Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nell Holland: Lucy Anstruther’s Mother

She’d never been out of the confines of her parent’s farm before, and Lucy was silent, overwhelmed by every new thing she saw. She was wearing a coat, with a matching bonnet tied under her chin, and her mother held her hand tightly. She kept Lucy so close to her side that Lucy’s hat rubbedContinue reading “Nell Holland: Lucy Anstruther’s Mother”

Jean Stewart: That Good Old Gut Feeling

How often have we said to ourselves and others: ‘I always rely on my intuition…it never lets me down!’ Our memories are selective. Those times we’ve been completely inaccurate fade like clouds melted by sun. When we’ve been spot-on, we recall these moments at length, re-telling and embedding them into our thoughts. Conversely, how manyContinue reading “Jean Stewart: That Good Old Gut Feeling”

Fran Collins: Missed It By Minutes

Gertrud had a small bundle of her pamphlets left to deliver.  It was nearing 7pm and a shroud of darkness was descending upon the city. She knew she should have started earlier, but it couldn’t be helped. An icy wind was flapping at her coat and whipping her hair about. A rumble of thunder rakedContinue reading “Fran Collins: Missed It By Minutes”

Donatella Gallucio: We Missed It By Minutes

The water was rough and I felt nervous.  Crispen steered the boat while his two leery companions joked and laughed at us. How could they let our balsa raft, made of 10 logs strapped together, float freely down this stretch of the river? Tim in his kayak was hopelessly trying to control the raft, butContinue reading “Donatella Gallucio: We Missed It By Minutes”

Karen Agutter: We Missed It By Minutes

Coming in to land at Heathrow my mind was full of ideas for the days to come. Five days to catch up with friends, visit the latest exhibitions, re-walk my favourite stomping grounds around Hamstead Heath. So many ideas, so little time. Such a pity that Wayne would have to work for two of thoseContinue reading “Karen Agutter: We Missed It By Minutes”

Don Sinnott: A Warning

The sound from the engine-house was varying—‘hunting’ he called it—the note of the big diesel rising and falling on a cycle of about 20 seconds. A hundred metres from the engine-house and inside the well-insulated living quarters Dave was normally only subliminally aware of the faint throb. Until the note changed. Damn, why does thisContinue reading “Don Sinnott: A Warning”

Don Sinnott: An Audience with Elysus

Jason stepped with infinite care. He had waited at the threshold of the tomb, hoping his eyes would adapt to the darkness. But in vain: he could make out nothing. Only the sensation from the tentative sliding of his bare feet revealed anything about his surroundings. Sand, no obstacles; his outstretched hands encountered only air.Continue reading “Don Sinnott: An Audience with Elysus”

Rossana Mora: The Bridge II

At this new property a similar pattern developed. As men came and went, neighbours gracefully turned a blind eye. The less they look, the better. Some did it for their own sake, not to be tempted; some others because they simply didn’t approve and preferred to pretend they didn’t know what was going on behindContinue reading “Rossana Mora: The Bridge II”

Lawrie Stanford: The Apple Story

On an aimless stroll down Rundle Mall one Sunday, I come across it—the Apple Store. Yes! I thought, I can sort out that confounded iCloud issue on my phone! So I enter. Looking around, I see a crowded hall and cheerful Apple consultants chatting to customers. In the crowd, there was a consultant waving atContinue reading “Lawrie Stanford: The Apple Story”

Edie Eicas: Ticket to Ride

When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. They lied. There’ve been many times when I wished the floor would open up and I would disappear, preferably to some beach in Hawaii. When I was younger,Continue reading “Edie Eicas: Ticket to Ride”

Nell Holland: Time Travelling

I see me with Dad, both of us squinting into sunlight, as Mum pushed the button on the Brownie. I was five years old and on my first seaside holiday. He sits on the beach wearing his weekend trousers and a sleeveless vest; I wear knickers and a hair bow. We just had clothes.  No-oneContinue reading “Nell Holland: Time Travelling”

Karen Agutter: Walking Home

As she approached the bottom of the hill she stopped, placed her bag of shopping on the ground, took a deep breath and readied herself. ‘Come on old girl, nearly there’ she chaffed, in a half-hearted attempt to jolly herself on, but this was the worst part. Trudging slowly upward, she noticed that the fogContinue reading “Karen Agutter: Walking Home”

Robert Schmidt: UFO’s Humbug

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have fascinated me all my life. We often would talk about them around the dinner table. We talked about life on billions of planets, numerous sightings through to the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, ‘flying saucer’ claims and conspiracy theories.My Dad was a brilliant patent attorney with the full name Johannes CarlContinue reading “Robert Schmidt: UFO’s Humbug”

Fran Collins: After The Storm

Nineteen seventy-three. Another missing person. Close to home. Home was the Al Akbar Apartment House, West Bank, Jerusalem. It was a thirty-minute walk along a dusty goat track to the Jaffa Gate in the Old City, where I worked. Sitting here in Adelaide, in my kitchen in 2021, I celebrate the forty-eighth anniversary of ourContinue reading “Fran Collins: After The Storm”

Rossana Mora: Numbers

The Fields is the name of the nursing home that lies in the middle of the one of the nicest suburbs in Adelaide. Almost 80 percent of the residents are women, the oldest being 103 years old. They live within the four areas that are named after grains: oats, rice, barley and rye. Rye isContinue reading “Rossana Mora: Numbers”

Lawrie Stanford: To Sled Or To Bed

With snow upon the ground outside, the boy leapt headlong on his sled, and down the hill at pace a-crackin’, delinquently, he quickly sped. He felt the wind as it blew by, there were no thoughts of fear or dread, but in his haste, he lost control, and crashed his cart into the shed. ThoseContinue reading “Lawrie Stanford: To Sled Or To Bed”

Lawrie Stanford: I’m a Corona-Conspiracy Theorist

Sitting at my desk this afternoon it became clear where the coronavirus came from. As my vacant gaze drifted across the desk, the design on a box of tissues forced itself into my consciousness. The origin of the coronavirus was revealed! It was in fact trumpeted by the perpetrators—Kimberly Clark the producers of Kleenex tissues! Continue reading “Lawrie Stanford: I’m a Corona-Conspiracy Theorist”