Category Archives: Tasmania

DARK MOFO and the Winter Solstice

June 23, 2014 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , , , 27 Comments

DARK MOFO Hobart 2014

What a lovely little weekend that was.

It was the winter solstice here on Saturday. The shortest day of the year was a sunny one, filled from dusk until dawn with light and brightness.

DorkyDad and I went out to the Winter Feast on Saturday night – a loud and lively celebration of local food. It was the only DARK MOFO event we went to together. DorkyDad had been to listen to poetry and music at the Odeon Theatre last week, and DorkySon and I spent a merry afternoon with our mops at Yin Xiuzhen’s ice sculpture, but Saturday night was special.

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Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter

May 30, 2014 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , 22 Comments

autumn in Tasmania

Tomorrow – the first day of June – is the official start of winter in Tasmania. I like the way the seasons are marked so precisely into three month chunks here.

Autumn has been glorious. The sunsets over the last few weeks have taken our breath away, and the daylight hours have had a real crispness to them. Most of the rain has come at night. On the few overcast days we’ve had, the river has looked all the lovelier, infused with a glittering silver light. The mist here, when it swirls like magic down the Derwent, is called Bridgewater Jerry. It creeps through the pillars of the Tasman Bridge, stealing it from sight for an hour or two, but it’s nothing like Edinburgh where the haar descends for days and chills you right down to the marrow.

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The Art of Driving

May 28, 2014 By in Tasmania Tags: 36 Comments

Red Chevrolet

It has taken almost nine months, but I think I’m finally starting to understand the appeal of driving.

Before we moved, I hadn’t sat behind a steering wheel in years. I’d passed my test at eighteen – second time round, like all the best people – but then quickly gone on to student life in Edinburgh where a car was neither necessary nor affordable. The bus network was extensive, and I always loved walking around that beautiful city, so even after we were married and DorkySon came along we remained a family who travelled on foot.

In Hertfordshire we probably should have had a car. We would have explored more, and had weekends away. But we were only there for eighteen months, and we got by with walking and trains, some of us more willingly than others.

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Why I will never be an Aurora chaser

May 16, 2014 By in Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , 31 Comments

58º North Photography Aurora Isle of Lewis

In one of those moments of synchronicity that always make us smile, DorkyDad and I bought each other the same present at Christmas. The Aurora Chaser’s Handbook. It is a gorgeous little thing, and I would highly recommend it, for the quality images, the simple but clear science and the helpful photography advice.

Partly because DorkyDad and I have both spent time in places with low light and air pollution, we are fans of the night sky. Any time there’s a full moon, an eclipse, or an especially clear night, we stand outside on our porch and gaze up in silence. We have – together and alone – taken dozens of beach walks in the dark. We have spent hours sitting and watching the cosmos, made many wishes on falling stars.

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