NSW Writers Centre, St Paul's Gramm...

Thursday – meet the brilliant teachers and students of St Paul’s Grammar at Winmalee writing camp. The kids blew me away – so smart and amazing from the Absurdist commentator, the post modernist girl exploring religion through poetry, the girl exploring emotional reliasm to the boy questioning Orwell’s 1984. To add to it were just fantastic teachers, a poet and the brilliant Cameron Nunn who wrote Shadows in the Mirror (Black Dog Books) Saturday: NSW Writers Centre seminar – Had fun with writers who are venturing into the world of young adult...

The Bitter Shore by Jacquie Everitt laun...

Jacquie’s launch was a celebration of her four year journey to write her book about an Iranian family that fled Iran and ended up at Woomera Detention Centre in Outback Australia. Published by Pan MacMillan Australia, there were lots of books sold. It was a celebration of the family to survive the Woomera and Jacquie’s commitment. Hundreds of people flocked to the launch, many involved in human rights, ABC radio and TV journalists and family and friends. There was lots of...

I AM JACK in the Downstairs Theatre at S...

LOVE the Seymour Theatre in Sydney impressive major shows performed here and I AM JACK The I AM JACK banner was hanging welcoming the audience to the final shows of the I AM JACK season by MONKEYBAA THEATRE www.monkeybaa.com.au Huge cheers to Tim McGarry – actor extraordinaire who played 11 characters with energy, humour, pathos and humanity. Huge cheers to the brilliant MONKEYBAA team – Eva Di Cesare, Sandie Eldridge and of course Tim McGarry and the fantastic production manager luke Cowling and assistant Peta Dyce. Love them heaps. Huge cheers to the...

Campbelltown Arts Centre and I AM JACK...

Campbelltown Arts Centre has a stunning theatre, and nearly full house for the afternoon performance. Touched by friends and colleagures turning up: authors Di Bates and Bill Condon great I AM JACK supporter Ian McLean former editor of SCAN Christine Keyes editor of new Illawarra news, journalist and writer Tim McGarry’s family my VIP nephew and girlfriend the McCauleys and the step dad ‘Rob’ of I AM JACK Audience laughed and cried and cheered. Fabulous show in a fabulous...

Speaking to UTS Writing Students...

Loved talking to the writing students at UTS great university great course great lecturer and author Greg Bastian Appreciated being asked to talk. I did my M.A Writing at...

Men's Group Film Premiere Sydney Th...

Men’s Group an Australian film produced by John L. Simpson moving powerful unlocking the silence of men The premiere was filled with actors and creative people celebrating John L Simpson and Michael Joy’s innovative film about men and their need to communicate if they are to survive. My friend Maria Simpson who is an actor and performer and writer of children’s theatre, musical and picture books was running around supporting this film and her brilliant husband. Great night. Great film. I had fun on the night. Winner of DIGISPAA BEST FILM...

Blacktown Kids Love I Am Jack...

MonkeyBaa Theatre performed at Emerton – part of Blacktown Council Tim McGarry was his brilliant self – he’s soooooo goooood!!! His one man show – we worked out he plays 11 characters in one hours. how talented is that! The kids were totally enthralled and so were the teachers and parents. Had fun as...

James Morrison, Rotary, Thomas Gervay...

Proud me – my brother heads Rotary Sydney Cove and he hosted the STAR CITY event on Saturday night with James Morrison and his band. fantastic night James Morrison sure can play the trumpet and lots of other instruments Raised money for families in India as part of the Steve Waugh Foundation Even though my brother was really, really anmoying and a HUGE teaser when I was growing up. He’s IMPROVED now. I thought he was...

Lightning Ridge Central School and I AM ...

Cool school with indigenous flag and the Oz flag flying full mast in the school grounds. Modern school and library Great librarians – thanks Penny Great kids from 46 nationalities from Indigenous to Serbian Everyone loved talking to me about I AM JACK Had a fun day ending up sharing the hot artesian pool with the local Serbians – those pools are HOT, BOILING – Tim from MONKEYBAA got as red as a lobster. Not me – I just loved it. Dinner at the BOWLING CLUB – the centre of town and the theatre venue for performance of I AM JACK. NEXT DAY:...

Lightning Ridge Welcomes MONKEYBAA'...

Flew into Lightning Ridge in a Piper Cherokee -over huge expanses of red land with dusty green shrubs and broken billabongs and rievrs without water and damns with water. Spashes of green showed there’d been rain making it red mud. It’s outback on the border of NSW and Queensland and I’ve landed. It’s like the 1850s Gold Rushes. Claims and digs are in every spot with shanties and caravans and make shift huts – no water, electricity only if you have a generator – it’s rough living. Hey, but they’re digging for that $1 million...