The  average cost of a wedding is going up. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/weddings/lifting-the-veil-on-the-true-cost-of-saying-i-do-20120205-1qzrp.htmltoday) reports that the average amount spent on a wedding these days in Australia is $35,000. And that/… Read full post »

I walked past this shop nearly every day on my way to my favourite cafe. It was called 'She Loves Feathers', and the window display was always beautiful. I never went in, though. Shopping drains me, from chatting to the assistant, to trying on the clothes. I love… Read full post »

I don't have tiny ones, or if I do they are drowned out by the big ones. So large I can hardly take myself seriously on these issues any more. I worry about the planet as I swim with my son in our heated pool in the middle of winter. I watch… Read full post »

I feel hot and bothered just looking at the titles of most people's responses to this topic. It's all about each person's special reasons for hanging on to old things. They're not just things, of course, they have special memories and meanings attached.

Well, I am all for throwing stuff… Read full post »

  compare Margot Fonteyn's projection of effortless grace ....

On learning who won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor at last night's Academy Awards Ceremony, I couldn't help but notice: both Christian Bale and Natalie Portman's Oscar winning roles required them to lose a… Read full post »

My son had his first ever day of school this week. Here in Australia we've just had our summer break, and now it's the beginning of the new school year. As I made his lunch and packed his school bag I was filled with self doubt. I always seem… Read full post »

As waves of protests sweep across the Arab world, social networking and other online technologies will be central to their activities. As in Tunis recently and Teheran in 2009, not to mention London in the recent student fees prot… Read full post »

 'We've got to get ready!' said my friend on the phone on tuesday morning. 'There's a flood warning for the Brunswick River!' That's the river I live beside, on the flood plain that our town was settled in a century ago. 'The river will peak at noon.' But the rain… Read full post »