It's great to be home and to have my family around me again. The Fellowship was wonderful and I achieved more than I thought possible. What would be fantastic now is a mini fellowship each day - where there were no interuptions for at least a couple of hours. That I could get used to on an ongoing basis.

I've spent the week catching up with paperwork (not mentioning any domestic things uh uh) and phone calls. I've written myself a list of tasks and crossing them off one by one. I've been offered a contract for another picture book which is exciting.

The chapter book draft has a due date and I'm working towards that. It's shaping up nicely. Non fiction and poetry are awaiting tweaking and submission. The novel is shaking the cage and asking to be let out again, but redrafting will need to wait until boys are back at school and more pressing projects have been completed.

This post feels naked without photos. I'll have to take the camera on my morning walk. Today I walked on parkland at Williamstown that was only saved for public use by sustained effort on the part of locals. It's a great spot, with panoramic ocean frontage. It looks out into Port Phillip Bay. Our puppy, Emmi, loved it as much as I did. It's an off lead park and she was the only dog. Bliss, all those birds for her alone!

Last day

Richard and I were determined to have a final walk. We left Edward tucked in bed and set out for the parks. We only encountered one shower as I showed him the lake and the parks.

Alice for some reason is now sheathed in temporary fencing (for modesty???). We walked through the atmospheric olive groves.

We also saw beautiful rosellas but they wouldn't pose for photos.
These seed pods were amazing. In the past, when dry we've used the caps for long fingers/fingernails.

After a late breakfast, Edward decided that bed was too good a place to leave. Richard and I looked at the blue sky and decided to visit the zoo. Well the sky was teasing and by the time we arrived at the front of the zoo, the clouds were hanging heavy overhead. The meerkats ignited a discussion I thought closed about whether we should get more pet ferrets (because meerkats are not allowed as pets). Hmm. Not while there's breath in me (because they pong, really pong despite what Richard says). The meerkats, however, are very entertaining to watch and we weren't close enough to smell whether they smell like their relatives.

We were in time for feeding time for the lions...who were ready and waiting ahead of time. A small boy approached the gate where the keepers and food would enter and was told clearly by the dominant female that he should move. He did. The keeper told us a bit about the lions before feeding them, as once they have their food, they disappear to eat it. The two lion sisters are about to have a male companion, once he completes his 30 days quarantine. He's a lot younger and smaller than they are at present, so will be side by side with them until the zoo is assured they'll all get along.


Then the rain began. We watched the leopard being fed until the drips began to find their way down my neck. We repaired to the nocturnal enclosure where it was lovely and dry. The rain continued off and on for the rest of the afternoon, pouring then clearing to blue sky. It really was as if Loki, god of mischief, had gained control of the weather. We persisted in an almost empty zoo, racing from shelter to shelter and seeing what we could on the way. We lingered to watch Pusang, the male orang-utan, Karta the female and the pair of siamangs. All seemed intent on their own activities, largely ignoring each other. Many of the apes and monkeys were sheltering out of the rain, and those that were visible were not very active. Richard and I were both soaked despite coats and headed back into town and onto the bus. We were very pleased to get home and change into dry clothes.


Now to pack. How is it that repacking is never as easy as packing in the first place? Where does all the extra come from. Luckily for me, neither Edward or Richard arrived with full bags, so I've loaded them up with books and bits.

I've had such an adventure here in Adelaide. It wasn't just the volume of writing I was able to achieve. It was being on my own here for a month, meeting so many wonderful and supportive people. It was meeting publishers, writers and illustrators. It was walking everywhere and discovering Adelaide. It was all of these and more. It was grand, just grand.

Haigh's, Central Markets and rain

I'd booked us in for a Haigh's chocolate factory tour expecting that Kerry and car would be here. Not so. I was happy to walk, although the weather was less than last week when I walked there. The boys walked with me, perhaps marginally less enthusiastically. Still we made it after and before the rain. I enjoyed this tour more, the guide seemed more genuine somehow (whatever that means). The boys enjoyed the chocolates, although we're not convinced the Spearmint Nougat (choc coated of course) will be their biggest seller.


The rain was pelting down outside so we had to linger in the chocolate-scented environment - what torture! When it eased we caught a bus into town and then another to Central Market. We checked the bookshop there and they had Snow Play, although neither of my picture books. Sigh. I signed the Snow Play copies. Being Friday lunchtime by then, the market was a busy place, but we managed to navigate our way up and down aisles. Unlike our Melbourne markets, the deli, butchers/chicken shops and F&V were all mixed in together. We tasted some cheeses and bought some goat's cheese and also some food for tea. We had Yiros (souvlaki) for lunch and then caught the free city bus around to where we could hop on our bus home.

A slow afternoon of reading, watching and computing will round out the day, before our market-fresh dinner.

Notes and transformers

I wrote up my notes from yesterday's interview while boys got going this morning. Richard curled in next to me reading. He and I then walked up to the shops for provisions before a late breakfast. We decided to see Transformers, an extreme example of product placement, the toys having come first. The film was pitched at an older audience than the toys and it was M-rated. It was an action movie first and second and plot really a linking device between elaborate action sequences. Add a pretty girl or two and that about sums it up. Long too at 143 minutes. Still it gave us an opportunity to eat our Haigh's chocolate.


Edward, who's in those horrid early days of a cold, curled on the couch for a snooze and Richard and I went for a walk. I showed him the avenues and we found some more photo ops...well I did and he tolerated them!

A good day

I was up early this morning to collect Edward and Richard from the airport this morning. They arrived almost on time. A big breakfast was our first stop after a taxi ride back to Norwood.

Back in the apartment, both boys had a nap while I headed out for coffee with working title press publisher Jane Covernton. I'd forgotten that Omnibus was for some years in Fullarton Rd near hear, which explains why Jane was so familiar with the area and knew just where to go for coffee! We had a great chat.

I was back at the apartment for a short while before heading to Goodwood to meet with the Chair of the Pedal Prix organisation. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of this event, which I had imagined was generated by the Formula One Grand Prix event. It had a very different genesis, via a Tech teachers association looking for a co-curricular project for their tech school students. In that sense, the 'road testing' which became the Pedal Prix was almost an afterthought!

After a trip back with a very enthusiastic cabbie who accelerated my career into movies and limousines, and who dropped me off saying I need to write something about cabbies, I roused my sleepy boys but could only convince Richard to accompany me on a bus trip into town. We bought him a toothbrush (yes he forgot to bring one) and some trousers (what do you mean the mid-calf look is passe?) and then...okay, first...we found 'Snow Play' (packaged with bag) on prominent display in the book section. Richard obliged me by taking several photos.
You may notice that notice that of Target's best sellers I am No 1, No 2 and No 3!

I meant to say in my last post that Mary had given me a piece of orange poppyseed cake to take home after elevenses the other day. I gotta say, it was very nice. Thanks Mary, thanks Tin Cat Cafe. I looked up their web presence and wish I had time to have dinner there, it looks great. We had the upstairs room to ourselves which was great. I liked the fish tank television and some of the jewellry on display (especially the little boot earrings).

So many great places, so little time!

Meetings, elevenses and such

The mystery object photographed in the post below is a hand-stitched camel saddle. Amazing. There was a display of tools for the making of saddles as part of the museum exhibition. There was a wooden round-headed hammer-type tool particularly for pounding the straw stuffing smooth.


On Monday, I found more 'parades' to walk around. The trees are impressive now when most of their leaves are around my feet, they must be glorious in spring time. Then Mary collected me and dropped me at Omnibus Books for a meeting with Dyan Blacklock. I heard Dyan comment at one of the Reading Matters sessions about the way Omnibus archive. She expressed concern about the longevity of electronic storage methods. I'd meant to ask her about that, but it must have been about the only question I forgot to ask. She's given me some books for my boys, but I think I might read them too. One is by John Heffernan, whose 'more than gold' I'm enjoying reading at the apartment. John was a Fellow in 2005.

After the meeting, Mary and I had afternoon tea before she dropped me back at the apartment. I will be travelling to the same general area on Wednesday to meet with the chair of the Pedal Prix organisation. I'd considered walking, but now realise it's a bit far!

Today there was a morning tea 'Elevenses' at Tin Cat Cafe, a sort of farewell because the end of my Fellowship is approaching. There were people I've met in my time here and several new faces, a lovely gathering. I spoke about my experience here and also read two poems, 'Iceberg' and 'How to Grow a Flower'.

There were several 'Fellows' present and they shared their experiences. Elizabeth Hutchins has just returned from her Fellowship in Brisbane where she takes credit for breaking their drought...there was 62mm rain in the day or so following her arrival. Well done Elizabeth!