Ngaire Dawn Fair

What have they done with her hair? No fringe!

Videos here: Ngaire Dawn Fair

Am I a Catholic?

I am a Catholic, it is my religion, but it is not my faith.
I believe in one God, I love my neighbours and I love asylum seekers and refugees,
I support marriage equality and euthanasia,
I believe in contraception and IVF and abortion.

Am I still a Catholic?

Men prefer...

... intelligence to boobs.

Really? Read more here

Desiderata ~ Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

My Country ~ Dorothea Mackellar

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror -

The wide brown land for me!

An opal-hearted country,

A wilful, lavish land-

All you who have not loved her,

You will not understand-

Though earth holds many splendours,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

I'm a Catholic...

But... that's but with a capital B, it feels like I've kinda lost my way. Is it me of has the world moved on?

The hatred between religions, the sick things religious people do, the sick things people do in the name of religion, I've just about had enough!

The conservative religious are growing in number and the pious are now called fanatics.

JC taught us to love one another, yet we discriminate, against gays, we despise those who follow a different religion, we think of those who practice yoga as evil.

It seems more important to be seen as holy, followers want to be seen at mass, to be known as most generous with the offertory and all the while thinking, it's ok to evade tax and support policies refusing asylum seekers and refugees in.

Yup, that's Christianity with a capital C.

What I love...

I don't ask for much and I'm definitely not one for lengthy conversations. I recall being on a long distance flight with a lady colleague, was happy with the movie selection but she wanted to talk! I'm not shy to admit that I'm a bit of a loner. Prefer a good book (GoT) or a good movie (anything with Kate Beckinsale), to an evening at the pub.

I may previously have expressed a fondness for Shiraz, it's a lie. Give me a cold glass of Traminer Riesling. Wonder if my preference has changed due to the recent heatwave?

Some may deem me too old, but I do love a good computer game (Final Fantasy anyone?) and all types of gadgets... The latest and weirdest. I run Ubuntu on one of my laptops.

Chocolate.. did I mention chocolate, I love Toblerone! Cheese. I love cheese, the blue variety, Stilton or the Tassie Roaring Forties.

I'm off for a quiet spot of fishing... alone!

Please do not disturb!