Spirit of the Garden - winter sun


 I have been in hibernation (or lockdown mindset) for a long while - but like the Spirit of our Garden I am emerging to greet the winter sun. I have been working away 'underground' as it were, writing and re-writing my novel, draft after draft. But today all that fiddling and reworking stops! I am done, it is done - hurrah for that. The new title is: A Secretive Life and, all being well, it will appear as a paperback and eBook in the near future. Details to follow.

Hope you're keeping well, warm and happy. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Theory, Practice, and Speaking Out

Image
Michelle de Kretser and I became friends when I was a mature student at University of Melbourne back in the late 1980s. Michelle was my tutor and, perhaps because I was a mature student with a theatre background, she took a liking to me and I of course liked and admired her. This was about a decade before she began to win major prizes for her novels. A few days ago, Michelle was announced as the winner of the prestigious Stella Prize - named after Stella Miles Franklin, author of My Brilliant Career. Michelle de Kretser's prize-winning novel is called Theory and Practice - and it's a fabulous read. But what I really want to record here is Michelle's acceptance speech. Please read it in full. It is very important, to all of us. Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for being here. The 2025 Stella Prize does my work great honour, and I’m so happy to accept it. I wish I could join you in person to celebrate all the long and shortlisted writers. As that’s not possible, I’m reco...
Read more

Once a Biographer part 3 - Bickleigh Vale, the original namesake

Image
  This image comes from a postcard printed in the UK circa 1910. The caption reads: Picturesque Devon, Bickleigh Vale, Nr Plymouth . When Edna Walling chose the name for her envisioned self-made village (though it was just two dwellings at the time, Sonning and The Barn) I think she was remembering a beloved place from childhood, called Bickleigh Vale. The reverse of the UK postcard declares: 'Bickleigh Vale is a favourite resort with the inhabitants of Plymouth, from which it is only situated a very short distance. If there is one season in the year in which the Vale is more picturesque than in another it is in the spring, when the delicate foliage of the ash still retains its freshness, and the earth beneath is literally carpeted with a brilliant growth of bluebells and anemones.' I reckon they are silver birch in that picture, one of Edna's oft used trees in her landscape designs.  Edna Walling spent her childhood in Plymouth, and each Sunday, she and her father would ...
Read more

Open Day - Bickleigh Vale Village, October 2024

Image
There's a fabulous chance to view eight of the gardens at Edna Walling's Bickleigh Vale Village through the Open Gardens Victoria scheme. These opportunities do not come very often and literally thousands of people head to Mooroolbark to attend - which is why this year arrival times are being monitored to reduce footprint stress on the gardens (and daresay their owners!). You'll need to purchase your tickets well before the day. Bookings are limited so I suggest doing it right now! Here's the link, or if you don't trust links, search the Open Gardens Victoria website for what's on in October 2024. https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1252401  Here's some info from the Open Gardens Victoria website to get you started: We are thrilled to be opening eight gardens in Bickleigh Vale Village in Mooroolbark on October 12 and 13, in partnership with the Friends of Edna Walling at Bickleigh Vale Village. In the 1920s Edna Walling created an enchanted village for...
Read more