The Writer
Nepal (post 2015 earthquake)
The first thing that springs to mind when one sees devastation like this is how hopeless the task of rebuilding appears to be. It’s not just the homes and the temples, it’s the lives, particularly in light of the knowledge that there is no one to help.
The longer read
What was meant to be an evening of conviviality amongst friends and acquaintances amidst the deep furnishings, large squashy cushions, paintings and dark woollen wall hangings from Turkey in the living room lined by book shelves containing manuscripts and novels
Thoreau was right
Am I happy? It doesn’t matter, it’s not relevant, I accept my fate. Thoreau was right, the mass of men really do lead lives of quiet desperation
Collision (Chapter One)
The road from Hamilton to Melbourne has nothing to recommend it. Most of the time it’s the heat. It seeps and the wind, dry, ruins thoughts.
Katrina
It commanded my attention searing its way through my chest, its steady rhythm building to an ominous crescendo, the reverberation ricocheting between my ears as it clutched my throat in a vice like grip.
The brain tumour posts
There are times, when viewed in the rear view mirror, when those moments of temporary crisis are upon us, when thought strings are tangled, when things spiral, when all we want is some small semblance of control.
New Zealand's carbon emissions bill (Jan '20)
I’ve known about New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Emissions Bill for some time, as a Kiwi and as regular reader of New Zealand news. Across the Tasman, it’s old news. Agriculture is the biggest CO2 emitter there and, unlike Australia, the New Zealand government is taking radical action to address the problem.
A tribute to Clive James (Nov '19)
He wrote with just as much erudition, humour and insight about pop culture icons as he did about scientists, philosophers and writers