Our second leg of the journey and reason for our journy
Up at 4.30 am, down in foyer for Uber to the airport and flying at 9am for London. A 15 hour trip which gave us a chance to see lots of movies and listen to music. Arrived late for London into the loving arms of Elizabeth,, Thomas and Eleanor . William had a wonderful chicken green currycooking for us on arrival at Burgess Hill. A great evening with the family. Wonderful fresh flowers greeted us – gold arum lilies,roses and wonderfulmauve tulips. Just beautiful to be with our two grandchildren. Over the next weeks picking them up from school, experiencing the swimming, karate, archery, nett-ballgymnastics, ballet explorers club, doing lots of craft with them, walking around the Dragonfly Park, walking the sea fronton a sunny spring day,
a long way from home
unfamiliar sounds
entertain my night
at the crack of dawn
strange bird song fills the air
jet lag
Catching up with family in England in 10 pictures
At the airport , very moving experience after a gap of 8 years.
Experiencing school in Burgess Hill ,England bu picking grandchilren up after school.
Some of the English roses with Eleanor coming home from Netball training.
A historic moment for the family and a wonderful celebration
Thank you Kent Robinson for the following write up .
White Pebbles haiku poets gathered at the Edogawa Gardens at the Gosford Regional Gallery and Arts Centre on Saturday morning, 16th September, 2023. Present were Maire Glacken, Marilyn Humbert, Gwen Bitti, Colleen Keating, Beverley George and Kent Robinson, with apologies received from Samantha Sirimanne Hyde and Michael Thorley.
A glorious spring day greeted us. Ducks and koi carp shared the pond and water features of the gardens. As they fed the ducks, children’s laughter echoed among the beautifully manicured flora. Spring blooms of every hue brightened the walkways.
We met in the Gallery’s cafe for a catch-up before a stroll through the gardens. Over coffee, Marilyn Humbert, advised us that, in order to refine our sense of observation as we strolled, we look into the small spaces – distill whatever we saw, and trust ourselves and our senses as we composed our haiku. We strolled the garden, feeling the warmth of the spring sunshine on our faces. The scent of blooms bursting all about and the joy of being immersed in birdsong were intoxicating.
Now it was time for a round table meeting in the niche beneath the art gallery. At the beginning of the meeting our dear friend and valued member of White Pebbles, Gail Hennessy, who sadly recently passed, was remembered fondly. The round table about which we gather is extremely significant to our group. Around it we may share ideas and each single poet is as one with all others. How fortunate we feel, that White Pebbles is such a mutually supportive group!
Beverley George distributed for purchase “under the same moon”, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, in which several White Pebbles members have haiku. (Many thanks to Vanessa Proctor for furnishing Beverley with copies of this fine anthology in advance of our meeting.)
Echidna Tracks 11 was spoken of, with congratulations to all White Pebbles poets who feature therein.
We then moved on to the business of the day. Beverley had asked that we each bring a haiku that had inspired us in the early days of our haiku journey, as well as one of our own that we had composed in those early days. Matsuo Basho featured strongly as an early influence to many.
Next, we considered the haiku and images that had been gathered on the garden walk earlier. This proved an extremely productive exercise. Beverley presented some haiku that Michael Thorley had sent in. Thank you, Michael. Your sensitive haiku were a fine addition to our meeting and very much appreciated by all.
Marilyn Humbert had prepared a presentation entitled “The Art of Discovery”. She advised us in composing haiku to observe light and shade at different times throughout the day, different seasons, different weather conditions, different sounds and different moods. And to be aware of the ephemeral things – feathers, stones, bird calls, the shapes of twigs and leaves, tree trunks and bark, rough and smooth. To trust our senses. Helpfully, Marilyn supplied a number of examples of haiku written from different points of view. Many thanks to Marilyn for a most informative and thought provoking presentation.
At this point, towards the end of our meeting, we acknowledged our members who have recently had books published.
* Gwen Bitti has had a novel entitled “Between Two Worlds” published by Ginninderra Press. Gwen spoke of the writing of “Between Two Worlds” and furnished each White Pebble poet with a sachet of fragrant herbs, a snippet of silk and one of hessian to enhance sensory perception, as she spoke. * Colleen Keating’s carefully researched book, “The Dinner Party” was also published by Ginninderra Press and we enjoyed hearing about it.
* And we recalled that only recently, in 2022, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde’s book “The Lyrebird’s Cry” was published.
Congratulations All!
This concluded the White Pebbles Spring meeting 2023. The general sentiment was all are looking forward to our summer ginko.
With a smile I capture a rainbow bouquet– for spring is peeping-in along the bush track * but in my excitement to capture colour
maybe some might be classified weeds and that makes me laugh and reminds me of Mary Olivers ponderings it doesnt matter as long as you are paying attention to the world around you and have the attitude of gratitude to carry you forth.
The poem by Mary Oliver:
Praying
It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.
Whenever weare out walking especially in the areas of beauty around our place on the Central Coast we pay tribute to the Awabakal and Darkinjung peoples and this makes us a little more aware we walk on sacred ground.
There is something mindful to briefly pause as one does on a threshold allow our mind to catch up with our footsteps. It is a reminderto pay attention asking permission and being thankful for our entry into a place .
Spring is for stepping out and our local Wyrrbalong National Park ( gazetted in 1991) has the best of all worlds , the wonderful Australian Bush with its Red Gums andScribbly Eucalyptus,the linger of wattle and other Acacias, Hakea, Myrtles,Banksiaand the odd siren of a red Waratahbackgrounded by the coastal bird life with the odd iconic crack of the Whip Bird and the spectacular glimpses of the blue remind us we are walking in a rare piece of land where the bush meets the sea well the lake in our walk today which curls around Tuggerah Lake
We parked our car at a small car park off the road not far after Magenta. The first sign told us fox poison was laid . . . I felt sad after the wonderfully wild fox we saw in the past few days in the Water pond off Ibis Roadbut then if they are taking the birds and wild life maybe it has to be done. It reminds me of another walk I doat Normanhurst in Sydney where last year signs appeared that they had laid baits against the rabbits . ( that saddened me too as I loved their little furry ears popping up and watching me as I walk. But I think the rabbits had the last laugh as they moved down onto the grass near the railway line and I travelled past they were hopping about everywhere. I love it when the Grandchildren are on the walk with me we sneak along telling each other shshsh and tiptoeing along watching for little ears to pop up and then run off.
The Burrawang Walking Track was the beginning walk and we walked taking in the fresh, unwithered air and breathing deeply to find an inner calm.
BOBBIN HEAD WALK
Another walk that needs to feature here is our walk at Bobbin Heads in the Ku ring gai National Park along the shores of the Berowra Waters. A picture tells a thousand words.
One of the special walks here is the Aboriginal Heritage Walk. Red hands Cave is one of its special sites . it is not known how old some of this art is but either way you are bound to be in awe of this natural Aboriginal art from the Guringai people There are impressive rock cravings and further down the track there is a historical occupation shelter. During the colder months families would lighta fire inside warming the stones and themselves.
The people of West Head were virtually decimated by an outbreak of small pox within a year of the arrival of the First Fleet.
Pause for a moment in this beautiful bushland to reflect and pay your respect.
Today we took the walk from Crackneck Lookoutto the Trig station.
Last Spring the Flannel Flowers were spectacular so this spring September 2019 we returned to enjoy the same. We were a little early. Recommend you wait till mid October to see acres of wild Flannel Flowers. For us they were mostly baby buds still hiding from the world.
However the spring brought wildflowers, with lots of new colour to the bush. Spectacular – purple boronias, powerful pink eriostemons australiensis, red grevilleas, bright blue dampiera, yellow ispogon, dillwynias, gompholobiums, bossiaeas, yellow hakea. Add to this the vibrant Cabbage Tree Palms and the Grass trees and the vistas of the sea through the bush made for a wonderful morning. The trees and variety of barks and colours I will leave till a later ‘Tree’ post.
It is becoming a tradition to take this walk each spring –its sandy path and bird life serendading us along the path invigorates us for the rest of the day.
Can you see Michael amidst the beauty of the grass tree and palms ?
w
sunlight
