HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY to everyone.
Australia is one of the half a dozen favourite things I love to write about.
I often spend far too long following the progress a lone, white, fluffy cloud drifting lazily across an otherwise cloudless aqua sky. Other times I watch a tractor across the valley
changing the colour of the land from pale yellow to deep chocolate brown. A variety of birds greet us every morning and the ever present noisy minors sit on the backs of the outdoor chairs shaking and preening their feathers. They wait patiently until I finally relent and bring them some bread!
This Australia Day is HOT but the sky is blue above and the sun bright and relentless, the horses are content with green grass to pick. There are still reminders of the past weeks but when I look at the perfection of this new day I feel a new optimism then say a quiet prayer for the others…

To help celebrate Australia day I wish to share the first page of my novel ‘TAILS CARRIED HIGH’

TAILS CARRIED HIGH
CHAPTER 1
1995
From the moment Jessikah left Brisbane airport, the
azure sky and white fluffy clouds enthralled her.
It was a brilliant sunny day. Somewhere between
London and Brisbane, this same sky had changed
from a gloomy slate grey to an infinite clear blue.
Her reaction to the sunshine was immediate. It lifted her
spirits and with renewed energy she drove west towards
Toowoomba. Winding down the window, Jessikah breathed
in the scents of Brisbane’s sub-tropical breezes. She felt
almost light headed with excitement. Australia, she thought,
this is Australia. Her newfound cheerfulness had her turning
up the radio and singing the entire one hundred and thirtyeight
kilometres to Toowoomba.
The little car carried Jessikah easily to the top of the steep
range crossing. To her delight, the bustling city charmed her.
Eighty thousand people made it one of Australia’s largest
inland cities and, as she drove down the gracious tree lined
streets, Jessikah fell in love with its colonial architecture,
parks and colourful gardens.

After settling into a motel opposite Queens Park in the
city centre, she walked to one of the nearby restaurants to
enjoy a cup of coffee. Across the street, mature trees towered
above a riotous hotchpotch of primary coloured annuals,
which cheated the ever-present sunshine by growing lush
and plump. Jessikah leaned on her elbows, thinking about
her travels. She had come a long way. But her journey was
not related to the distance between England and Australia
her journey was about dealing with the unhappiness of the
last few years.

 Queens Park Toowoomba during the Carnival of Flowers…