On Saturday Ms For
gotten Australian and I listened to Rhonda Collard Spratt, who, with Jacki Ferro has authored Alice’s Daughter: Lost Mission Child. Rhonda is Alice’s daughter and she is a delightful raconteur. She shared stories of her life, enlivened with music, poetry, and much laughter. Aunty Rhonda, as she is known, brings warmth and inclusiveness to a story of violence and separation.
Brisbane
Creating calm and safety in the counselling room
A warm welcome, a cup of tea, a comfy place to sit, beautiful surroundings, gentle music and the waft of fragrant oils. We hope our clients experience a sense of calm and safety as they enter our counselling space at Little Window – Counselling, Psychology and Wellness. The house, with frosted glass windows, provides complete privacy and scatters a soft light through the rooms. A sanctuary and an inward-looking space. Ideal for reflection.
Created with intent
The directors of Little Window, psychologists Thania and Christina, created this space with intent. They lovingly chose and positioned every item for the rooms and behind their artful decoration lies neuroscience. Their intention is to provide a calm and safe space, which helps interrupt the fight, flight or freeze response clients often experience. These responses begin in the amygdala, the area of the brain that processes memory, interprets emotion, and often drives Continue reading
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Women’s Work is Never Done
Recently we went to the launch of Be Enterprise, an innovative social enterprise program of Logan Women’s Health and Wellbeing Centre. The evening combined the launch of the program with a healthy amount of fund raising. The invitation to attend had been extended to me by Liz Irvine, Chair of the Board, and since I’d had a role in her being on the board in the first place it was an offer I really couldn’t refuse.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a women focused event and it was great to step outside my normal routine. I felt recharged after the night as I listened to women with conviction and passion speak about the work they do to make a difference to women’s lives.
Shannon Fentiman MP – Minister for Communities, Women and Youth, Minister for Child Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Member for Waterford reminded us that the gender pay gap is still alive and well, with woman being paid, on average, 17% less than men. I thought of a recent conversation Continue reading
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The best thing about travelling? The joy of coming home.
I have often said that one of the best things about travelling is coming home, and I still find that to be true. I walked into our home and relinquished myself to the comfort and familiarity of a space that is ours. I am so full of gratitude for our windfall in the lottery of life that has us living in Australia, it’s not called the “lucky country” for nothing.
For the last week we have both sunk into the couch, with a distinct unwillingness to move for any real amount of time. We returned to a cold Brisbane winters day where the daytime temperatures only got up to about 19°C and night time was as low as 7°C, I know that’s like summer in some places. The apartment gets no sun in winter and the tile floor, which is better suited to a hot summers day, is cold underfoot We venture out for small excursions before once again curling up on the lounge, Fonzie the dog at our feet and the heater on. We are reluctant to return to “normal life” too quickly so we do it in bite sized pieces. We sit wrapped in the comforting cocoon of our home.
I have spoken to my boss and the reality of returning to work Continue reading
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Where a journey takes you
We take many journeys through life and they are not all connected with travel. Major life journeys I have enjoyed include studying at university, getting married, building a house and of course having children. I love the way you start at some place with no clear view of where you will end up, and the journey unfolds as you go along. I have long believed that life is about the journey not the destination. Writing the book of my friends life has been another journey that has led me to delightfully unexpected places.
When I agreed to write the book, I envisaged Continue reading
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Shhhhhh….it’s our little secret…..our Little Malaysia
Whether we live in a small country town or a large city, we all have our favourite little restaurant.
You know the type I’m talking about. Those restaurants that you always return too….the ones where you are on first name basis with the owner or the chef……the ones where they know what you like to eat before you place your order……..the ones where you don’t need to look at the menu……..the ones where no matter what you order, or how many of you there are, the bill is never more than $20 per head…….and most importantly……the ones that allow you to bring your own alcohol “BYO”.
Henry is the Chef, and Fania is the front of house manager at Little Malaysia in West End, Brisbane – it’s their Restaurant, it’s their passion, and it’s their life. For us……it’s our favourite little restaurant, where we have spent many of our Friday nights in great company and with great food.
West End is Continue reading
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Brisbane is pretty damn good!
I have cycled many of these bike paths almost every day over the past 5 years as I made my way to the office, but today, they looked very different! Perhaps it’s because I had my eyes wide open?
Usually on my morning ride to work I am pre-occupied with what might be waiting for me, either in my inbox or on my desk, oblivious to the really important things around me, and how great they are. Not only the natural beauty, but how fortunate we are to have such well-maintained and positioned cycle ways and paths for moving pedestrians and bikes safely around the river city of Brisbane.
It really hit me just how lucky we are to live here – whilst it’s Continue reading
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Lycra, Prawns & Pinot
Cycling shouldn’t just be about sweat and spinning wheels across the pavement. We mamil’s (middle-aged men in lycra) are far more couth than that!
The idea of a Prawn and Pinot ride came to me last Easter, when I recognised that our favourite route not only included the parklands and foreshore of Moreton Bay, but went right past the moorings of the Moreton Bay prawn trawler fleet on Cabbage Tree Creek.
Since that time I have enjoyed the experience on three occasions. The latest was yesterday on Continue reading
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My Inner Road Rager
I’ve
been cycling to work most days for a year, a round trip of about 15 km, not bad for a 58 year old. It’s been a challenge for me. I’ve never enjoyed exercise but started leisure cycling when we moved to Brisbane 8 years ago. I’d enjoyed riding a bike as a kid so to me it was the least painful way to do some exercise.
On holiday in 2013 I was cycling with a group of women who were in their 70’s and they made it up the hills. I didn’t. This challenged me Continue reading
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Australia Day
How do you celebrate your national day, and do you really know what and why you are celebrating?
It’s a bit sad when you have to resort to Google to confirm what the origin of the day is all about, but that’s what I did. For the record, Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th of January each year and marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the first fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and raising of the flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. (Thanks Wikipedia)
Whilst that’s the historic significance, today I’d suggest that most Australian’s use the day to celebrate our freedom, wealth and safety, the diversity of our community, and the spirit of “mateship”, all attributes that allow us to call Australia “The Lucky Country”. That’s how we spent the day.
Whilst we don’t get hung up on tradition, we always seem to find ourselves spending the day with close friends, sharing the good weather, great food, chilled wine, stories from the year just past, and our plans ahead. Always with plenty of laughter. Where would we be without others to share Continue reading
