Swallows and Amazons is a series of twelve children’s books by Arthur Ransome. The twelve books involve adventures by children during their school holidays in England in the 1920s and 30s.

As they revolve mainly around sailing. the Sailing Master of our local Boat Club decided to hold a Swallows & Amazons weekend. We spent four days on the waters of Moreton Bay with a group of up to twenty-eight boats from our Club, the Moreton Bay Wooden Boat Association and other boats from Macleay Island.

On Saturday, we sailed across to neighbouring Coochiemudlo Island for a capuccino in the island general store. Saturday night was a Pirate Night at the Tingira Boat Club, where Guy and I won first prize for our costumes, with special mention of our attention to detail, viz swords and treasure chest.

 

Sunday saw the boats on a “secret raid” through the cutting on nearby Garden Island. Not a race, the prize went to the boat who completed the course in the time nearest to the secret time. Sadly, we were far too fast.

On Monday, Guy and I exchanged our borrowed 12′ Vagabond for our own 30′ sloop, Bonnington and joined a number of wooden boats who sailed to Blakesleys on North Stradbroke Island for an overnight camp, sailing back to Macleay on Tuesday.

Glorious Queensland weather. Who could ask for anything more?

I’ve written so many short stories. Here’s an opportunity to do something with them.

I will upload a short story each month for you to read. No particular theme, no demographic, just a quick read for you. Click on “Short Stories” in the menu to view the first of many – “The Brown Hens”.

Shortlisted in last year’s Redlitzer, “The Brown Hens” borrows on family history to tell the story of one of my aunts and her introduction to the family. Much of it is fiction for I never knew how she met the family. As a child, I only knew she was an outsider and the brown hens viewed her as such. Poor Eva (not her real name). She did marry Jock and they had a happy marriage, despite the lack of acceptance by the other members of the family.

As a happy note, she was reunited with her older brother after the war. Both he and her younger brother fought on opposite sides during the war but came through unscathed.

Working on the theory that practical experience helps a writer bring plots to life, I recently took a leap of faith and jumped off a very high platform and ziplined across an eighty metre canyon.

Determined to eke every moment of terror out of the trip, I put trust in the harness and spreadeagled my body as I hurtled down in the green abyss. I could hear my scream – of elation? – or terror? echoing around me.

Now how can I incorporate this into a story? Stay tuned.

Wow! Here I am with a website and blog which will make it easier (I hope) to find a market for my writing.

If nothing else, it has given me valuable insight into starting and developing a website in WordPress. Gratitude unbounded to my long-suffering son for dragging me screaming through the process.

Platform Seminar coming up next week with Marianne de Pierres and our Island Writers Group. I’m really looking forward to it.