Recitations
Recitations DM 13th September 2025 It was a regular Friday night ritual, that I loved and loathed. My grandparents would arrive, armed with sweets and treats. But not to be given to hungry children for free. To get them, you either had to recite some poetry, or read a page from a book, or sing […]
Finishing Unwell
Finishing Unwell (Encouragement to the dying) DM 6th September 2025 The quay was awash with them. Lithe and impressive-looking people, smiling and warmly gabbling in different tongues, and sporting silver medals around their necks. These were the athletes who the previous day had completed the Sydney marathon, and were now proudly wearing their spoils of […]
Perfect freedom
Perfect freedom DM 30th August 2025 There’s an interesting verse in the final Book of the Bible on the topic of heaven. In speaking about the city to come, it says, “On no day will its gates ever be shut”, with this reason attached, “for there will be no night there.” I’m not sure that […]
Faint praise
Faint praise DM 23rd August 2025 I knew that the smallest bone in the human body was located in the ear. In high-school biology, we called it the stirrup, but its anatomical name is stapes. And I knew that it was a clever bone, and critical to the function of hearing. But I’d never heard […]
The Wigtown Whistler
The Wigtown Whistler DM 16th August 2025 In a diary by the proprietor of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, irritating patrons are named and shamed, and I have just been convicted for the innocent crime of whistling. “Sadly this type… is a man (it is always a man) who is so blissfully ignorant of the […]
Patience with progress (& vice versa)
Patience with progress (& vice versa) DM 9th August 2025 A recent article in the Australian Geographic tackled the hot topic of fingernail growth, which admittedly, was rather nail-biting stuff! How fast do they grow? Answer: Slower than a snail. Slower even than a glacier; but faster than your toenails apparently. One tenth of a […]
Shelter
Shelter DM 2nd August 2025 You can find the story on youtube and meet the central characters – Theodore Malgorne the lighthouse-keeper and Jean Guichard the photographer. Just type in ‘La Jument Lighthouse’ and voila, the story will appear. In 1989, during a huge storm off the coast of Brittany, Jean Guichard chartered a helicopter […]
Botany 101
Botany 101 DM 26th July 2025 I walked past the sandstone memorial today to mark the life of Joseph Banks, the first European botanist to put foot on Australian soil. Apart from the contested political question, it must have been a pretty exciting moment for him to encounter the largess of new leaves and plethora […]
The Father’s Estate
The Father’s Estate DM 12th July 2025 My son is getting married soon, and one of his friends, who owns a winery, has generously offered to supply some cases of his best reds and whites. I hope it’s not too good, otherwise the question of whether there’s enough will raise its awkward head. At least […]
The bargain
The bargain DM 5th July 2025 There’s a smile that never fails to amuse me. It regularly appears on Antiques Roadshow every time someone, who submits a treasured heirloom from their great aunt’s estate for appraisal, is told by the expert the estimated price. And then it appears. Words are said, “Gosh! I didn’t think […]