Category Archives: Time

Christmas Luck

Posted on December 2, 2015 by sagesomethymes

This week I gave some luck. My family and I have stopped giving each other Christmas presents. We all have too many things already. Instead we just do a lot of eating, drinking and general merriment. So I like to … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Time | Tagged Australian Red Cross, charities, christmas gifts, climate change, donations, Greenpeace, luck, Mahboba's Promise | Leave a comment

I vote therefore I am

Posted on March 29, 2015 by sagesomethymes

It was 1978, Thursday, late night shopping. I was at Liverpool Westfield’s but I wasn’t buying anything. I was witnessing my parents’ Australian Citizenship ceremony. Yep, right there on Centre Stage. You know, where they hold the fashion parades, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Time | Tagged 1978, Australian citizenship, Australian Dream, Christmas, citizenship, citizenship ceremony, cruise liner, Liverpool Westfield's, Local Council, migrants, mortgage, Parliament House, Santa Claus, voting | 1 Comment

The Young Hornblower

Posted on November 15, 2014 by sagesomethymes

Sea sickness is one of Horatio Hornblower’s weaknesses, as are honesty, courage, ridiculous modesty and a penchant for chasing the enemy rather than prize money. Hornblower is a Royal Navy Officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Time | Tagged adventure, C.S.Forester, French Revolutionary Wars, Horatio Hornblower, Mediterranean, Napoleonic Wars, Royal Navy, sailing, Sydney Harbour, The Young Hornblower | Leave a comment

Optimism by Bob Brown; Reflections on a life of action

Posted on October 15, 2014 by sagesomethymes

“Optimism, like pessimism, feeds on itself.”1 Bob Brown is a commonsense radical whose lovely memoir beats off the twin spirits of despondency and despair that whisper, “Why bother?” and “What can you do?” in our ears. His moving and inspiring anecdotes … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, climate change, Habitat, Time | Tagged anecdotes, Bob Brown, commonsense radical, Federal Parliament, Franklin River Dam, Optimism, reflections, reflections on a life of action, Senator | Leave a comment

Sex Medicine

Posted on July 9, 2014 by sagesomethymes

My mother had just thrown a handful of spaghetti into a pot of boiling water when she casually asked, “Are you using sex medicine?” “Sorry?” I said, thinking I must have misheard. I was setting the table for lunch; a … Continue reading →

Posted in My Mother and Me, The Sex Diaries, Time | Tagged Amnesty International, babies, biological clock, Broken Clock Syndrome, Contraception, home country, human rights, marriage, medicine, migrants, pregnancy, romance novels, sex, teenage pregnancy, The Pill, weddings | 4 Comments

The Service Station Vintage

Posted on April 26, 2014 by sagesomethymes

Me: Where do the grapes come from? Mum: The service station. My parents were wine-making Italians but not the squish it between your toes in a concrete bathtub types. We left that level of authenticity to our inner city cousins. … Continue reading →

Posted in My Mother and Me, Time | Tagged Flemington Markets, grapes, home made wine, Hume Highway, Italians, psychogeography, semi-trailer, service station, Shiraz, Shiraz grapes, South Australia, vintage, wine, wine makers, wine making | 4 Comments

The Spirit of Place 2

Posted on February 2, 2014 by sagesomethymes

Here are five more places that make my city spirit soar. Some of them beautifully juxtapose time and place, others blood and survival; reminding us of the price of civilisation. In all of them, our souls connect to water, trees, … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirit of Place, Time | Tagged amphitheatre, Koori, Mckell Park, Moreton Bay figs, Museum of Sydney, Newport Beach, Northern Beaches, NSW Government House, oratory, philosophy, politics, psychogeography, red ladder, religion music festival, sculpture, soapbox, Sydney Harbour, The Domain, The Wharf Theatre | Leave a comment

The Horses of Excess

Posted on September 19, 2013 by sagesomethymes

As a child I loathed broad beans. They were squat, flatulent vegetable matter. Bowls of these slimy skinned pods filled our fridge every spring. We would spend Saturday afternoons shelling them, and then their particularly earthy odour would colonise the … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiments with Food, Time | Tagged Asparagus, Broad beans, dinner, food, Pasta Primavera, saturday afternoons, Self Help Books, spanish onion, Spring Equinox, vegetarian, Yoga | 1 Comment

Spring Cleaning!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by sagesomethymes

There is something enormously satisfying yet terribly sad about this year’s spring cleaning. I’ve just put out my third load of washing; tidied my underwear drawer; dusted the book shelves; wiped down the wooden floor boards with eucalyptus oil and water; … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, The Animal Kingdom, Time | Tagged Federal Election, politics, Spring Cleaning | 3 Comments

Giving up my car: an experiment

Posted on August 9, 2013 by sagesomethymes

Twelve weeks ago I began an experiment. I gave up my car. I use the term ‘gave up’ deliberately. Like giving up sugar or alcohol. And it’s an experiment, spiritual perhaps, like something you might do for Lent. Or for … Continue reading →

Posted in The Sages, Time | Tagged carless, cars, climate change, motor vehicles, pedestrian, psychogeography, sell your car, sustainability | 3 Comments