News
Write a Book in a Day - Today I want to tell you about last Saturday, when I joined eight of my writing friends at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writing Centre in Greenmount, to write A Book In A Day. This is a competition to raise funds for children’s cancer research. It’s a group writing project, with usually 8 – 10 people […]
Favourite Books From The Last 12 Months - This weekend I am at the Writers’ Festival in Perth, so I thought it would be a good time to review some of my favourite reads since the last festival. I had the pleasure of listening to and meeting Louise Allan, a lovely, natural lady, who seems surprised and perhaps a little overwhelmed by the […]
Favourite Books from 2015 - What were your favourite reads in 2015? The Writer’s Festival in the grounds of the University of Western Australia is always a feast for me and this year’s selection in February, more than lived up to past presentations. Liz Byrski spoke about her non-fiction book, ‘In Love and War,’ which I have only recently read. […]
Friends In My Garden: Owl - Owl My friend owl is a friend of many years. He perches on the fence sometimes a little wary to join in the babble of the crowd but when he does they respond with hilarity to the jokes he tells for owl is witty as well as wise. His nest is in a neighbouring tree […]
Dunsborough Library and South West Retailers - I recently spent a few days in and around Dunsborough, presenting ‘The Green Velvet Dress’ in the library, where I enjoyed the scones and coffee and sold copies to all who attended. I then took my novel to book shops and interesting galleries between Dunsborough and Boranup. I now have four new outlets (see on […]
Friends In My Garden – Bizzie Lizzie - I’m sure you all have at least one character like this in your friendship garden. Such a Bizzie Lizzie is pretty little balsam dashing about always wanting to please. Wearing happy colours she brightens dreary corners. There are times when she’ll work too hard then suddenly stop fall in […]
Friends In My Garden – A Tree of Grace - This poem was written for my daughter, Stephanie, who demonstrated such courage and determination after the loss of her baby and her husband in a car crash in 1990. It still makes me cry but I hope it shows how much I love and admire her. It has been shared with many readers who lost […]
Friends In My Garden – Chirpy Chatty Charmer - CHIRPY CHATTY CHARMER A bright little bird perches on my shoulder lands in my lap or sits on the bench beside me. Rarely still he bobs and darts and scurries from tree to fence from path to bench to me. Whistling and chirping and singing away He’ll talk to himself if there’s no-one around to […]
Friends In My Garden – Friendship - Friends In My Garden is the name of my first book, a collection of poems about people in my life depicted as birds, flowers, trees and other things that you find in a garden. Many of you have copies, but for those who don’t and who have asked to see my poems, here is […]
A Successful Week in Local Libraries - The Green Velvet Dress presented at two libraries in one week. A bit daunting, but I’m getting into the swing and starting to enjoy myself. For evening events the libraries have provided a glass of wine and some delicious nibbles, which helps me to relax and puts the audience in a receptive mood. About fifteen […]
Stories
Transported - This short story received an award and was published in the Stringybark Times Past collection in 2020. All stories for the competition had to be based on historical facts. These are mine: On 26th January1788, the First Fleet, under Captain Arther Philip, sailed into Sydney Cove and claimed the land for Britain. Eleven ships arrived […]
Go North Young Man - In 2020 I recieved a ‘Highly Acclaimed’ for this little memoir which I had entered in the Scribes Writers Prose Competition. It’s part of the series I’ve written (and am still writing) about our time at Exmouth. During 2021 I concentrated on writing, editing and publishing Child of the War Years which many of you […]
Reviews for CHILD OF THE WAR YEARS - Hi Vicki I have finished reading your book “Child of the War Years”. This is a thoroughly entertaining and candid expose of what life was like for you in those years. At times hilarious and other times sad, it evoked many memories of my own childhood and the times spent with your family. Your writing […]
Launch of my memoir. - Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Greenmount, was rocking by 3pm last Sunday. Guests started arriving half an hour ahead of the planned opening time, so keen were they to be a part of the launch of my third book, ‘CHILD OF THE WAR YEARS.’ Parking is limited at the centre, but we were lucky […]
Reaching Out: cont. - Here is the rest of the story which I gave you last week. It was written as a short story, but I wonder if it’s worth developing into something longer. What do you think? As always, I appreciate your comments. Reaching Out. Slowly, she moves from the window. He notices the slight limp in […]
Reaching Out - Here is the first part of another of my award winning short stories, published in May 2020 by Stringybark, in the collection entitled ‘Close to Heaven.’ There was no theme required but the story had to be set in Australia, hence the Akubra and the Arnott’s Monte Carlo biscuits. I enjoyed writing this piece of […]
COUNTRY LIFE - We arrived after dark, kids asleep on the back seat, dog alert, whining to be allowed out of the car. Country smells had him quivering with excitement, so Robert let him out first. I hoped he wouldn’t explore too far on our first night in a strange place. “Can you put the lights on high […]
One Week to Harvest part two - He hurled the plastic bottle at the fence. Harry ran to retrieve it. Dropping the trophy on the ground next to Gus, the dog lay down, paws touching scuffed leather. Gus squatted beside him, ruffled his course black fur, then brushed away a slobbering tongue. “It’s okay mate. You don’t have to lick me to […]
One Week To Harvest - This short story was published in a collection called Timber, in 2018. Some of you might have read it, but for those who haven’t, I’ve decided to post it here in serial form over the next two weeks. There are no pictures. I hope my words paint the scene and the actions for you. As a writer, […]
Write a Book in a Day - Today I want to tell you about last Saturday, when I joined eight of my writing friends at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writing Centre in Greenmount, to write A Book In A Day. This is a competition to raise funds for children’s cancer research. It’s a group writing project, with usually 8 – 10 people […]
Articles
Love in the Time of Corona - I have just read my last blog, written over a year ago. I had intended to finish the story, including the effects of the chemotherapy and my eventual recovery. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I’ve also had a hip replacement just before everything shut down in WA and I was isolated for two months […]
My Breast Cancer Journey cont: Finding a Lump - Again I want to state that my reason for publishing my story is to help others understand the importance of continuing to have mammograms as we age, regardless of what the medical ‘experts’ advise. If you missed the first chapter, please scroll down and read it, to make better sense of this one. I hope […]
The Joys of Modern Technology - Amazing isn’t it? Just when you need the computer to work, the printer to communicate with the computer and all that incredibly clever modern technology to just get on with the job, that’s when they have a breakdown. This coming Sunday is a big day for me and for a group of my writing friends. […]
Getting To Know My Dad - Born at the beginning of the Second World War, I have memories that are unique to an Australian child of that era. Many of us didn’t know our fathers because they went off to England to help the British fend off the Germans, or to places like New Guinea to fight the Japanese. For several […]
Sometimes I Think I Live In Paradise - Only two weeks ago I was raving about the wonders of autumn. I took this photo from my back verandah, thinking how blessed I was to see this as I stepped outside each morning. Then in the late afternoon, with the sun accentuating the pale bark, my large gum tree (I didn’t plant it, don’t […]
Autumn and Liquid Amber - Autumn is my favourite time of the year in the Perth hills. Morning air is crisp and dew is often present on the well established plants in my garden. In the last two years I’ve added a few trees for the colour of their leaves, when the summer flowers have finished. This Crepe Myrtle is […]
I Have Found My Desk - This must sound like an odd title for a blog, but I’m sure most of you know that feeling of wading through papers every time you want to find one thing. I’m talking about the papers that stay on your desk, initially in some sort of order, which probably only you can follow, but they […]
Getting Lost in Google - I can’t stand it anymore, the frustration of trying to find information on the internet. I guess you, too, have spent hours, wasted away a whole day at a time, or at least an afternoon, with Google, investigating sites that disappear as soon as you try a tangent, or once you’ve started on a path, […]
Favourite Books From The Last 12 Months - This weekend I am at the Writers’ Festival in Perth, so I thought it would be a good time to review some of my favourite reads since the last festival. I had the pleasure of listening to and meeting Louise Allan, a lovely, natural lady, who seems surprised and perhaps a little overwhelmed by the […]
Spring in the Hills - Spring is here again, and my camera has been busy, so today, instead of York in England, I have to write about my garden in Glen Forrest. The view from my bedroom, into a private courtyard which is now finished, is already a delight and in a few weeks, when everything blossoms, it […]
Travel
Queensland trip cont: Atherton Tablelands - Our trip to Queensland seems so long ago but I do want to tell you about the other places we visited, including the rest of our day out with Louise in the super comfortable black Mercedes. After the quaint town of Yungaburra, (see my posting by scrolling down the page if you missed it earlier) […]
Escaping Cold Perth: Palm Cove, Queensland - Our plan was to spend a couple of days in Brisbane catching up with family, then head further north for the warmth. Flying to Cairns from Brisbane, we were picked up in a very comfortable Audi and taken to Imagine Drift apartments in Palm Cove. The accommodation, booked at least six weeks earlier, overlooked a […]
Natural History Museum and Goodbye UK - This week marks the end of my Travel Tales for a while. Susanne and I left York after our one night stay in the hotel and caught the direct train back to Banbury, where we had booked three nights in Whately Hall, the local Mercure Hotel. They responded to my request for a quiet room […]
Return to York via Bolton Abbey: The Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert - After several weeks of writing things other than Travel Tales (which I hope you enjoyed) I will now tell you about our return to York on the 9th June 2016. We were supposed to make our way to Stratord-on-Avon, see a Shakespearean play, enjoy the town, then return to Banbury by a series of trains […]
Wordsworth’s Cottage and a Monster Storm - We had planned for our last day in Ambleside, to visit Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, Ruskin’s house at Coniston and generally enjoy driving around the picturesque countryside. Mary Mary Quite Contrary (our name for the GPS system that came with the hired car) behaved quite well; only one little detour […]
Holehird Gardens: Lake District UK - When Susanne and I received our tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show we were also given a year’s membership of the Royal Horticultural Society which included information about, and free or reduced entry into, amazing gardens all over the UK. Discovering that Holehird Gardens was nearby, we had to take a look and as you […]
Lake Windermere Cruise: 2016 - The whole of the Lake District in England is noted for its beauty – blue water lakes, mountains, gardens, elegant architecture and lots of rain to make the countryside green. Ambleside, our chosen town, is at the northern end of Lake Windermere, a perfect place for boarding one of the ferries that carry tourists around […]
Lake District: Ambleside - It’s so long since I posted anything and too long since I promised to write about our visit to the beautiful Lake District in the UK in 2016. Well, here we are. It was about 5 pm by the time we arrived and the parking area was full, but our hosts were charming, very helpful […]
Harlow Carr Gardens near Harrogate UK - Leaving York on the 4th of June, we were excited to be on our way to the beautiful Lakes District, with a stop at Harlow Carr Gardens. Our hire car from Hertz was a very comfortable Mercedes. Susanne did most of the driving while I navigated. When making the booking, back in Australia in March, […]
Mystery Plays 2016 York UK - The 2016 production of the Mystery Plays was one of the most impressive pieces of theatre that I have ever seen. I know that for some of you, the idea of a religious performance in a religious venue conjures up images of an evening spent in the most boring possible way. Believe me, this was […]
Poetry
Love in the Time of Corona - I have just read my last blog, written over a year ago. I had intended to finish the story, including the effects of the chemotherapy and my eventual recovery. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I’ve also had a hip replacement just before everything shut down in WA and I was isolated for two months […]
Friends In My Garden: Camellia and Pansy - I recently went to Queensland (see my previous post) to escape the cold weather here in the hills out of Perth in Western Australia. Now that I have returned it is such a delight to open my curtains on these winter mornings and, despite the rain and cold, or maybe because of them, to be […]
Autumn: A Time To Gather and Prepare - Gone the heat of summer days and fear of fires raging in the hills. Autumn is my favourite time of year, a time to gather firewood, to stack the heaps against the wall of my verandah. A time for clearing out the wardrobe – Sew a button on that coat, polish boots and hope my […]
Autumn and Liquid Amber - Autumn is my favourite time of the year in the Perth hills. Morning air is crisp and dew is often present on the well established plants in my garden. In the last two years I’ve added a few trees for the colour of their leaves, when the summer flowers have finished. This Crepe Myrtle is […]
Wordsworth’s Cottage and a Monster Storm - We had planned for our last day in Ambleside, to visit Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, Ruskin’s house at Coniston and generally enjoy driving around the picturesque countryside. Mary Mary Quite Contrary (our name for the GPS system that came with the hired car) behaved quite well; only one little detour […]
Busy Bee and Evocative - I receive heart-warming responses from some of you for my poetry, so here are a couple more. I may have posted ‘Evocative’ before; please forgive me if that’s so. It’s one of my favourite poems and one that I hope you will all enjoy. Please let me know if my images stir your memory. If […]
Friends In My Garden: Banished Rhus, A Pair of Doves - Today I intended to write about our cruise around Lake Windermere. Unfortunately I’m using a different computer and the photos won’t show up as I want them to. Instead I will share more of my poems from my book, ‘Friends In My Garden’ and hope that you like them . I wrote these poems for […]
Friends in my Garden: Daisy, Coriander and Free Spirit - This past week I’ve been thinking about friends and family. How some people stay with us all our lives, but others, no matter how much we care about them, move on and we loose contact with them. When I wrote and published Friends in my Garden, the people in these poems were some of the […]
Friends In My Garden: Hyacinth and Peony - Life has been hectic for the last few weeks, hence my lack of postings on this site. I am keen to return to the travel tales from England but for today, I hope to please those of you who enjoy my poems, especially those from my first book, ‘Friends In My Garden.’ Hyacinth was written […]
Friends In My Garden: Butterfly and Magnolia - Today I’m in the mood for poetry so I’ve gone to my book, Friends In My Garden for a selection. Two very different characters, but both written for women who inspired me and brought joy into my life. Butterfly is the sort of friend who pops in with chocolates and champagne when you’re feeling down. […]