Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

One of the hardest things about being a creative person/writer/artist etc. is balance. When you work from home sometimes family members don’t know your boundaries. When you love your job sometimes it’s hard to stop working when your desk is always in the other room. Tell me in the comments what the hardest part of the “creative juggling balance” is for you.

Tips for Juggling Your Creative Life

• Give yourself a schedule. I always advise writers to treat writing like a job if they want it to be a career. If you want it to be a hobby (and in that case, an agent might not be right for you at this time) then you can treat it like a hobby. But the only way to get writing done is to do it.
• But remember to define your work day by what feels right–beginnings and endings don’t always start at…

Recently, it seemed as if half the people I knew were skiing in Japan, while I was close to home, in various parts of southeast Queensland. I had little to complain about – it was a mix of short beach holidays and staying at other people’s houses while our floors were re-surfaced, and every place had airconditioning, a pool, etc, etc. I had it good. But was everyone else having it better?

That’s what Facebook told me. Even without meaning to. Even when not one of the people involved meant to.

The lives of my peers were defined by awesome wintry vistas, mad grinning on chairlifts, more mad grinning apres ski. And my life appeared not to be.

Not so long ago on Facebook I saw a post by a writer I admire (talented writer, smart person), who said she’d just had Facebook envy when glancing over her partner’s shoulder…

I guess everyone leaves a legacy of some description, at least, I’d like to think that they have the opportunity and that they have people who remember them long after they have passed on.

The Flow of Words

One man who left a wonderful legacy to the world was Irish Nobel Laureate, William Butler Yeats, who died on January 28th, 1939.

His poetry lives with me every single day as it is etched in my heart and mind.

So many poems to choose from but this one never fails to calm me:

THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE

I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from…

photo: Southern Africa Wildlife College

Rangers are taught “basic training” in a short 6-8 week period of time. During this general training they learn

• animal identification and behavior
• bird identification
• plant and grass identification
• how to recognize and manage soil erosion
• general patrol techniques
• bush craft
• bush survival
• first aid

This is a lot to take in during a short amount of time. Once employed, they study and learn on-the-job with senior rangers. During their time with a reserve, there is constant in-house training to enhance or maintain their skills. Additional outside training is welcomed, but can be more costly.

Rangers have some familiarity in animal tracking, but humans are  another kind of animal. Poachers are an ever-present danger. Due to the increase and intensity of poaching, it is absolutely essential for rangers to learn how to track them within their area.

Tracker training by Colin Patrick Training.

Human (or poacher) tracking teaches them

Lumiere London saw the city transformed with light sculptures brightening up some of the city’s best loved landmarks.

The festival organised by the arts charity Artichoke and sponsored by the great and good saw an estimated one million people visit to see the show.  Crowds packed out spots in Kings Cross, Grosvenor Square, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly, Leicester Square and Westminster to get a look at some of the works of art which were showing for one long weekend only.

Rushing round London on a chilly Sunday evening is how I chose to visit the show and there was no way I was going to see everything although I did manage to give it a good go. The works ranged from the small and compact to the big and bold with every one different from the other and each a treat to stumble across.

It’s the third time Artichoke have exhibited…