Surprise catch
Surprise catch DM 13th December 2025 I’ve fished out my fishing rod for the holiday break. Last time I used it, I didn’t catch a thing. A few bites, but nothing hooked. And I didn’t mind a bit. Just to stand on the beach with my toes in the water, sun on my back, no-one […]
Letter to self
Letter to self DM 6th December 2025 One of the questions that is typically asked when interviewing people of more mature years is this: “If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?” It’s a thoughtful question. But an even better one is this: “If you could give some advice […]
Pa rum pa pum pum
Pa rum pa pum pum DM 29th November 2025 I have a friend who goes into paroxysms whenever he hears that Christmas classic, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’. I feel some sympathy for him, but could not resist forwarding to him the latest iteration called ‘The Little Drummer Girl’, presumably a story that follows the same […]
Star of wonder
Star of wonder DM 19th November 2025 This year’s Australian Christmas stamp has just been issued, and bears the first-day postmark of our suburb of Merrylands, and features the scene of three angels, in psychedelic costumes, adoring mother and child. Mary in her royal robes sits enthroned, and Jesus, wearing little buddha-pants, looks nonchalant and […]
The Sun and the Wind
The Sun and the Wind DM 8th November 2025 One of Aesop’s fables begins this way: ‘The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger. While they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak. “Let us agree,” said […]
Six Seven
Six Seven DM 1st November 2025 The kids all think they’re cool with their sing-song ‘six seven’ – glad most of all, for the way it annoys adults. They seem quite unconcerned that the little phrase is beyond definition. Just glad that it ticks the boxes of an inside-joke and gives them some sense of […]
Serious Twitching
Serious Twitching DM 25th October 2025 A twitchathon is happening in Sydney this weekend, where participants will try, during a set period of time, to count as many different birds as they can, in order to raise money for a worthwhile environmental project. So here’s my list, seen from my back yard, in the last […]
Stay away from pretty gardens
Stay away from pretty gardens DM 18th October 2025 C S Lewis would have to be the most quoted Christian author I have ever encountered, and it always seems advantageous to mention his name to strengthen one’s point. The man was incredibly insightful, honest, and articulate. His book The Four Loves contains a strange but […]
Mulberry Prayers
Mulberry prayers DM 11th October 2025 I do love mulberries. Particularly enclosed in warm pastry and served with ice-cream. There’s luscious tree in a suburb near where I work, and when it’s dripping with fruit, I’m tempted to action that sentence where Jesus said: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you […]
Seeing double
Seeing double DM 4th October 2025 Twins come in two varieties: identical and fraternal. Some might put the distinction another way: annoying and really-annoying! Think of Lewis Caroll’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and J K Rowling’s George and Fred Weasley. (Actually there’s a third kind of twins – cojoined – which I guess lies more on […]