Of Stories & Connections
One of my house plants – they all survived – has brand new, bright green new shoots. My kids put their tracksuit pants on, and all pairs they seem to… Continue Reading
Browsing Category: Essays
Sharp Relief
Things I always notice when I’m back home in summer: how hot the carparks are, the sun bouncing off the asphalt and burning through the soles of your thongs. How… Continue Reading
Go for the Blankets
As the plane descended into Dubai – lights off, flight attendants strapped in and watching that no one put down a tray or reclined a chair – I reflected on… Continue Reading
On Lessons We Learn from Pets
The boy, of about nine, maybe ten, was crying. He ran around, face to the sky, searching the trees as the light faded, screaming, ‘Spikey’. His parents, flustered, hapless, helpless,… Continue Reading
Colette
I wrote this little essay for a project I created back in 2013, with long-time friend and fellow writer, Sandi. We asked a handful of really good Australian writers to… Continue Reading
One More Sleep
I thought I was very organised this year, when I started putting together little gift parcels for Australian family in November. How merrily I selected little chocolates and decorations, how… Continue Reading
German Culture, Travel: Germany
The Cast of Christmas
I was most surprised, when I spent my first Christmas with the northerner I’d eventually marry, to find out that in the glorious Schleswig-Holstein, children get visited by der Weichnachtsmann. Quite literally,… Continue Reading
Remember What Was & Who Went Before
I have never really given much thought to Totensonntag, Sunday of the Dead, which falls every year on the Sunday between the 20th and 26th of November. It seems like there are… Continue Reading
A Mother’s Country
I wrote this as part of a chapter for the non-fiction project I am writing (and will probably finish in 2025). It was the second half of something and it… Continue Reading
Apples & Acorns
We are swimming in apples. The trees in the neighbourhood are all groaning with rosy fruit, including the tree that straddles our neighbour’s garden and ours. Apparently, years ago, they… Continue Reading
Late August
Finally it’s raining. I used to hate the rain, but then I inherited a garden full of hydrangeas. I remember, when I was a kid, Mum would always sigh with relief… Continue Reading
Coexist
This extraordinary summer continues abated. The entire country seems to be in agreement that this is the best summer ever, even though Greece and Sweden are on fire and these… Continue Reading
The Sixth Stage
I’m working on a book. Heimat covered the first five years of living here in Germany and finding contentment, a feeling of Wohl, in a country I never expected to marry, have… Continue Reading
German Culture, Travel: Germany
The Happy German
For five years running now, Schleswig-Holstein has come out on top in the Glücksatlas polls, which means it is home to the happiest Germans in the country. I get it; I live… Continue Reading
German Culture, Travel: Germany
Buffet
One of the more useful fundaments of the German language is the general rule that you pronounce everything you see. Every single letter in every single word is voiced. For… Continue Reading
Ausgepustete Eier
During my first Elternabend (Parent and Teacher Night, and yes I made a fool of myself by mixing up my sentence structure during the ‘hold the ball and introduce yourself’ game)… Continue Reading
Unearthed
Even with the long flight and time it took to settle the kids, even with some truly magnificent toddler meltdowns as we all grappled with time change, climate change, living… Continue Reading
Pa.
Back in the summer, when Mum and Dad were over helping us get settled in the new place, planting trees and watching the kids, Pa took his tumble while trying… Continue Reading
Thread
I’ve not been home in three years. Life, here, has continued apace – another baby, a new house, a new job – and Australia has remained patiently in my heart,… Continue Reading
A Cup of Tea
I wrote this for a writing course on identity and social issues I took part in a couple of months ago. In the original, the names are printed in full…. Continue Reading