Sara Hardy Writes

Happy? Yes, yes, let's be happy, on whichever side of the equator we're on, freezing or boiling/burning (Mother Nature desperately trying to tell us something)... But let's take a break from all the difficult things and find some together-ness and cheer. Some joyful harmony - however and whatever feels comfortable and best for you. Let's raise our glass to that. I was going to have a bit of a rant about the fact that the Australian government has eliminated the word 'Arts' from its ministerial departments. The Arts in now embedded (hidden) somewhere inside the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. The Arts, that thing that creates far more jobs, wealth and attendance numbers - and sense of Culture, here and overseas - than our beloved Sport. Its 'reassignment' feels like the beginning of an episode of Yes, Prime Minister, but unfortunately the farce is all too real. I will desist from saying more - but

L Ellis & S Hardy performing in  Radclyffe , 1987. * I went to a marvelous party,  I must say the fun was intense, We all had to do,  What the people we knew Would be doing a hundred years hence. We talked about growing old gracefully And Elsie who's seventy-four Said, A, it's a question of being sincere, And B, if you're supple you've nothing to fear. Then she swung upside down from a glass chandelier, I couldn't have liked it more.                                                       (lyrics: Noel Coward) I went to the marvelous and  fabulous  Coming Back Out Salon  presented by All The Queens Men in celebration of LGBTI+ elders. It was held on Saturday 9 November at Melbourne’s luscious Mural Hall (suitably Art Deco) and there was a generous high-class mix of entertainment - not least world famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma! - plus food and drink that kept flowing. It was a wonderful celebration of Queer Elders, and I felt very proud to be part of it.  The

Edna Walling is very much in the air - or should I say in the garden, her spirit anyway. Well over 3000 people visited Bickleigh Vale Village earlier this month during the Open Gardens Victoria day. I was there. Eight gardens were open. It was stunningly beautiful. I've been asked to give a talk on this wonderful woman, details below. (p.s. Still no news on the novel/publisher front, fingers crossed, nails terribly bitten.) AUTHOR TALK Edna Walling The Woman Who Grew A Village Edna Walling (1895-1973) walks across a cow paddock and has a vision… “I shall build a village here,” she said. And over time, that is exactly what she did. Join author Sara Hardy as she explores the journey that led Edna Walling to create a village on a hill in Mooroolbark. Bickleigh Vale Village brought together Edna Walling’s ideals and ideas about design, nature and community. It is her living legacy, an oasis of beautiful thinking. The

Those who live in and around Melbourne may be interested in taking advantage of a rare Open Day to explore Edna Walling's self-made Bickleigh Vale Village in Mooroolbark on Sunday 13th October,  10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Location: Bickleigh Vale Road, off Pembroke Road, Mooroolbark. Eight gardens will be open. This rare opportunity comes through Open Garden Victoria. visit:  www.bickleighvalevillage.com.au If you haven't caught up with Edna Walling and her extraordinary life and career as a landscape designer, own-home builder, unique village maker and vanguard eco-warrior - then you might like to read all about her in The Unusual Life of Edna Walling - available in libraries or from bookshops (literal and virtual). [lovely photo of garden gate at Bickleigh Vale is by Brett Horan]

If you are in Melbourne then you might be interested in Baggage Productions: MadWomen Monologues. Every year they call for entries from women writers to submit a ten minute (or less) monologue for performance. They select 12 or so from the entries and present them - at the Butterfly Club in November. Half the income from ticket sales goes to a women's charity. I have a monologue in the second season called Hell's Little Helper . For more info and Early Bird reduced-price tickets go to https://thebutterflyclub.com/ show/the-madwomen-monologues- 2019 Program One: 11-16 November 2019 An Interview Ain’t No Sure Thing  written by Phoebe Taylor, directed by Keith Gow, performed by Seon Williams Butterfly Kicks  written by Jamila Main, directed by Renee Palmer, performed by Liliana Dalton The Cosmonaut’s Child  written by Alison Knight, directed by Chris Boek, performed by Andrew Godson Fair Trade  written by Carrolline Rhodes, directed by Adele Shelley, performed by Donna

I have been celebrating with friends. Popping the cork on champagne. Yippee! Last week I secured a Literary Agent! After my last post about the slowness of snails everything suddenly sped up. I tried a bit of lateral thinking ... and it paid off. I am now represented by Martin Shaw, who is associated with Alex Adsett Publishing Services (they represent Melissa Lucashenko who just won the Miles Franklin Award - not that I'm name-dropping or anything). I couldn't be happier with this turn of events. Especially as Martin Shaw is "very excited" about my manuscript, and very positive about its publishing potential. So one enormous hurdle scrambled over - and just a few more yet to come!  - and, but, here is a 1923 update : long story short: My manuscript is now published titled A Secretive Life and is available as paperback or eBook via all usual outlets (see more recent posts re). Martin Shaw and I parted company in the end, very amicably, and the champagne was g

Progress moves at snail's pace on the 'path to getting published' - so I am trying to embrace the art of patience. ... Will snail-watching help? Snails are not as slow as we think, and their ability to decimate a carefully grown lettuce is impressive (with the help of slugs and other pesky creatures). I am reminded of Elisabeth Tova Bailey's remarkable memoir, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating where a common woodland snail takes up residence in a terrarium in the room where Elisabeth lies suffering from a serious illness. Too weak even to pet her dog, she becomes fascinated by the life of this snail. It's movement, sounds and habits bring a kind of meditative comfort. Elisabeth recovered, and her world became bigger again. Then she wrote her prize-winning book. Speaking of Nature - it is Spring! (over Melbourne way) and the blossoms are bursting forth. There is a tree across the road that I can see from my study window, a Manchurian Ornamental Pear I think, and i

Greetings – and especial thanks to my Followers for joining me on this journey. Much appreciated! Here’s the first of occasional updates regarding my ‘Debut Novel’ and its journey toward publication (one way or another). My novel is called Cecilia’s Hatbox and follows the life of Cecilia Toris through the 20th century. Her adventures are set against the rise of Communism, Fascism and budding Gay Liberation, with the backdrop of London, Weimar Berlin and Melbourne. The novel draws on the real lives of lesbians of the time – from Dolly Wilde (Oscar’s niece) to Margareta Webber (of Melbourne bookshop fame). Cecilia’s Hatbox  is a bold, sexy antidote to Radclyffe Hall’s doom-laden Sapphic novel,  The Well of Loneliness , famously banned as obscene in 1928 – a novel that becomes a touchstone throughout Cecilia’s life. The Tricky Navigation... These days a Debut Novelist needs a Literary Agent to pick the locks of all those closed Publisher’s gates forbidding admittance to

Cameron Woodhead in The Age today gives The Ghetto Cabaret four stars **** He says Evelyn Krape, as the MC in dusty tux promises to make us laugh and cry. He says, 'it might be Krape's finest hour: whether she's crooning through a megaphone or lighting up comedy routines, she's a commanding presence.' Hear, hear! (- though I'd add her finest hour may well be her one-woman performance in  Female Parts ). Woodhead says ' The Ghetto Cabaret doesn't turn it's eye from the darkest material, and flows with artistry that entertains and moves, doing justice to the memory of the Holocaust and the spirit of the Jewish culture that survives and transcends it.' [production photo by Jeff Busby] Here's a reprise of my recent review of this terrific show: Last Sunday night we saw  The Ghetto Cabaret  created by Galit Klas and directed by Gary Abrahams. This is a fortyfive downstairs production in collaboration with Kadimah Yiddish Theatre. Prov

Three good pieces of theatre in the last four weeks - all seen at fortyfive downstairs , Flinders Lane, Melbourne. An unusual production of A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf was   presented by Sentient Theatre - it's an adaptation of Woolf's lectures given to the women of Cambridge University in 1928. Somewhat surprisingly, this production had a cast of four, three women and one man. Each was an aspect of Virginia's argument. They tossed Woolf's ideas around the space, challenging each other with her witty, literary, feminist teasings. It took a while to get used to four voices, but it worked, cleverly keeping the pace of Woolf's playful propositions afloat - though not always tapping into her mischievous wit. This production is going on regional tour - do see it - the ideas are as fresh as they were when Virginia Woolf first penned them - which does not say much for the progress of women's place in society. It's good to see Virginia Woolf

They're telling me that blogs are old fashioned and even websites are losing their shine ... so here I am, arriving late. But you know what they say! I am a small vessel on the high seas with a sheet for a sail and an ambition. My ship is called 'Debut Novel' and I'm in search of a publisher. Currently, most publisher ports are closed to tiny vessels without the appropriate flag - so the voyage may be long and meandering! We'll see.