Author Archives: sheg4184

Foraging for Mushrooms

Posted on 30 May 2020 by sheg4184

Caterpillar: … One side will make you grow taller… Alice: One side of what? Caterpillar: …and the other side will make you grow shorter. Alice: The other side of what? Caterpillar: The mushroom, of course! ~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Foraging for Mushrooms

Pandemic Panic

Posted on 23 May 2020 by sheg4184

We moved into our new house the week after Australia joined the Pandemic Panic. For days leading up to it, my own sense of panic rose, not from the fear of an invisible, insidious virus, but from the fear that … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle | 4 Comments

N’oubliez pas Paris

Posted on 11 May 2020 by sheg4184

Whenever I go to Paris, I arrive in a different season, stay in a different arrondissement. It means I get to know another part of the city each time I visit, but it also dislocates my usually infallible internal compass. … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on N’oubliez pas Paris

Thailand: First Impressions

Posted on 4 May 2020 by sheg4184

So, it’s 1994.  We have just landed in Thailand, amid the chaos of Bangkok traffic, pollution, and humidity thick as golden syrup, heavy as a winter duvet. I have never been to South East Asia before. I am overwhelmed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Local Culture, Thailand | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Thailand: First Impressions

Staccato

Posted on 27 April 2020 by sheg4184

Obituary  He was my favourite poet through high school. He died on April Fool’s Day. Not corona virus – not everyone does – but old age. I didn’t know till today. The obituary says Bruce Dawe was a postman. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle, Local Culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Trailblazing

Posted on 20 April 2020 by sheg4184

As he stands being you and lifts the pack onto your shoulders, your knees buckle, and you feel the urge to tip over, fall flat on your back. You quail, unnerved by the unexpected weight. Are you completely insane to … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Travel | Tagged , | Comments Off on Trailblazing

To Cough or Not to Cough

Posted on 10 April 2020 by sheg4184

And the question is: when I pick up the phone, do I mention the ‘C’ word – (as in coronavirus or COVID-19)? Or can we talk about something else: pretend we are living in a bubble so far removed from … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Feast of Birds

Posted on 31 March 2020 by sheg4184

Galahs, of the blushing, watermelon-pink breasts, squawk and gnaw at the bark of grey-skinned gums The neighbour’s palomino pigeons swoop and loop like fighter pilots in formation, banking through a hair’s breadth between branches Down below, the diminutive and dainty … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle, Local Culture | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Feast of Birds

Shoo fly, don’t bother me!

Posted on 15 March 2020 by sheg4184

‘Flies are of course always irksome, but the Australian variety distinguishes itself with its very particular persistence. If an Australian fly wants to be up your nose or in your ear, there is no discouraging him. Flick at him as … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle, Local Culture | 2 Comments

‘You’re the avocado to my toast!’

Posted on 7 March 2020 by sheg4184

“Truthfully this is one ‘recipe’ … I make and eat most often! … It’s the holy trinity of Vegenaise, avocado and salt that makes this like a favorite pair of jeans — so reliable and easy and always just what … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine, Local Culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment