I write. I travel. I read. I learn. I dream and I live my dream.
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Fresh From the Mind
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IN THE WAKE OF THE LONGBOATS
Holland America 22-day cruise from Copenhagen to Reykjavik The Context ‘I’ve never been keen on cruises and I’m on this Nordic diet,’ I stutter when my friend tells me she’s going on a Holland America cruise. ‘There’d be lactose, yeast and eggs in everything.’ Noisy bands, gaudy atrium full of ageing drunks and spas full…
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THE VENICE HOTEL by Tess Woods
I was excited about reading this book, because I was actually in Venice at the time in which it is set, in the Christmas-New Year period in 2019, just before the World locked down. The stress about cruise ships damaging the delicate city was palpable. I bought the book at Brisbane Airport to read on…
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SORROW AND BLISS By Meg Mason.
New Zealand wtiter, Meg Mason, strikes a chord in my heart, because she captures brilliantly that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb. The main character, Martha Friel is 40, the writer of a “funny food column” that, once her editor has cut out all the jokes, is – as she sardonically acknowledges –…
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The Arctic’s hottest spot: Reykjavik—36 hours in the coolest season
36 Hours in Reykjavik: The Cool Capital “Greenland is actually white because it’s full…
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Insights gained on a Trafalgar Tour of Christmas Markets
It isn’t safe to visit Bethlehem in December, so the next most Christmassy experience…
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A Sacred Sanctuary in the Mountains: The Essence of Real Japan
It is early spring in Japan. We are to the west of Mount Fuji,…
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The Cusp between the years in Tuscany
After Rome, the most bucket-listed part of Italy is probably Tuscany. I spent New…
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Lenses on Lilac: Jacarandas in Ipswich
Where I live, in South East Queensland, there’s a saying that when the Jacarandas…
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THE WHITE GIRL By Tony Birch
The story revolves around Aboriginal Odette Brown, a resident of the fictitious town of…
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