I just finished my last class in my first semester as an MA Communications (by coursework) student. All over. Well, except for the final piece of written work. As usual I shared the train ride home with Peter, the lecturer. Initially I found this to be really odd – what are the boundaries? Answer: the […]

After another particularly poor example of bad temper on the part of our dog, Miss Maisie, Justine, in frustration, wailed “We should’ve got a monkey.” Monkeys, we believe, would make great pets. They could be taught to make the tea. Or do the dishes. They would be handy to have about the house. Instead we […]

For the information of readers: Haighs gourmet drinking chocolate is fantastic. You can eat it straight out of the packet if you can’t be bothered with the whole heating milk thing. Wonderful.

This morning I made up a new word. Attempting to describe why our dog might last night have suddenly acquired a terrible limp (“It’s very sore ‘rita”, she said – in dogspeak) only to find it had magically disappeared this morning at the park when she met her ‘friends’, and coinciding suspiciously with the departure […]

This is what the innocuous notice in the mailbox said: “M>Trains intends to carry out essential maintenance to the tram tracks in Droop St between Geelong Road and Ballarat Rd… over one night on Wednesday 1st October.” This is what it really meant: Between the hours of 11.45 pm and 5.05 am have several trucks […]

My favourite words change all the time depending on moods and seasons and whatever else there is that helps to shape the way I experience the world around me – and probably what I happen to be reading at the time. Today my three favourite words are: abide; linger; resonance. While I admit the first […]

1. How not to arrive at your girlfriend’s nameday dinner. Sweep into restaurant and while theatrically removing one’s ostentatious coat accidently knock specials board off wall which then wallops girlfriend on head with a really loud ‘clunk’. Ouch. It looked *really* painful from where I was sitting. 2. Awards ceremonies Upon receipt of the “Anthony […]

The feral spring wind has brought a new aspect to working on Smith Street. Along with the usual sounds of bargain hunters and traffic and trams etc is the crash and clatter of pavement advertising signs falling over. After each particularly vicious gust can be heard a cacophony of crashes down the street. Followed I’m […]

Andreas is our postie. He’s about the most accommodating human being I’ve ever met. Nothing is ever too much trouble. He’s happy to wait without complaint while I count through the mail which should have all been tallied up before he arrives. He has a lovely accent. Everything is fantastic. Terrific. Marvellous. Whatever we do […]

I have just received an invitation to extend the credit limit of my card to a mighty four thousand dollars. Given that my card is currently all paid off (hooray!) an extra two grand would only mean a lot of extra potential debt. But how much extra? The last time the blank offered to raise […]