Community – Comeshareunity

“What colour will it be? Will the inside be varnished? Is the sanding finished? How long will it take? How old is it? Where did you dig it up from? Did it come with sails? Looks great. Good progress!” A barrage of questions fired like shots from a Heckler and Koch. Undisturbed by the onslaught from bystanders, hand-workers on the boat renovation project remain unvexed, composed and keen to answer questions, seemingly happy to share ideas, plans and progress. Around the workplace coffee machine conversation froths…

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A Fruit Salad of Friendship

350 kilometres for the road trip rest 2,400 kilometres behind us that was just the best. 350 kilometres where our travel trail ends 2,400 kilometres of the very best of friends. 350 kilometres where she’ll search out new places 2,4000 kilometres leaving behind favourite spaces. 350 kilometres for more selfie photographs 2,400 kilometres of soul searching and laughs. 350 kilometres glow new morning skies 2,400 kilometres a windy road to goodbyes. 350 kilometres awaits her husband’s embrace 2,400 kilometres of memories we cannot replace. 350 kilometres…

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Coconuts and Coal

“Just slow down, slow down. Holy crap, that’s scary”. Surrounded by smoke, front and rear vision blocked, uncertain when the road would appear; driving through a bushfire was not part of the original list of experiences. Travelling along the Bruce Highway from the volcanic coastline of Yeppoon and Capricorn National Park, the heat source shaping this part of the hinterland landscape was a grassfire. Appearing suddenly and out of nowhere, we were somehow always going to meet the same fate as Thelma and Louise. We’d just…

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LEAVE IT AND TAKE IT

  There are stories here of ancient times, deep concealed caves, underground lakes, Jurassic Dolomite outcrops, bloody battles, wayfarers, pilgrims and faith transformed. Peoples have peregrinated through the valleys of the Franken Jura, this Fränkische Schweiz for centuries. We connect with their footsteps and weave our trail in its magnificent history. Beneath rocky limestone outcrops we leave laughter. On fortress peaks we leave awe. Along rivers windy we leave stories. In deep caverns we leave intrigue. Across rich green fields we leave gratitude.  At town squares…

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Rhode to Riches

The I-95 takes us out of NYC via New Jersey on a drive that crosses 5 States in one day. New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A drive through heavy industry; old manufacturing towns reformed, shaking old images, creating new economies, right through to quaint oceanside Newport. Where the history of commerce and trading runs deep, from slaves, to cargo and in later years gladiatorial yacht racing trophies. Richness runs wide in Newport Rhode Island. A town where opportunity and beauty have intertwined for…

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A Bite of the Big Apple

A trip into New York City for the uninitiated is similar to a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ novel. Multiple options to select; path, characters and ending unknown.With the juxtaposition of introductions from 'gangster rappers' such as Jay Z, 50 Cent, Biggie and good old classic Blue Eyes Sinatra, an emulsion of expectations loom large and anticipation shines neon bright. Leaving the verdant parkland bordering right up to the mega metropolis, crossing the George Washington bridge over the meandering Hudson River into New Jersey, we were greeted…

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Two Little Vowels

  Trail and trial. Five exact same letters. Try saying them quickly multiple times over with a few additional words for a good tongue twister. A mere reversal of two vowels changes the entire context of expression, nuance of the communication or implication of the active out- workings of each noun. Def. Trail: a beaten path through rough country such as a forest. A route planned or followed for a particular purpose. Def. Trial: a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something.…

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Canyons with Conviction

We’ve about used up all the synonyms for ‘beautiful’ travelling this countryside. Adjectives such as spectacular, dramatic, striking, eye-catching, breathtaking, glorious and of course ace, cool, awesome and grouse don’t seem to do justice to the ever unfolding layers of natural wonder. Dramatic juxtapositions of rugged and serene, gentle and ferocious, grandious and unpretentious; prompt the questions, “Can anything top this?”, “How do you rank beauty?”, “How do you begin to describe beauty?” To wax lyrical, or borrow from those much wiser, there are volumes of…

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Andante

A walking group generally consists of the leader and the “whip”. Destinations are clear, expectations set, orientation established and navigation routes devised. (Crutches obviously ditched!). There’s a confident sense of excitement, underpinned with a tentative curiosity and introspection as to the trail, its requirements, and one’s own capacity to meet the demands of the territory, distance and pace. The steady rhythm of footsteps settle like a metronome, shuffling between andantino and allegro, while kilometres are clocked and collective identity shared and shaped. Stories are traded, souls…

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VIVE LA VIE

Vive la Vie -  ‘Life is wonderful’ is what it says on the card my friend has sent me. Is it a challenge? Perhaps an affirmation? In any case intentional and deliberate.  It’s a statement. No room for debate. Emphatic and unreserved. There are no grey undertones. An allusion and alluring to the richness of blessing, hope and colour. Colour is “the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light”. Wonder and…

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