It is Halloween today. In Wales, where I come from, it is known as 'Nos Galan Gaeaf.' Loosely translated it means Winter’s Eve. It is the night of ‘An Ysbrydnos,’ The spirit night. When the veil between our world and the next is thinnest. It wasn’t all dress ups and sweet treats in Wales. The … Continue reading Halloween
Now that I am at the pointy end of life, it's funny how my thoughts tend toward 'the end of all things' as Tolkien described the end of the world. Don't get me wrong, I am appreciating every day I'm given as if it's my last, well not quite, but I am living my life … Continue reading The end of all things
When I was growing up I spent an awful lot of time and energy rebelling. Parental guidelines, not society in general. The parental boundaries felt like a steel band stopping me from living and breathing. once to this rebellion was an innate sense of rightness a moral compass if you will. In school, I was … Continue reading The Rebel Within: Embracing Our True Selves
My husband retired at the end of June this year. It was a difficult decision because he loved his job. He was finally working for a company that didn’t take advantage of his nature. They respected his ideas and were open to new ways of thinking. Since then we have both switched off, pretty much. … Continue reading A Necessary Wintering
Have you seen the show 'Take five?' with Zan Rowe. Zan interviews famous musicians and actors and asks them to pick their five favourite songs and then proceeds to dive deep into intimate moments in their lives. It's a favourite of mine. I wanted to try and do that here this month...
When I was a child I was told I was wilful and that ‘I couldn’t be told.’ Then, as a teen, I was the rebellious one, the black sheep. When I reached adult hood I was told I was bloody-minded. My husband had no idea what he was getting himself into. His mother was not … Continue reading Rebel with a cause
This title has been floating around my mind for a few weeks. Like a lot of people I love Charles Dickens’ story, 'A Christmas Carol' and his delightful character, Mr Scrooge, a long time favourite of mine. I recently discovered a movie, ‘The man who invented Christmas,’ a fictional movie about how Charles wrote the … Continue reading Ghost of Christmas past
Do you ever have bizarre coincidences you can't explain? Conversations that trip over something someone said or something you read. Do you wonder about them? I do. It seems to be happening to me a lot lately.
She was a young mum when she came to Australia with my dad, three children and another on the way. Dad came to work at Monash University and mum looked after the household. A traditional sixties family. Full of dinner parties, Sobranie cigarettes and very dry white wine.
I can be easily derailed where writing is concerned. I usually have a million excuses for not writing, how I feel being at the top of the list. This year I decided to change things up and let my values drive my creativity rather than my feelings.
Rhiannon Dowding - Writer 