I can’t believe it’s a year since I last wrote about taking a Christmas break from Blogging – surely that was only a month ago? Wasn’t it?
But then I look back at the calendar and see how many Blogs I’ve written, the places I’ve travelled to and the path life has taken me and realise that yes, indeed, a whole year has just whizzed on by yet again…
Right now, there’s other demands on my time that mean I might be posting less Blogs than usual at the start of 2014. There’s several creative writing projects that need my attention and I have learnt in the past few months that I just can’t do both.
To write creatively is a different matter altogether to writing a Blog and requires me to enter what I call ‘The Zone’. That means no other mental distractions – no matter how trivial – so I can be fully immersed in the world I’m conjuring.
As we come to the end of 2013, I’ll re-post a few of the most popular stories from throughout the year, and no doubt, there’ll be some adventures and embarrassing tales that I’ll need to share, but for now, I’m taking a break!
So I wish you all a VERY Happy Christmas and holiday season, and a multitude of blessings for the New Year.
Thanks for your support throughout 2013 and I’ll be back when I’ve conquered those creative dragons battling for my attention. Until then, take care, Christmas kisses and good luck.
It’s an impossible task – sitting down at one’s computer trying to write about Tim Winton’s latest novel, Eyrie. I’ve been staring at the blank page for hours, contemplating how to do such a book justice. Much has been said already and far more eloquently that I could ever hope to express. But persist I will, because as we hurtle into the holiday period, I know many of you will be looking for something new to read at the beach or on a plane. Time is of essence, so you need to choose wisely. Read something entertaining but also worthwhile. Something that will resonate and stir the soul, take you away from trashy tabloid mags and cheap reality TV. Tim Winton’s latest novel, Eyrie, would be my Number One pick. So where do I begin in explaining why? It’s an epic task. I have to remind myself that Tim Winton himself will not read this. So I shall remove the fear of disappointing so great a mind with my trivial ramblings and chat away. Because a BLOG is not a ‘serious’ book review. It’s more of a friendly natter between pals about something I think you’ll like. For starters, Eyrie is a real page-turner. Not since Winton’s Cloudstreet, have I enjoyed one of his novels as much. Well, hang on, I was fond of Breath, but Cloudstreet was always my favourite. And I think that was because of the characters. Flawed individuals struggling to find a place in the world. It’s a very Australian ‘thing’, isn’t it? Backing the underdog and rooting for any small victories they win along the way.
That’s also how I felt about Eyrie’s main protagonist, Tom Keely. He’s down and out, divorced and unemployed and the first time we meet, he’s trying to face the world, suffering a killer hangover. I liked him straight away. There’s also a sense of injustice about his grimy circumstances – how this former environmental activist ended up in a wasteland high-rise. We want to know more about how he got there and if he’ll turn the corner. Keely discovers a neighbour living in his apartment block is an old childhood friend, Gemma Buck. She’s a coarse, flinty former beauty who smokes like a chimney and speaks her mind. Her grandson, Kai, catches Keely’s attention and slowly, he starts to re-engage with the world. When a sinister threat emerges and puts Kai at risk, the action steps up. Keely starts making plans.
‘Saving’ others is a central theme of the book… Spoiler alert, page 289
But I’m not going to give you the whole plot or any real spoilers here. Although I should also mention, as far as one of the central themes goes, it’s Keely’s mother who provides the clues. Doris, is a strong and endearing character who knows her son better than he knows himself. As she tells him two-thirds into the book, ‘To save a drowner, you need to be a swimmer.’ Yes, there’s many characters in this book trying to save others. Doris and Keely’s sister, Faith, are trying to save him from himself, while he tries to save Gemma and Kai. Swimming, surfing, the great Aussie ocean, floating and all things aquatic have always featured heavily in Winton’s writing, and are again present in Eyrie. Although like the title suggests, from living up high in his lofty nest, his ‘eyrie’, Keely has a keen sense of a propensity to fall, a feeling of vertigo that may pull him down to a point where getting up is a questionable possibility. And that is what keeps us, the reader, turning the page, anxious to learn of Keely’s fate. It’s as if Winton is trying to draw his own focus away from the water for a change. So birdlife, flying and falling themes pull us away from the water to a more ‘airy’ level in this novel.
Every time I finish a Tim Winton book I marvel at the mind behind the words. It makes you want to know more about the man himself, but in real life, he gives very little away. He leads a private existence and rarely attends public events. Which probably explains how he’s been able to write and publish 25 books. The inside of Eyrie’s cover gives just a brief resume of his vast achievements. Yes, completely overwhelming. He’s won the Miles Franklin Award FOUR times.
Enough from me. Read Eyrie instead. If you’d like a copy of your own, order through Bookworld at Bookworld.com.au and by quoting this code – BW-SEO14 – you’ll receive a FIVE PER CENT discount.
This offer is valid until January 31st. It mightn’t sound like much, but that brings the price down to about $32, which is much less than the $45 being charged by Penguin books. (And that includes postage!!)
It’s an annual event and an invitation much sought after by Melbourne’s media girls – the Women in Media Lunch at Crown. That’s not just because Crown’s Ann Peacock always puts on such a wonderful day with superb food and champagne, it’s the company invited AND the incredible goody bag you stumble home with after a day of indulgence…
Last Friday we gathered at SILKS restaurant where the staff prepared a stunning feast of delicate dishes that blew my diet out of the water… not that I cared one bit!
In this case, the photos I took will best tell the story of how the day panned out so let’s take a look:
Never too old to sit on Santa’s knee – me with Herald Sun columnist Wendy Tuohy and Santa!
A highlight of the day was the entertainment – songs performed by a young man with one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard – 11-year-old Beau Woodbridge. You’ll get the chance to hear him too when he performs at Carols By Candelight with David Hobson on Christmas Eve. And yes, you may have recognised his surname. His father is none other than tennis great Todd Woodbridge.
Whitening cream and skin evaluation voucher from Liberty Belle
Plus there were movie passes from Roadshow and Palace cinemas, all adding up to possibly the best-ever goody bag I’ve seen. Huge thanks to Ann Peacock, Crown and all the sponsors for such a wonderful day.
Every day brings with it a fresh start and for me, today is about clearing out old stories from the Blog (delete, Kaput, good-bye!!) and re-starting the FIT FIX Diet Plan. Yep, it’s back to a JUICE FAST day for me.
I’m well aware it’s not particularly interesting reading material to keep banging on about this diet, but I do know it’s the only way to make myself stick to the straight and narrow. So I’m just going to keep plugging away and this time, try to keep the updates regular, confess to all my sins and add in any new recipes or diet tips as they come to hand.
It’s also fair reason to add in a few funny life stories for amusement.
Take last night for instance. Of course I couldn’t have an AFD when taking part in a Trivia night with friends at the local pub! And after a few chardys, it seemed only fair to buy a shared dessert plate for the table to keep our brain cells active. So the diet went out the window.
But I think the sugar did the trick. While we didn’t win, we were only a few points away from victory. There were some stellar moments from the group – such as recognising the theme music from TV show Water Rats and knowing the name of the U.S. military decoration given to those wounded in battle. (It’s a Purple Heart)
I didn’t know many answers, but had one fine brain flash when we were asked what was the only anagram in the English language for the word ‘exclaims’. And I got it in a second!! Shall I give you a minute to think about it?
The thing I love about breaking my diet is that I can always find someone or something else to take the blame. In this case, I blame Mal Walden. It all started last week on Wednesday night when there were drinks at a pub after he finished reading his final Ten News bulletin. The next day I posted a picture of an empty ice-cream bucket found in the sink that morning…
I call it emotional eating. Mal’s leaving Ten is indeed the end of an era and I’m not immune to the emotions that go along with all of that.
As well, It’s obviously NOT a good time of year to begin a new health mission, what with the plethora of festive occasions that make eating and drinking mandatory. To be quite frank, in the last week I have been nothing short of appalling.
And you can see the results in the tummy bulge, popping out in this photo where I was snapped having a drink and a laugh with Mal at Parliament House last night. If you’ve been following my blogging updates with the FIT FIX Diet Plan, you will have noticed there haven’t been many instalments in the last week. Basically, that’s because there’s too many sins to be recounted. It’s just too plain embarrassing…
So now I really do have to start being ‘good’ again. At least I’m still weighing in at a couple of kilos LESS than when I started the campaign. But that dress really does look too tight. BAD.
Yep, there it is again – THAT tummy – in a reunion snap taken of the old Ten News team from back in the year 2000. And NO, I’m not pregnant… I really would like to get back to the 66kg mark I touched on for just one day at the end of week two. Now I’m up to 68.5 again. Boo.
The boys are all holding up pretty well, aren’t they? Congratulations to Stephen Quartermain who will now be filling the chair as main news anchor for Ten News. I know he’ll do a fine job.
But I have another food update for you. As you may know, I’m a lover of yoghurt but do try to find products with less than five per cent sugar. Recently, my nephew who works at JALNA, gave me a range of their products to try. At first I scrunched up my nose, saying, ‘Nah, most of that yoghurt is about TEN per cent sugar!’
‘But no,’, said Nathan, ‘Jalna doesn’t use any sugar in its yoghurt. They use pear juice instead.’
Now technically fruit juice is still high in sugar, but at least it’s not the processed kind! And given the sugar content is still less than TEN per cent in most varieties, I am now going to include JALNA yoghurt in the FIT FIX Diet Plan. I really think the company should promote the ‘no sugar’ fact on their packaging as I would have considered buying it before now if I’d known.
The new Citrus flavour is great, and I’ve always loved the Honey-Vanilla. But there’s one new variety I’m especially keen on – the new Greek ‘Sweet and Creamy’ yoghurt. Hmmmm – heavenly! And only 9.6% sugar. A much better alternative to ice-cream!!
