May 7, 2019 I called my mother last night to tell her the good news. I’d bought the secondhand car I’d viewed. At the mention of ‘car’...

May 5, 2019 I went to see a car today. I’ve been making do with public transport but I’ll need a car when I renovate this house. They...

April 18, 2019 When I left New Zealand in 1985, I called home every month or so. International calls were pricey so there was always a...

April 4, 2019 I visited my Chinese herbalist today. We chatted while he mixed up my takeaway of dried bark and fungus cubes. I told him...

February 25, 2019 My old Paris apartment was on the fifth floor of a building in the 11th arrondissement. It overlooked the courtyard and...

January 14, 2019 When I moved from London to Sydney in March last year, I took two of my three cats with me. The oldest, Pipi, was too...

January 7, 2019 In September, I will be facilitating two writing labs on the beautiful island of Skyros in Greece. I will be based at...

January 6, 2019 Quote of the day: ‘Those bloody alpacas have eaten all my scarlet runners.’ Mum has discovered that the neighbour’s...

January 4, 2019 It all felt very familiar. I have used Chinese herbs on and off for years and find them very effective for certain...

December 27, 2018 She’s back at home from the beach house and has done two loads of washing, ‘All the sheets and towels. A nice breeze...

December 20, 2018 We were back visiting Garry at the booze department again today, topping up stocks before Christmas. Garry is an...

December 19, 2018 We were up with the birds and into the hospital early this morning for Mum’s regular eye inspection and injection. On...

December 16, 2018 My mother has only one working eye. It doesn’t work particularly well but she likes to make out she doesn’t miss a...

December 14, 2018 It was go, go, go today: buying and wrapping Christmas presents, and driving all over town. My mother was behind me...

December 13, 2018 My 85-year-old mother and I called in to see Garry at the local supermarket this afternoon. A young woman had set up a...

December 7, 2018 Good riddance to this chump. He and his co-workers have been on my roof for several days. They’ve been using it as a...

December 4, 2018 I’ve been having wifi trouble and was on the phone this morning to Telstra, the provider. I was part-way through their...

November 9, 2018 I climbed out of my window a couple of hours ago and cleaned out my gutters which were choked with gum leaves. Earlier,...

I was talking to a British friend today about my plans for my house and its scruffy, jungly garden. He asked me about snakes and whether...

My mother had an injection in her one working eye today. She has them regularly to keep her macular degeneration at bay. The treatment...