Category Archives: David Hope

David Hope: Nightmare

Eyes. Blink open. Mistake! Sun. Blindingly bright! Unbearable. Tight shut eyes. Great pain. Whole body pain. Last memory. Walking. Mountain track. Falling. Tumbling over rocks. Big rocks. Water. Rocks. River. Pain. Cold. Glacier cold. Move body. Bad idea. Sit up. Black out! Wake up. More pain. More cold. Must move. Agony to move. No blackContinue reading “David Hope: Nightmare”

David Hope: E-Book or Hard Copy

Many of my friends and, I suspect, some among you, express a marked antipathy towards eBooks. Their most frequent expressions in the discussion are: ‘I like the touch and feel of a physical book.’ ‘I like to turn the pages.’ ‘I like the smell of a book, especially a new one.’ ‘I love to beContinue reading “David Hope: E-Book or Hard Copy”

David Hope: Mistaken Identity

It’s a dark night in Whitechapel in August 1888. Through the gloom, an observer watched the two figures struggling. Martha Tabram was fighting for her life on a staircase in George Yard. A fight she was losing as her assailant stabbed her again and again. The knife rose and fell, rose and fell, on andContinue reading “David Hope: Mistaken Identity”

David Hope: Memory and Loss

‘Hi, David, it’s Karl. Sadly, I have bad news. Ian Willis died last night, probably from complications from serious surgery.’ There is a little moment when things seem to stop, and belief is suspended. Then reality is back. ’I just spoke to him three of four weeks ago, Karl, and was organising to catch upContinue reading “David Hope: Memory and Loss”

David Hope: Donna

Donna was late. As she walked into the office, appearing slightly breathless, heads turned towards her. Slowly at first, then more rapidly. Normally, she was well-groomed and confident. Today she seemed to be slightly deshabille. Not dishevelled, but just looking as if she had dressed in a great hurry.  She was flushed, as if fromContinue reading “David Hope: Donna”

David Hope: Cabal of Cats

It was a dark and stormy night. The cabal of cats was meeting to plot their various schemes against the humans who attempted to enslave them and limit their freedom. A number of them had slunk into the meeting bedraggled and infuriated with the terrible storm. Oscar, who was hosting the meeting, smugly enjoying theContinue reading “David Hope: Cabal of Cats”

David Hope: Travels in Queensland

Ian and I arrived in Croydon after a very pleasant five-hour train journey on the weekly Gulflander service from Normanton. It runs every Wednesday, returning to Normanton on Thursday. The line, 151 kilometres long, is not connected to any other line. It was built to cater for the gold finds in the Croydon area inContinue reading “David Hope: Travels in Queensland”

David Hope: ‘Do I know you?’

Yesterday I went to Strathalbyn to catch up with some friends. Ian, Marilyn and I met in Alice Springs in 1971 (yes, 50 years ago). We were all working for the Commonwealth Government in different agencies. Young and single we were housed in a hostel where there was a fair amount of propinquity at work.Continue reading “David Hope: ‘Do I know you?’”

David Hope: The Fires Burn

The fires burn, the smoke thickens. Hotter still, the day quickens. Pushed by the wind, flames abscond. Sirens sound, firies respond. At the fire, hot work beckons. The fires burn, the smoke thickens. A wall of fire, massive front. Are we able to bear the brunt? The fires power, all consuming. Deal with this? We’reContinue reading “David Hope: The Fires Burn”

David Hope: Dubrovnik

It’s a lovely June day, warm and welcoming. After entering through the Pile Gate and ascending the stairs, we begin a circuit of the walls of the Old Town of Dubrovnik. The walls, largely intact, present a bird’s eye view of the old town as well as some insight into the mind of the cityContinue reading “David Hope: Dubrovnik”

David Hope: What is it About Deserts

The desert passes by the car window.  People seem to think a desert is a sterile, barren place; an unending vista of not much, stretching to infinity. Yet, what is passing by, is an everchanging scene.   There is a straggle of undersized trees meandering across the land, marking a watercourse. Strangely, there is a sandContinue reading “David Hope: What is it About Deserts”

David Hope: Clichés

We are counselled to avoid the use of clichés in our writing, mainly because clichés are overused pieces of language that have lost any freshness of meaning, sometimes to the point of futility; they detract rather than add to the written word. That injunction led me to muse on why we use clichés in ourContinue reading “David Hope: Clichés”

David Hope: The Reader

The reader imagining they have been Transported away to places unseen Experiencing things dirty and clean Stuck in the mud with the African Queen Scoured from the sands by a wind so keen Washed by waters some clear, some saline.   Mixed feelings of fear, feelings of joy The freezing cold of an Arctic convoy,Continue reading “David Hope: The Reader”