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BBC: Wonderful World

Posted in Africa, Animals, COMMUNITY, Music, nature, Sounds, Writing on May 29, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Have to share this – it made my day…

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #WonderfulWorld #BBCVideos #DavidAttenborough

Down Town

Posted in COMMUNITY, Crafts, Perth City, Rail Tales, Writing, tagged BOOK:RailTales, Down Town, Northern Suburbs, Perth City, Two Rocks on May 22, 2015| 3 Comments »

Jean, through her Social Bridge blog, has inspired this posting by asking to see a version of down town. It’s hard to get me out of the bat cave as I don’t often venture into town if I can avoid it, but when I do it’s usually for a meeting at the cultural centre, so straight to that carpark and up the lift to the meeting rooms. I don’t dilly dally. Not good with large crowds.

The Bat Cave.

My down town couldn’t be more different to Jean’s, so to give you some idea; I live in the (near) northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, 29.5km from the city which takes 26 minutes by very fast train. (When I choose to drive often the train overtakes me while I do the speed limit of 100k – the train, it seems, has no such limit.)

When I was studying for my degree between 1998 and 2001, I frequently used the train to go from home to Mt Lawley and WAAPA or ECU Campus. I kept a notebook of poems and prose, ‘Rail Tales’ was re-printed in 2012

“Rail Tales” re-published chapbook, 2012

I did do a ‘Coming home, 2003’ blog entry with lots of photos of the car trip, taken when we returned from Ireland.

Ocean Reef Road leading to the sea, 5 min from where I live.

I recently Re-Blogged a post about our city which has amazing photos of the buildings; “Perth, is that you?”

From the blog entry “Perth, is that you?’

Everyone drives a car here, it’s necessary because there are distances involved in going anywhere.

“Two Rocks is an outer suburb at the northern edge of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, Australia, located 61 kilometres north of the city’s central business district.”

My hubby does most of the shopping because we run a small food production business (registered) from home and I hate shopping. If I go when I’m hungry, I buy all the worst goodies; so best I don’t go and I hate shopping for clothes. I’m a maker, so my favourite shops are also within 5min (Spotlight) and 9min (Office Works) respectively.

Coat made for a recent wedding.

As I mentioned, I very seldom go down town. We have wonderful shopping centres near us ranging from HUGE (Whitfords City, Lakeside, Joondalup just one train stop away North or South, or 5 -10 mins by car) to smaller local shops with a large supermarket plus more than 20 retail outlets including hairdressers, chemist and post office plus the obligatory fast food outlets, within walking distance of home.

However, I do often drive down south (skirting the city) to visit my children and grandchildren; a trip of 50.2km there and another 50.2km home again. The city boundaries extend about the same distance down south. This map shows the Transperth Zones where my children live in Zone 3 to give you an idea of the distances.

Depending on the time of day the trip can take anything from 42min to more than 60 min each way on our freeway, so I usually leave at home 10am and get back before 3.30pm.

Always worth doing; my grandies are (naturally) adorable and because it’s cold and wintery at the moment, I’m busy making beanies for them in various colours. Of course, that means lots of trips to Spotlight for more wool and perhaps some more material for dresses, dollies etc…

What are you focussed on – right now?

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #BOOK:RailTales #DownTown #PerthCity #TwoRocks #NorthernSuburbs

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How I see myself…

Posted in COMMUNITY, Illustrators, tagged FalseAlarm, Housework, How I See Myself on May 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

(Unknown author, except for small trade mark included in visual, bottom left.)

#FrancesMacForde @FrancesMForde #FalseAlarm #Housework #HowISeeMyself

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“Ranger Danger”

Posted in Africa, Animals, COMMUNITY, MOVIES on May 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Reel-Life Productions in Zimbabwe are making a documentary about the ‘war’ on Rhino poachers:

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #ReelLifeProd #RangerDanger #ConserveAfrica #ProtectRhino #WarOnPoachers

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STOP Killing Rhino!

Posted in Africa, Animals, Books, COMMUNITY, Favorite Writers, nature, Poetry, Writing, tagged Africa, Harry Owen, STOP Killing Rhino on May 15, 2015| 1 Comment »

Harry Owen on FaceBook today: “If I can do this, anyone can! Please join in and help raise awareness for the rhino today. Thank you!”

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde @StopKillingRhino #HarryOwen #Africa #Nature #Rhino #Elephant

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T.A.G. Hungerford

Posted in Books, COMMUNITY, Favorite Writers, Love, Music, Perth City, Poetry, Poets Corner @ Pages Cafe, Romance, Screenwriting, Sounds, WA Writers, Writers, Writing, tagged Jack Thompson, Kevin Gillam, Pages Cafe, poetry, Poets Corner, Stories & Poems, TAG Hungerford, What's Happened To Joseph on May 4, 2015| 11 Comments »

When I met 90 year old Tom, he was a West Australian Living Treasure and an absolute gentleman.

Also the winner of the Patrick White Award in 1992, Tom was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1988 for services to literature, the author of many novels, including The Ridge and The River, Sowers of the Wind, Swagbelly, Birdsnatcher and The Prince of Siam.

He’d been writing for 60 years and celebrated his 90th birthday with a collection of stories & poems which illustrated his life.

At the official launch, I sat in selfish wonder listening to the magnificent voice of Jack Thompson booming, blasting passion into the masterly poetry and prose of T.A.G. Hungerford’s new book.

Taken from the back cover of What’s Happened to Joseph?: “With dazzling ease he moves from prose to poetry, from the ancient past to the present, from the small, absorbing passions of suburbia to the grim demands of jungle warfare. Hungerford makes us wonder just what did happen to Joseph, farther of Jesus Christ- did he continue to work in his carpenters trade, perhaps in Jerusalem – then takes us to the heart of Anzac Day, to the shimmering colours of outback Australia, or to his own front garden, and with every word he illuminates our own experience.”

I loved every word of his book and want everyone to enjoy his insight, his sensitivity and his ability to place me right there, where he was when writing them.

‘ANZAC Day’ is a poem I believe would work well on screen; the opening lines; dense, establishing and heartfelt:

“This spot at the corner of Pier Street and the Terrace

between two churches – Presbyterian one side,

C. of E. on the other – is just made to order

for us Second Eighth blokes to form up for the March

this mild April morning. Wild men we were, all of us.”

When Tom allowed me to host ‘An Afternoon With Tom’ during a very special Poet’s Corner event, devoted entirely to him, the place was packed with lovers of words wanting to hear him read and provide further insight to his writing.

The last poem in his book; ‘Fascination Waltz’ is another favorite and made me cry. That’s why I asked Kevin Gillam, a fellow poet, admirer of Tom and professional cellist to play ‘Fascination’. I felt the love and saw a tear in Tom’s eye, too.

Although he’s gone now I still think of him and his words, often. I treasure the firstly hand-written, then typed letters we exchanged and an (as far as I know) unpublished poem “Grey Ghost”, which would also make a fantastic film.

I want to pay a larger tribute and help make his writings available to more by getting them up on the big screen. Any producers out there, interested?

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #TAGHungerford #What’sHappenedToJoseph? #JackThompson #Stories&Poems #Poetry #KevinGillam #PoetsCorner #PagesCafe

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POEM: The Folly

Posted in COMMUNITY, Ireland, nature, Poetry, Romance, Sketching In Ireland, tagged Co Cork, Ireland, POEM:TheFolly, Poems Written In Ireland, SketchingInIreland on May 1, 2015| 1 Comment »

The Folly

Gaeltacht – Irish-speaking area.

Teanga – living language, tongue.

My Gaeltacht friend explained ‘Ye should go t’ see the folly…’

So, like tourists, my man and I actually took a clear-day,

no rain so far drive. A determined scenic dalliance

in sunny sections flashing green and historical grey.

Eventually – with no clear direction, journeying

quite far out of our way… we appreciated the Anglo

interpretation on the road signs, because as foreigners,

we don’t speak the traditional language of Ireland.

Not wanting to barstardise or pronounce phonetically

in error, ‘so’. We enjoyed the lilt and musicality of her

tumbled, seemingly conscientious explanation – story-

telling at a 100 miles an hour. ‘Ah well ye know, ta

get t’da place dat ‘tis, you just go along dis

road, don’t ye know, ‘tis a sort of a wind-y road, den

up t’ hill, don’t ye know and dere’ll be a turn off t’

da right – de left would it be, no, ‘tis definitely

da right… but don’t you be going dat way, d’ye know

‘cos dat’ll get ye into all sorts a troubles, sure

t’ will and all…’ Pictograms pointing to a past not

forgotten although many have tried to suppress their

uniqueness… The soft emphasis or not. A language

echoed through 400 years… the charming emotional

push of Ireland. ‘So’, we go on death-defying strips

of beaten earth, slicing through fields, carelessly carving

up gently rising hills dotted with dwellings, puffing

grey smoke evidencing crisp cold air, we journeyed

on by-ways bordered by stones. Intrusion bands – neatly

trimmed piles of manual labour carefully selected and placed

one on top of the measured other… in spite of wars and cars,

surviving like the teanga, rebelliously, resolutely, knowingly

employed at home in private, upright and proud though sagging

in some areas, often bent by forces who moved on and forgot.

Those walls still exist in places – repaired now, to allow

journey. Showing a path around a sparkling gem waiting…

We chanced intrusion of some one’s private personal space,

a rutted homely driveway – questions of culture, seeking

an un-shy, proud demonstration of Celtic heritage. We

wanted a clearer vision of soulful insistence – difference.

A sculptural acknowledgment, including the heroic past,

clear evidence of resistance – of residence. The Folly!

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #POEM:TheFolly #SketchingInIreland #Poems #Co.Cork #Ireland

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GUEST POEM: Bit by Bit.

Posted in COMMUNITY, Favorite Writers, Guest Poem, Love, Poetry, WA Writers, tagged Community, Favourite Writers, Guest Poem, Love, Marisa Wikramanayake, poetry, WA Writers on April 29, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Photo Source here.

Marisa Wikramanayake : “I’m a journalist, a writer and an editor. Well, actually, I write novels and attempt to survive doing so by having adventures and being a journalist and an editor.”

Take a look at her website where, among many interesting postings, most recently she has started doing videologs in support of Australian Women Writers. I’ve just watched Robin Bowers’ interview.

This poem was posted on Facebook today and I loved it. (Naturally, I asked permission to post it here.)

Were you to break me down into my constituent parts,
Bit by bit,
Build me back up again with IKEA instructions but perfectly,
(I will give you an Allen key),
With each Lego piece in its spot,
Bit by bit,
There would be no place for love.

Oh, there would be a tinkertoy space here, some engine that whirled around,
That makes me good at all the grand gestures,
That would let me let you go if you were happier without me,
Without me blinking,
Because you are made of flesh and nerve endings that will hurt,
But I am made of blocks that can be broken down and rebuilt,
Bit by bit.
So I can withstand it.

But there is the space you would find surrounded by the Fabuland set,
That would be that space that doesn’t quite work,
Perhaps they discontinued that line a long time ago,
Bit by bit,
But it’s the space that makes me wake you,
At three am because I want to talk,
Makes me since I am a brick,
Quite selfish and quite thick,
No good at the small important everyday love,
Ever feeling that my part in any duo would not be enough,
It’s the space that will make me leave you behind,
While I chase things that intrigue my mind,
Where I will stand wondering why I am not the one to be in your part when I know how a gendered romance should go,
That openly states when and how I feel,
Because no one who hears believes it’s real.
It’s the space in me that makes me stubborn,
Want to break down your walls and lay you open.
Bit by bit,
To dissect you, pull you apart so I know how you work,
So I can love you the way you deserve.

And you deserve different, flesh and blood with nerve endings and all,
Not something, half real, built of bricks prone to break apart and fall.
I have built myself up to work like a machine.
Over the years,
Bit by bit,
For maternal, fraternal love,
For grand gestures because I can’t protect you enough,
But not at all adequately for the small love on which you’re keen.

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #MarisaWikramanayake #GuestPoem #WAWriters #Community #FavWriters #Love #Poetry #RobinBowers

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Wanneroo Folk Club

Posted in COMMUNITY, Music, Sounds, Writing, tagged Community, David Milroy, Folk Music, Waltzing The Wilarra, Wanneroo Folk Club on April 28, 2015| 1 Comment »

While blogging about McDaid’s Folk Club I realized that the Wanneroo Folk Club, which I established way back in 1985 will be having it’s 30th anniversary soon!

In it’s 2nd year, I handed over the reigns to the rest of the committee , in particular Judith Shaw and Bob Rummary, who have done an amazing job of keeping the club going for nearly 30 years. Bob Rummary from Loaded Dog and Judith Shaw ran the club for many of those years.

Pictured below: Don Shaw playing Northumbrian Pipes made by G. Wooff gifted to him by Susan Sturcke.

In 1985, David Milroy was new to sharing his music as an original member of Wanneroo Folk Club. Now he’s very much a celebrated and awarded songwriter, performer, director and writer whose plays regularly tour Australia.

My now grown up daughter and I watched him perform in his musical ‘Waltzing the Wilerra’ not long ago and were completely blown away!