In the relative blink of an omnipotent eye my tiny world turned upside down. Having moved hemispheres in fairly recent times it doesn’t take much to unsettle me. I’m like a plant whose roots are loosely tethered in soil and could be blown away by a hint of a breeze, I’m such a dandelion-hearted simpleton. When we lived in Bronte, NSW, we had a frangipani tree. All six feet of it listed sideways, gnarled branches outstretched towards the Pacific Ocean. The tree had been transported from Gosford and spent its years with us pining for the Central Coast, but despite this, it managed to generate a few patchy blossoms to mark the summers.  They emerged with great effort and then seemed to exist in a state of trepidation.  Theses few flowers trembled in the ocean breezes while the bark took on a mottled patina of protest and I was in a constant […]

January 15

I count six unmarked police cars speeding down Finchley Road with lights flashing and sirens wailing. I stare after them, wondering if this is in some way related to Theresa May’s historic defeat in the House of Commons.

‘Could be anything, though,’ I think to myself wandering home, past the sleeping homeless woman on the makeshift bed in the walkway beneath the freeway. I mean it might just be that the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex are sick of being trolled on social media. I open the door to our apartment and I’m greeted by a cacophony of YouTubers. I prefer the wail of police sirens.

Dinner is a ghastly Sri Lankan turmeric Sambar, tasting of fiery gnats. I guess the kids would need YouTubers to take their minds off the aftertaste of another attempt at Vegan-anuary.

The BBC is all a-twitter with the ‘unprecedented’ defeat and what […]

Monday 7^thJanuary

Still emerging from the shadow of our Grey-Staycation. The 2018 ‘festive season’ was re-categorised as a pre-exam study break and meant staying put under the cauldron of skies.  The permanently damp sidewalks are now populated by Xmas trees lying naked on their sides and grimly determined commuters in puffer jackets with AirPods jammed in their ears. My New Year’s Resolution? Screw resolutions. ‘Just get through it’ is more freakin like it as the Brexit vote looms.

Tis the season of late sunrises and gloomy forecasts. If another weather update predicts ‘dull’ skies, I’ll whack myself in the face with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Clean Living cookbook. While walking at 4pm today I was briefly surprised it was still light.

“Practically spring,” mutters a teen in the kitchen later, their eyes glued to the constant light source that is their iPhone.

I had resolved to bury my head in the […]