fab night in

Just time to put the kettle on, make a cuppa, and settle down in comfort for a double episode of The Bill!! Yeee Haa!!

on the beach

I have to report another Freddie adventure; once again the caper took place at the edge of edges; where Fremantle meets the ocean at South Beach.

On Monday the temperatures soared suddenly and unexpectedly and when 5 o-clock arrived what better place to visit. Rang my friend and we soon had our bathers on. At first all went according to plan. The ocean was an inviting cool release from the furnace the house had become. Freddie was happy retrieving his ball and paddling away at top speed, tail up. Because the day had heated up so quickly it had taken the population by suprise and the beach and carpark were practically empty. The beach however was far from empty of flies and they were definately the down side of the excursion. There had been no warning on the weather forecast so people hadn't factored a swim into their afterwork activities. We walked slowly up the beach keeping our toes wet and Freddie occupied. He did his customary thing of rolling around in the sand after a swim. Not a pretty sight esspecially with a swarm of black insects hovering around. We walked towards the groyn and Freddie ran here and there, finally getting left behind playing chasey with a labradoodle. I cast a look back and notice he is surrounded by two or three dogwalkers - I wonder why, surely he's not that interesting? A woman breaks away and runs towards us to convey the unwelcome news that Freddie is eating a blowfish! I run - yes run - back to the scene of the crime. He's definately found something suitably disgusting to eat and is very resistant to me easing it from clenched jaws. All the flies on the beach seem to have congregated around his head and I battle through them to grab his collar and wrench him from his deadly and foul smelling supper. Now, Freddie's history is one of abandonment. I retrieved him from a dog pound a couple of years ago but by that stage certain habits had been inground into his personality - one being the neccessity to be constantly focussed on food. He'll eat anything. So bearing this in mind I reason that he's probably grown up on blowfish. But when we finally get him home and washed and I look up blowfish on the net I find that they are extremely poisonous and potentially deadly. I keep checking Freddie for signs of paralysis setting in. Poor dog isn't allowed to rest. After 24 hours of vigilance I reacon he's out of danger and it probably wasn't a blowfish anyway.

awesome read

There is a strong sense of relief now that I have finally finished my degree. I look at a door marked 'New Beginning' and wonder what secrets hide behind it. In the meantime I weed the garden, walk the mongrel, shop, worry and read. I visit a friend and she says I've just read this fantastic book - hold on a minute while I read the last ten pages and you can take it with you - I hold on. I take it with me.

Now I know that my two most faithful readers are staunch science fiction/fantasy fans and Satima, I will attempt to read some of your recommendations and see if I can be tempted. Myself, well, I like all kind of reads. For an escape I might dip into Elizabeth George for a spot of crime. The other day I picked up a Michael Connelly that looked promising. But the book I took home was a real winner and highly recommended. It is Richard Flanagan's latest entitled, The Unknown Terrorist. Be afraid, be very afraid. This amazing Australian writer has managed to get his finger right on the pulse of certain aspects of our culture, especially the power of the media to completely assassinate a character. But its not only the story, so relevant to our times. The book is written in beautiful poetic language. The characters are spot on and the plot carried me along to the last page. The action takes place during a few steamy days of a Sydney heatwave. The city is in the middle of a 'terror alert'. The main character is a pole dancer who seems to live on a diet of Stemetil, Tamazopan and Zoloft (don't ask me what they are) has several aliases and is mainly referred to as The Doll. She meets a man she is instantly attracted to while at the Bondi Beach and later runs into him again at the Mardi Gras. There follows a night of passion before her life seriously starts to unravel. Tariq, her lover, is framed as a terrorist suspect and there is CCTV footage of him and The Doll entering his hotel. The Doll's life may have seemed inconsequential and meaningless before this incident but when she becomes the centre of a so called terrorist network it now turns into a horrific nightmare. Through her tragedy Flanagan reveals the truth and humanity of his character. The media, like a pack of mad wolves, set out to frame and find The Black Widow as she subsequently becomes labelled. The art, subtlety and sensitivity with which Flanagan treats his subject is awesome. I haven't read any of his other books but I'll be heading down to the library with a list as soon as I get a chance.