LIFE'S GETTING BETTER AND BETTER

Life just gets better and better.  I was on TV today.  Interviewed yesterday.  About migraines.  I am a past sufferer of chronic migraines and those that I suffer from now would be considered debilitating to non-sufferers.  However, given the suffering I endured for around twenty five odd years, these pains are pure heaven.  Well as close to pure heaven as pain CAN be.  As part of a migraine and pain item for the news on one particular channel, I was asked if I would be prepared to be interviewed, having already done so through a local community newspaper.  Absolutely, says me.  And after a week of breaking news interrupting the efforts of the journalist involved and me meeting, we finally did it.  Well that's not strictly true.  A different journalist altogether visited me at home, with a cameraman and conducted the interview in our dining room on Monday.   Interview went well.  I managed to wix my mords only once, right at the start, and along with most of the interview, that was all edited out anyway.  I was texted by a friend this morning with the news that she had just seen me on TV so we knew it was going to be aired tonight.  Only problem was - we all thought it was going to be the current affairs programme, not the news.  Surprise, surprise - it was on the news, shortened/edited heavily and I am the only one in my family to see it - and that was by accident.  Ah well.  But I do have to admit to being disappointed - they did a good job overall and I am told that my role was extremely good and certainly got the point across.  My disappointment lies in the fact that part of the reason I no longer suffer such intense, severe and regular migraines is because of my epiphany.  The epiphany I had one birthday about four years ago.  The epiphany that turned my life around - made me face those things that I have always wanted to do but never known how - write and publish books and all that I mentioned in my last blog posting.  The day my life began.  It was also when my stress levels lowered drastically (I mean, hey, they'll never go away completely - no-one is absolutely stress-free and I am one of those who, if I don't have something to worry about I'll find something!!) and keeping myself very busy, almost too busy, doing things that I love with a passion - well, my migraines all-but disappeared.  Granted, I am being told I am 'one in a million' and that this is something that rarely happens and I know all that and I do consider myself to be very, VERY lucky because this has happened to me.  Now I just want to enjoy my family, my job, my books and helping people, trying to make a difference with my anti-bullying advocacy and my elderly stories project.  I am increasingly being told how passionate I sound about all that I do - and that's because I am exactly that - enormously passionate.  But because I am so happy, so full of life, at the ripe young age of 56 - why shouldn't I want to share this with others?  Try to inspire others, particularly people who are suffering in some way, migraines or anything else.  So I'm having another go at the TV channels and will continue to until someone sits up and takes notice.
  

LIFE IS GREAT

THE YEAR MY LIFE BEGAN

It wasn't at birth.  Nope.  I had the most wonderful and unique childhood and the rest of it leading up to the present - well, like everyone, I have had my share of ups and downs.  But as I will tell anyone who'll listen (and yes, this does mean I talk to myself a lot) I feel my life really did begin only a few years ago.  I turn 57 this year.  I awoke one morning - it was a birthday - with an epiphany - I suddenly realised that I had to get my late Dad's book published - somehow.  Dad had finished writing his book shortly before his death in 1993.  For the following sixteen or so years the manuscript and accompanying documentation was passed between my three older brothers and me, hoping that one of us might actually have it published.  When it landed in my hands for the umpteenth time I typed it up but - er, what comes next?

It was on the morning of that particular birthday that I knew I had to get it out - I still do not know exactly why (or how) but I am presuming that my mother's advancing age (late 80s) might have had something to do with it.  Fit as a fiddle (or at least we thought she was but then she was the world's leader at hiding minor issues like health problems...), but.....  .  It was also then that I hit that stumbling block seriously - the same one that halts many new writers in their tracks, sometimes putting them off altogether.  How do you get published?  And that just might have been enough to put me off altogether as well had the memory of Dad's passion for his writing, ancestry and the outback of Australia, not kept nagging at me.  Added to that the thought of Mum and her pride in Dad's efforts - not seeing his writing coming to fruition - and she wasn't getting any younger - right, that did it.  Turning to good old Google I eventually found a self-publishing business that offered precisely what I was looking for.  From there it was full steam ahead.  No stopping this writer.  Dad's book was published exactly a week after Mum died in 2010.

Damn.  But I am assured that Mum knew it was about to be published and that did make her a happy woman at time of death.

Thus was the catalyst for my writing.  It is in my blood and I am now following a lifelong dream of writing and publishing books.

Next off the rank was 'Bullseye', my book about bullying.  Once that was safely published and released, I decided it was time to combine my writing and one of my other passions, the outback of Australia.  My book on stations is a work in progress.  I am absolutely thriving on it.

I do work full time and long hours.  I am also a wife of some thirty years with two adult daughters.  I have now discovered this passion for writing about subjects I am equally passionate about.  I am fighting bullying and making some headway with this.  I have just begun work on the book which will follow my stations one.  Most of this is mentioned in previous blogs and in my websites.  My latest cause is the one covered in my last blog - encouraging the wonderful elderly folk in Australia to talk to their hearts' content about their lives.  Let it all out.  And have one or two people taping and capturing it all.  Before it's too late.  I also edit and proof work for other authors and have several manuscripts in hand now.

As far as I am concerned, life is great.  The sky really is the limit.

Stations book is going superbly.  The odd hitch here and then but nothing that can't be solved.  Still interviewing these wonderful retired pastoralists and continue to love their honesty, openness and unique humour - something it seems that is unique to the station people of Australia.  Fight against bullying also going very well - have done another couple of radio interviews and starting to get feedback from listeners.  All very encouraging.  Have written to the new Minister for Education in WA and just awaiting a response.  Other project (another book) is beginning to pick up speed too - all good.  

Another new project is also underway and this is one where I am requesting the help of the public.   This one has been triggered by my late father's book, 'The Sawers From Pitcairn' - and it is something I read about being started by someone in the USA (I think) - and I couldn't help but feel how tragic it would be if nothing is done here in Australia.  Dad completed the manuscript for 'The Sawers From Pitcairn' literally just prior to his death in 1993.  It traces part of our family and station history and we are so very grateful to Dad for doing this.  Unfortunately, my mother didn't pen her story at all.  She had planned to and it had been organised for someone to record it - but it never eventuated.  Mum passed away in 2010, exactly a week before Dad's book was released.  So Mum never actually saw it - but she knew that something had finally been done about it and that, I believe, made her a happy woman at point of death.

But - Mum has now gone and taken her own story with her.  It's too late.  How very tragic.  When it would have been so very easy to encourage her to talk about her life (which she loved doing - who doesn't - irrespective of the sort of life led) and have it recorded.  Hey presto - another wonderful story could so easily have been saved.  But - no - she's gone and taken her story with her...lost forever.

Tragic.

As mentioned above research for my stations book involves meeting, interviewing and photographing a group of retired pastoralists.  The second 'mystery' project/book also involves meeting with retirees.  During my first meeting I was stunned by stories of their lives as they recalled them - and watching their eyes light up as they talked - what an overwhelming and humbling experience.  I asked whether their lives had been documented - both said it had't but immediately said their daughter could do it.  I am encouraging this as far as possible - again before it's too late.  Both people are in their eighties.  

I know Australia, like every nation, has many formal historical records and I am also aware that many people are being sensible enough to compile family trees and histories and they are to be applauded for doing this.  Our elderly folk are the last generation to have witnessed so many things which have already been surpassed and replaced repeatedly.  They experienced WWII (sadly most of the diggers from WWI have already gone) - and in this connection I have been in contact with the Department Health and Ageing - they have been wonderful with their encouragement.  Our elderly folk experienced the introduction of the motor car, veteran and vintage and the inventions of so many things.  The list is limitless.

I am not looking to write a book on this (apart from those already underway and other authors I am helping) - I am simply trying to possibly start a group/project/something that can help me act on this idea.  To encourage families and/or volunteers to go into private homes/aged care facilities and in turn encourage the elderly (those that are able to) to reminisce.  To talk to their hearts' content.  Do something that requires no effort on their part, just enjoyment and simply recording and encouragement on behalf of one or more of their audience.

If anyone 'out there' would be interested in helping with this (such a simple idea and what an absolute and pure tragedy if there is no interest) please contact me on abccalligraphy00@hotmail.com.  I would love to hear from you.  There is no money involved.  Just capturing personal memories from our wonderful elderly before they are lost and gone forever.

Thank you.

Seems we have a new Minister for Education in WA.  Having had no success with the previous one I will be sending a letter to the new one ('keeping at them' on recommendation from various people - including some politicians) and pushing our cause further.  Our strategies have changed - I understand one was recently put forward to be included in a review of school anti-bullying policies in Tasmania.  I am waiting to hear the results.  


The Stations Book is going brilliantly.  Am in the middle of contacting heaps of retired pastoralists and all are being absolutely wonderful.  Such lovely, unique people.  I have been requested to kick the stations visits off with one of the participating properties in WA in February - to experience the heat along with witnessing the new school year being started by the School of the Air and other distance learning facilities.  Also trying to gain support from some of the larger national groups that are affiliated with the outback - offering reciprocations.


Was recently approached to write a new book, which will follow the stations one.  This one will be about a maritime disaster which occurred about the same time as the Titanic but was completely overlooked due to the latter.  How very tragic.  We are trying to do something about it.


And one other new project is in the wind.  This idea has come from foreign shores and might already be underway in Australia but I have not heard of anything.  More on that later.....


Stay tuned.  

I'm BAAAACK (think Garfield - I think - one of those cartoon characters anyway).  What a first half of the year it has been.  I am just hoping life will now settle down to a dull roar and the second half might be a little bit quieter.  I live in hope.  We have moved house, taken the most wonderful cruise (badly needed), had two deaths in the family and several others among friends and acquaintances, I have undergone eye surgery and face more later this year (so maybe life won't quieten down) and things are going very well with both my book on stations and the fight against bullying.  Re the latter, one of our list of strategies was recommended recently, by one of the Ministers for Education - a start, nowhere near enough, but at least it is a start.  More ideas are constantly being suggested and some of these are being considered.  As for my book - I am still receiving requests/inquiries from stations wanting to participate which is fantastic.  I have been requested to kick off the station visits themselves in February 2013 - in the hot weather and also the start of the new school year, so I will be able to experience that heat, also see how the School of the Air works these days.  To say I am meeting some of the most wonderful, funny, salt-of-the-earth people through this book, from every aspect, would be an understatement.  I continue interviewing retired pastoralists - what fantastic people.  Remind me so much of my own parents - Mum of course having her own origins in the city, before and moving out to spend so many years in pure isolation, then retirement seeing Dad and her moving back to the city.  Many of the women I am interviewing are from similar background and what interesting people they are.  Some of the men too, which is equally interesting.  I am so enjoying this.  Shortly before the cruise and our move I was approached by someone asking me to write a book about another subject - yes, all a big secret for the moment but I have agreed to do it.  Should be fascinating too and more wonderful people to meet. 

Stay tuned.....

Oops.  Note to self - READ and edit/proof work before publishing.  Yup - I did the unforgivable - wrote my last blog about life on our family station, in a huge hurry then published it  BEFORE editing.  Smacks to self.  This does not normally happen, but it was a personal 'thing' so I didn't worry too much - until I started reading it back recently.  Ouch.  Stay tuned for more goings on in my life - I have just returned from a wonderful cruise - I know it has nothing to do with work but for those of you (the two of you....) who are interested in my actual life - stay tuned.  Next blog - which WILL be edited.....

EDGE OF THE OUTBACK

The following is the reproduction of a piece I wrote many years ago in an effort to give some insight into my world, my passion, my early lift.  Called 'Edge of the Outback' it has been edited/rewritten/proofed many more times than I can count and I am continually adding to it/changing it as time moves on.  It has been sent to every corner of the globe, printed in quite a few international publications and even read over the ABC here in Australia - enjoy.

I offer no apology for the fact that this piece is written in both past and present tense.  Nor for the fact that I have used the imperial measurement system, as opposed to the metric which is used in Australia.  I grew up with the former and it is the way I have always written this piece.

....

Mention the true Australian outback to most people, be they from another nation or Australia and visions of a vast, barren desert, miles upon miles of virtually nothing except a bush here and maybe a tree there are generally conjured up.  Overall not an attractive picture, so most would think.

How wrong can one be.

I was born in Adelaide, capital of South Australia and raised on a sheep station in the north eastern pastoral district of that state.  The station is about 115,000 acres large which is small compared with other stations further up and out.  Our livelihood depended on Merino sheep for their wool and meat and a few head of cattle.  The very barren land still comprises of such vegetation as salt and blue bush, mulga and gum trees among others.  Ours was among the first of the very big sheep stations heading north east of Adelaide.

Peterborough still is the nearest town of any size, being thirty two miles away.  Along with my three elder brothers and our cousins I was educated, until the ripe olf age of eleven, by the School of the Air and correspondence school.

There were times when we had heavy enough rains to isolate us completely but with the technology of today this no longer happens.  In those days (and I am only going back thirty years or so) we had our own generator providing us with thirty two volt power, a telephone connected to a 'party-line', mail once a week and groceries monthly.  The wonderful Royal Flying Doctor Service provided our medical services in emergencies.

My brother and his family were living on and managing the station until a few years ago.  With improved roads and transport my nephew and niece were able to attend the local primary school in Peterborough.  Both then followed the lead of the generations before them and attended boarding school in Adelaide.  While the station remains in our family it is now managed by an employed couple.

As might be gathered from the information thus far rain water is very scarce.  While all (or most) stations have several large concrete tanks, dam water is used for personal bathing, washing and dish washing.  The water looks dreadful, like wishy washy mud, but to many, it is a real novelty to wash and swim in.  We also used to swim in the tanks; in fact this was more common than swimming in the dams and even in the creek, which was a lot of fun.  When swimming in the dams you just had to be careful not to be nipped by a yabby (similar to a crayfish or lobster and just as yummy).  A good deal of Australia's outback water is supplied by huge artesian basins.

While kangaroos are a dearly loved part of the Australian fauna they, along with rabbits and foxes, are also a terrible menace in the outback.  Our station is surrounded by a supposedly dog-proof fence.  However, it seems no-one told the kangaroos this as they cause more damage to the fence than anything else does.  In fact dingoes are plentiful further up north and rarely venture as far south as our station, but we do get the odd stray.  They rip the stock to pieces - not to eat - just for the fun of it.  Rabbits, kangaroos and other pests eat the spear grass and general vegetation, what there is of it, which is food for the stock.

As children, we often rescued orphaned 'joeys' (baby kangaroos), emus, the odd kid (baby goats as most would know), lambs and calves.  Even a carpet python took up temporary residence on our tennis court at one stage.  Also known as the 'Children's Python' these snakes are harmless, so we left it there.  It didn't worry us and we didn't worry it.  It eventually slithered off in search of greener pastures - could still be looking!!!  All these babies were released into the wild once old and strong enough.

Entertainment was and still is a little different out there.  Travelling over one hundred miles (or more - one way) for any kind of social occasion was very much the norm.  Indeed if you weren't prepared to travel your social life did not exist.  'Local' towns held annual race meetings where the interest was on drinking, 'high fashion, drinking, gossip, oh and did I mention drinking?  And then there were the horse races themselves - what horse races????  We actually had race horses at one stage but that was well before my time.

Up to the age of eleven my only real play-mate was my cousin.  Her father, along with my father, co-managed the station for many years.  My cousin and I were eventually sent to different schools in Adelaide and have never really been close since.  She married and remained in South Australia, not far from the station, whereas I married and now live in Western Australia.

We all learned to ride horses and motor bikes and to drive cars (on the station only) almost before we could crawl.  that just seemed to be part of life out there.

At times were were almost completely self-sufficient - raising our own chickens; milk and its bi-products; lamb and mutton; vegetables and fruit.  We even produced bread from our own bread ovens.  In those days we were fortunate enough to have an excellent cook, along with governesses and a 'cowboy'.  Those days are long gone now and we no longer produce any of the above, apart from the meat.  While parts of the sprawling homestead have been modernised for practicality the bread ovens were preserved, along with the old milk separating cellar, although neither is used now.

Like most stations we had a couple of 'outstations'.  In better years one of these housed a family of about fifteen children; the other has been empty as long as I can remember.  (Just an aside:  the eldest two daughters of the first of these outstations have been good enough to write about their lives and a 'Where Are They Now?' summary of their siblings all of which will be included in the book I am currently writing, about stations).  Now both these outstations stand empty and abandoned.

The station homestead itself is typical of many country homesteads, with huge rooms, very thick stone walls, completely surrounded by wide verandahs, huge open fireplaces and very high ceilings,   This building, the engine room, shearers' quarters, shearing shed, stables and assorted other buildings, resembles a small village.

Then there were and still are the 'creepy-crawlies'.  The worst and most venomous snake is the Common Brown but we have also had visits from the King Brown, which lives further north.  Another common species is the afore-mentioned Carpet Python.  As for spiders, the harmless Huntsman is easily the most common and they can grow to be enormous - and very scary to a self-confessed arachnophobic like me.  I have suffered from this fear since early childhood.  I used to try to overcome this for the sakes of my daughters - but that backfired.  Now we are all as terrified as each other.  We also have the Redback spider, a cousin to the Funnelweb, although not as venomous.

Among my childhood and teen memories is one relating to a certain 'uncle' who lived on a nearby station and who owned a Tiger Moth aeroplane.  Uncle Ron had a very welcome habit of flying lower over our station dropping bags of sweets attached to tiny parachutes, for us children.  This occurred annually, after he had visited the Royal Adelaide Show.  We used to love racing each other in the creek bed (which was nearly always dry) at the front of the homestead, searching for those little parcels and trying to find them before anyone else, including the dogs.  We also had an airstrip, as did and do most stations, only ours has been overgrown by salt and blue bush and hardly usable even in emergencies - in fact it would probably cause an emergency if something tried to land on it these days.


The afore-mentioned creek could be very dangerous but equally exciting in those very rare heavy rains.  It didn't even have to be raining on the station - as long as there were heavy enough rains upstream the chances were very high of the creek coming down a 'banker' (meaning a usually bone dry creek suddenly filling to overflowing with very, very fast moving water).  I have only witnessed it once but would not have missed it.  Imagine standing anywhere near a creek and suddenly hearing an almighty roar in the distance to begin with but getting louder by the second - looking in that direction and suddenly seeing a huge bank of water rushing along the creek, filling it to overflowing as it travelled, taking all in its path.  These 'bankers' have been known to drag fences, trees, windmills, junk, animals and absolutely anything that gets in the way as far as the water travels.  We used to find items on stations over two hundred miles away.  Some things have never been found.


There really is just so much more to the magnificent Australian outback than has been mentioned here.  To the eye of the uninitiated it probably still is and always will be a vast, barren, unending desert with very little, if anything to offer - especially when compared with mountains (we have those in the outback too), lush green pastures, rivers, waterfalls, flowers and other flora and fauna.  Yes I concede that the outback could well be considered 'ugly' - but it is not.  It is beautiful if one bothers to take the time to really look and appreciate that beauty.  You do not need a vivid imagination to really see that beauty - there are mountains, beautiful scrubs of trees and wildflowers in abundance.  Just the colours of the hills and valleys at dawn and sunset and after one of those very rare rains, are spectacular in themselves.  I have seen many magnificent paintings of different settings in the outback - they cannot be imagined, they are real, just as are those of snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, rivers and forests.


The fauna of the outback is as impressive as that of the lusher areas   As mentioned, kangaroos abound out there, but not koalas.  These gorgeous creatures are fussy eaters in that, while Australia has numerous types of eucalyptus trees the koala will only eat the leaf of one species and this is only found in certain areas of Australia. Other fauna includes hundreds of different sorts of lizards, snakes (both of which are reptiles), along with many other creatures, some harmful, some not.  Emus, eagles, eaglehawks, budgeridgars, galahs, sulpher-crested cockatoos, rosellas, emus, cockatiels, wild canaries to name just a few.  There are also hundreds of species of gound-living birdlife.


Like every other nation Australia has limitless features of interest for the tourist but I just feel that the outback, which really does have so much to offer, is so often overlooked.  After all it is the backbone of a nation, does make up most of that nation but still so often goes by unnoticed and desperately misunderstood.


So - this is my little effort to help acknowledge and salute, as deserved.


As is gradually becoming known the book that I am currently writing is also devoted to the sheep and cattle stations of our outback.