Twenty Years

Grief is the price we pay for love. Queen Elizabeth II The 31st of January is no ordinary day for us. It is a day of memory and loss, grief and love. On this day, twenty years ago, our lives were changed forever. My husband Rob, the father of Dan and Bec, died suddenly from …

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister

It is nearly eighty years since the end of World War Two but I don’t think we will ever lose the chill that runs down our spine when we hear the word “Holocaust.” We are instantly reminded of the six million Jews and at least five million other victims, including prisoners of war, Romany, homosexuals …

January 26: Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.

January 26. For some a day to celebrate the opportunities of living in a free, multicultural societyFor others a chance to reflect on their own citizenship and what it means to be AustralianFor many, January 26 is a day of sadness, mourning and a reminder of colonisation (National Australia Day Council) For the first time …

International Day of Education: To Invest in People – Prioritise Education

This week marks the beginning of the school year for many Queensland children, with other states to follow next week. Some children will be stepping into the classroom for their very first day of school, while others are preparing for their final year of secondary education. While I am glad that both my children received …

Gaia Reading Challenge 2023: I Know This to be True – Greta Thunberg

" People always tell us that they are hopeful. They are hopeful that the young people are going to save the world. But we are not. There is simply not enough time to wait for us to grow up and become the ones in charge." Greta Thunberg Greta Thunberg hardly needs any introduction. As a …

Gaia 2022: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

The Triffids:… horrible alien things which some of us had somehow created and which the rest of us in our careless greed had cultured all over the world. …somehow they had been bred….(and they) seemed able to profit and flourish on our disaster… The Day of the Triffids was first published in 1951 and adapted …

Gardening in a Wet Season

Queensland Floods, December 2010 This summer has been quite a weather event with flooding across many Australian states. In Western Australia, not usually a state that we associate with flooding, they have recently experienced their worst flood on record in the Kimberley Ranges. As a by-product of Cyclone Ellie, the Fitzroy River Bridge has almost …

A Reader’s Life: Looking Back at 2022 and Ahead for 2023

It’s that time of year again when readers like to conduct their annual reading review. This is where we look back over the previous reading year, analyse our data (for those of us who keep stats) and think about our reading goals for the coming year. Goal setting and data analysis sound like serious business. …

Remembering Louis Braille

On this day in 1809, Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, just 20 miles from Paris. If it hadn’t been for an accident in his father’s leather and harness shop, when Louis was aged three, the world would probably have never known the name of Louis Braille and we wouldn’t be remembering his legacy as …

The True Meaning of Service

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others Albert Schweitzer Here we are on the last day of 2022 and another year is almost over. In a matter of hours we will be wishing everyone a Happy New Year, setting resolutions we probably won't keep …