more and to donate go to http://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/night-parrot?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1MXpBRDjARIsAHtdN-3De2rFJNbL6pOQ_v4mSB8wQfmuEPqV-rs0vT9JjyrhvDM9P6dfjNkaAkxIEALw_wcB

15th to 17th July 2019

So very much to think about in these two days - lets start with the 15th of July 1974 - the day Greece decided to overthrow the legitimate and democratically elected government of Cyprus. To this day we are suffering the terrible injustice and nationalistic madness which led on the 20th of July to Turkey occupying some 30 % of the island to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority. 45 years later, that Turkish minority is in danger of becoming another minority in the north. People from both sides of the divide are stunned at the inability of the government to move forward on a plan of unity and reconciliation. 

We are the last generation to remember the beauty of the united island. That is not to ignore the real problems that existed, but to say enough of the inaction. Already this generation is thinning on the ground. Today Cyprus lost Alexis Galanos, Mayor of Famagusta, friend and tireless advocate for the return of the ghost city of Famagusta to its legitimate owners. This drain will continue until there are no memories, no people who feel this visceral divide. The new generations coming up have nothing to connect them, no shared history or stories to relate to. I am sad and depressed by the state of inaction but know that looking back is not going to give us any answers, except perhaps to make sure we don't repeat the same mistakes. Where is our blue print for the future?  

And then the 17th of July is St Marina's day - my saints day which is celebrated on the island almost with the strength of birthdays. So to all my friends and co- named Marinas, of which there are many, Happy Nameday. One person would often offer celebration in a special way and that was my late sister Niki who would offer a book, a drawing or a dessert. Today I share with you one of her little drawings which is the cup of plenty, happiness and love, with bees buzzing in the corners, which she painted for me for my birthday in 2007. This is our plenty - a pineapple grown from a top- it took nearly 3 years but here it is in its splendour, colours, leaves and all. So when others, bigger, stronger disappoint and let you down, remember those small things and bring happiness and joy into your life to push for change one pineapple at a time. 

Discoveries with Dougall 4 Morning light

Not a cloud in the sky, winter sun and light draws us both out. Dougall does his best to knock me over in his excitement. He does not succeed. He gambols off the lead in every direction. We meet a man. He looks at the lead in my hand and says "That's better on the dog!" Lovely Aussie directness which I am happy to comply with, some of the time. Dougall needs his mad moments of freedom, like we all do, so I defy momentarily, and walk on. 

The morning light is what set me off today so sharing its beauty with you. On the way back we meet the man again. By that time Dougall has calmed down and is on the lead. I smile, point to the lead and ask "Better?" And he smiles back and says "Thank you."

Find your happy space

Sometimes pictures speak volumes and it is all you need. Finding your happy space is as simple as a day in the garden laying turf and planting more rose bushes. Or for my cockatoos taking my table cloth off the table for the umpteenth time. What is yours ?

PS Had to change Happy Spot to Happy Space as I suddenly realised you might all be responding with a letter ! Thank you Anna Marangos for going oh lala.