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“Mangoes at Mataranka”
A backpacker hostel this time. A step up from the caravan parks and campgrounds. Halloran dumped his pack on the rusty, steel-framed bed. Walked downstairs to check the notice board. “Mangoes. Three days at Mataranka.” “Money looks good,” he thought. “But how much for the board and transport with this crowd”. He’d make sure to Continue reading
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“Transit Station”
They never really seem to dry out, these places. You can’t get away from the damp. The driveways squeak and glisten with rain spilling from the busses. The air is stale with the sweat of travelers and the acid stink of diesel and cold cement. The walls are finished in joyless tones of algae and Continue reading
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“Precious Gifts”
This week I was able to polish a song lyric that had sat with me for almost 50 years. Over those years, I had promised myself that I would complete the lyric … some day; but had never gotten round to it until I put in a determined effort over two days – all to Continue reading
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The Lenten Chronicles: A Character Emerges
Meet Yehuda bar Sabas It is Day 15 in Lent 2025 and our chief character, Yehuda bar Sabbas is beginning to emerge. Here is a first impression of him, which I have had to ask AI (DALL·E), to prepare, directed and refined through an iterative process with ChatGPT, as I am no artist! It’s a Continue reading
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The Lenten Chronicles: Drawn towards a Gospel of Repentance
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matt.4:17 (NKJV) A Reflection Entering Lent in 2025, I find myself drawn towards Jesus’ teaching of repentance. Perhaps that is because, as we are all impacted by an increasingly tense state of international and domestic affairs Continue reading
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The Lenten Chronicles: A Change of Heart
Stirrings Each Advent season for the past few years, Colleen and I have read aloud, to each other, Gunhild Sehlin’s story, Mary’s Little Donkey and the Escape to Egypt. Mary’s Little Donkey was written in 1962 and translated into English from 1979. We obtained our copy from Lyrebird, a Steiner-inspired shop, just down the street Continue reading
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What if …
I took the headlines to God and asked, “Tell me, please God, is this ‘Genocide’? I need to know.” And God replied, “That word is of your law. You only need to know that my Word is Love.” Trembling, I whispered, “Is this Love?” I no longer wonder whether the horrors we see unfolding daily Continue reading
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“Going To Press”
As a writing exercise, I had to write a poem about poetry. Here’s my attempt. Bundle up the ripened words.Prove them with a finger pad strike, held against your ear. Cut and crush. Tumble them into the vat.The sweet and firm; good and true; pretty and rough. Shake and settle. Fit the press. Turn the Continue reading
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On Writing … Maybe?
My hand is drawn into the tension between what I dare to imagine and what I think. It’s a complicated space, where anything is possible. It takes practiced courage to reach in and pull something out – and it is better than I dreamt because I have pulled it into being. Continue reading
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“It Could Happen to Anyone”
In which we meet Hilary Ryder-Barnes, and trouble comes in fours… maybe fives! Hilary Ryder-Barnes, successful forty-something temp agency owner, had worked hard to build her staffing agency. She was proud of what she had achieved, and with good cause. Alone in the lift, she took a moment to apply a few well-practised touches to her Continue reading
About Me
An Australian post-lawyer reclaiming creative space and delving into speculative fiction after too long an absence.
Sunburnt Speculations 