An "Author's Proof" arrives in the mail.

In loving memory of our mother.

For Betty. 16 January 1931 to 4 February 2025

Matin's birthday. Remembering this force of nature with another poem.

A good read from an excellent writer.

I may need to get out more.

It can be odd the ways in which one's mind plays tricks on us. My mind certainly. Today is the 25th anniversary of my arrival in Australia.

I've made no plans which is simultaneously liberating and -- possibly -- the daftest-plan-ever in a long life of Dougie's daft plans.

They grant us power to see the fairies ... allegedly.

I see how it geta its name.

I resist the impulse to offer advice. I know my limits.

Not long after you break your neck in three places (in a not-swimming-well-enough accident) people tend to ask a lot of questions.

They do say ... write as if your life depended on it.

Last days of primary school, I think. Maybe 1968 or 69. Look at those ears and the ginger hair!!! The past is indeed a foreign country.

Birthday lunch for Spike Deane from 7° in the car park to a table next to the open fire at Grazing, Gundaroo. As if going back in time.

This man of a certain age reads autofiction from a parallel universe written by another man of a certain age. The myths of Earth abide.

Brunch with Spike Deane in country New South Wales. Off the beaten track. Happy man.

Half a century and more, the signal keeps calling

Thistle the Cat takes charge.

In the immortal words of John Lennon ... love is all we need.