• Fourth Quarter, 2023

    As the door closes on the two-faced month of January, I am faced with an overdue last quarter to round off my journalling of a year. This fourth quarter extends almost to the start of the new lunar year tonight, 9 February 2024, the eve of the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Should I leave…

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  • Third Quarter, 2023

    Umbrella I’m late with the Third Quarter. It was winter and it rained a lot in Adelaide, though apparently not as much as usual. I had frequent recourse to my miracle umbrella, still with me after all these years. In my story collection Bapo I wrote: If you remember to carry an umbrella, you usually…

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  • Second Quarter, 2023

    1. Cardy I have an old woollen cardigan hanging on the back of my desk chair. When I get cold, sitting here trying to write, I put it on. My blanky. I’ve had it for years and a lot of writing has happened under its mantle. Then a hole opened up across the shoulders. It’s…

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  • First Quarter, 2023

    1. The year began early for me, in December, when I wandered into my local library. I wanted something to read on the train from Adelaide to Melbourne. There are only two daytime trains a week now, where once there were nightly sleepers. The trip takes twelve hours because the train can’t travel any faster…

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