January – “I am Spartacus!”
Are you a fan of epic movies? I love a good historical film in wide-screen technicolor that goes for long enough to include an interval. Today, I thought I’d talk about the 1960 Roman epic Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas, amongst a galaxy of other stars, and directed by Kirk D and Stanley Kubrick. In fact, while I admit that SK WAS a genius, to my taste, he never made a movie as good as this one, largely because it’s such a powerful emotional experience and his later work isn’t really concerned with evoking a strong emotional reaction from an audience. Me? I like a punch to the heart when I watch a good movie! Read more…
February – The Lure of Travel
I’m currently in the throes of planning an overseas trip and I’m having such fun putting everything together. So I thought, “Why not make this the subject of my latest MFT?” I often think with travel, one of the best if not the best parts is all that wonderful excitement and anticipation, as you decide where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do when you get there. Read more…
March – Miegunyah House Museum
I had a really delightful morning this week, visiting Miegunyah in Bowen Hills in Brisbane, which is both a historic house museum and the headquarters of the Queensland Women’s Historical Association. I enjoyed a lovely cream tea before joining a guided tour of this magnificent old residence. Check out that beautiful iron lace on the verandas. Gorgeous, hey? The name Miegunyah means “my home” in one of the local Indigenous languages. Read more…
April – The Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth
Lots of pictures for you to look at this month. And I’m definitely talking about one of my favorite things, the marvelous, atmospheric, poignant Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth in Yorkshire. I had visited once before in 1985 on my first visit to the UK. I was there on a wild and windy day that seemed ripped right out of Wuthering Heights so the small house with the graveyard pressing up against the windows seemed just perfect as the home of the genius sisters who wrote some of my favorite books. Read more…
May – Mrs. Gaskell’s House in Manchester
Having done the Bronte Parsonage last month, I thought that this month I’d talk about another lovely literary museum I visited last year when I was in Manchester. It’s interesting how Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) has risen in the ranks of great writers since the dim, distant past when I studied literature at the University of Queensland. She didn’t get a mention back then, although her biography of her friend Charlotte Bronte was well known. Read more…
June – Some Recommended Reading
It’s a while since I’ve talked about books I’ve liked, so I thought I’d take a couple of months to catch you up with my latest recommendations. This month, I’ve got a great mystery for you, a luscious romance, and a great women’s fiction book set not far from where I used to live in subtropical Queensland. First up is the mystery. The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson is the start of a new series which makes me very happy because I really enjoyed this first book which was published in 2022. Read more…
July – Some More Recommended Reading
More recommended reading today! Some great recent nonfiction I very much enjoyed. I’m going to start with Underland: A Deep Time Journey (2019) by British author Robert Macfarlane. I really enjoy good nature writing which is lucky for me, because we’re living in a golden age for that genre. Robert Macfarlane is one of the best. Read more…
August – Way Out West in Queensland!
I’m just back from an epic 6-day tour of south-western Queensland with the Society of Women Writers Queensland who were doing a series of workshops that took in Roma, Mitchell, Charleville, and St. George. Lots of time on the road, some great training sessions with talented and enthusiastic locals, and a great deal of excellent fellowship with my colleagues. What could be better? Read more…