Three nights in Melbourne

January 7, 2025 By in Travel Tags: , , , 2 Comments

Street art that depicts the Aboriginal flag with a man and a bird

Many years ago, long before I could have even pointed out lutruwita/Tasmania on a world map, my friend A moved from the UK to Australia.

I thought she was extremely brave, making a life for herself on the other side of the world, and I was very proud – if a bit sad that our close friendship would be reduced to an occasional, often glitchy Skype call.

(This was long before the days when we all became Zoom experts!)

More than a decade on, A remains in Melbourne, and I’ve ended up in Hobart, so we are now just an hour’s easy flight from each other. The responsibilities of work and family mean that we don’t live in each other’s pockets… but every couple of years one or the other of us makes the trip.

This year, it was my turn!

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It’s the end of the year as we know it… and I feel fine.

December 20, 2024 By in Family 5 Comments

Well now.

The out-of-office response is on. The school year is finished. The Christmas tree is decorated. And I have no plans for the next fortnight beyond dog walks, naps, and an obscene number of those delicious little gingery things with jam in the middle and a crispy dark chocolate coating.

How marvellous. And just in the nick of time, honestly.

Every year, around early November, I find myself feeling a bit… well… crabbier than usual. Despite the fact this has happened every year for the last ten years, it always takes me by surprise, and I spend several weeks trying to work out what’s going on.

Is it the long, looming list of things I need to get done before Christmas? Is it tension from constantly hunching up against the winter cold and the spring wind and rain? Do I need to tweak my supplements, and bump up the Vitamin D for a few weeks?

And then, as always, it dawns on me. I’m tired. Just a bit tired.

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DorkySon Takes Flight

June 14, 2024 By in Family Tags: , , , , 5 Comments

A teenage boy sits at the controls of a Cessna above Tasmania

DorkySon is learning to fly.

I don’t mean in the metaphorical sense that people so often use to describe teenagers – becoming more independent, testing boundaries, working towards personal dreams – although I suppose these things are also true.

I mean that every second Saturday, weather permitting, we drive him to a small aerodrome a few kilometres east of Hobart, where he sits at the controls of a Cessna 172 and learns how to keep it in the air.

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The one where it doesn’t quite go to plan

May 28, 2024 By in Family 17 Comments

Sometimes when it comes to writing a blog post, I don’t quite know where to start. When that’s the case, there’s only one thing to do. Begin at the beginning. So here we go.

Earlier this month, I dropped DorkyDad at Hobart Airport. He was heading off on his first solo travels in a long time: three weeks in North America, starting in Georgia and ending in Toronto, with a further five stops to see family and friends along the way.

It wasn’t a long goodbye. We hugged hard, mindful of the lane attendants and their zealous clock-watching.

“See you in 22 days,” I said.

“See you in 22 days and 16 flights,” he laughed. “Love you.”  Continue reading →

3 days and 50,000 steps in Adelaide

February 19, 2024 By in Family, Travel Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

DorkySon and I have just got back from Adelaide, and my tender mama heart is full.

He turns 15 next month, so hopefully we still have a year or two more of family holidays. But even so, time is starting to feel like a precious commodity, and three full days of his company was a delight.

Last summer, DorkyDad took DorkySon to Canberra for a few days – compensation for a school camp that was cancelled during COVID-19 lockdowns. This year it was my turn and, given the choice of any city in Australia, he went for the city of churches. Although not, actually, for the churches.

(Just for the record, I am well aware that I got a better deal than DorkyDad. And I’ve been reminded of that. More than once.)

I kept an eye out for reasonably priced flights – and at some point late last year I got lucky in a Happy Hour Sale – so on the final weekend of the Tasmanian school holidays, we found ourselves at Hobart Airport. Bags checked in, digital boarding passes saved on our phones, and absolutely spoiled for choice with delicious dinner options.

That last bit might be an exaggeration. DorkySon had a pasta salad from Liv Eat, I had a rice salad from Liv Eat, and we split a KitKat on the plane. It did the job.

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