Entries now open Stringybark Short Story Award 2022

This alluring information comes from The Black Stump, a Stringybark Stories newsletter, with reference to their Stringybark flagship open-themed short story award which commenced 15 November 2021 and closes 13 February 2022. Plenty of time? Maybe polish that special draft…

… and the world keeps turning… © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2020

Stringybark Short Stories are open to Australian and international authors of all skill levels.

While the Stringybark Short Story Award 2022 is open-themed, your submission does require some reference to Australia.

The size of this reference doesn’t matter says Stringybark Stories. It could be a mention of a Vegemite sandwich, or the fact that Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter. The story could be set in Australia or have an Australian in it. Stringybark doesn’t mind. Even a discussion on the habits of ‘drop bears’ is okay with them.

Head over to the Stringybark Bookshop and get inspired by some great short stories from their past anthologies. Please note Stringybark Short Story Award is not accepting poetry or illustrated tales.

Stringybark Stories have over AU$1000 in cash and books to award the winners, as well as publication in a paperback and ebook. The entry fee is the same as last year — AU$14 with discounts for multiple entries.

INFORMATION BELOW please check Stringybark Stories website thoroughly for details:

Enter https://www.stringybarkstories.net/index.html

Conditions https://www.stringybarkstories.net/competitions/entry-conditions.html

Subscribe to The Black Stump Stringybark Stories newsletter here.

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Stringybark Stories Hints and Tips on Entering their Awards…

“Don’t let potential problems affected the likely success of your entry. The comments provided here are relevant for all short story competitions — not just Stringybark ones.”

1. Never put your name on your story. Put it on the entry form (a Stringybark requirement) or on a separate page.
2. Follow the formatting requirements. All competitions describe how they want your entry to look. We explain our requirements here.
3. Try and ensure that your entry and your payment are made as close together as possible. That is, don’t pay your entry and then submit your story a month later. It makes administration very tricky. It’s always best to do both together.
4. Related to number 3 above, if you are paying by Direct Deposit (and we love entrants who do) please remember to put your surname in the reference field so we can marry your entry and your payment.
5. Ensure that your story meets the theme of the competition!

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Tempting isn’t it?! I’ve a story in mind and this is just the incentive I need.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

— Footnote —
“Any entry in any short story writing award must meet the specified wordcount.
It can be under but never over the word limit”

Lifeguards Ready for Action

Yeppoon Beach, Queensland – Photograph © Dot Bernet 2021

LIFEGUARDS ON DUTY at Yeppoon situated 38 kilometres north east of Rockhampton, Queensland, the gateway to Great Keppel Island and the wonders of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

From Yeppoon, across beautiful blue water, you can see Great Keppel Island. It has been years since I visited this coastal region and much has changed but the beaches and islands are far more accessible.

Meander down Yeppoon’s main street or stroll along the esplanade to browse beach-chic boutiques and surf stores and keep an eye out for one of the many new street art murals adorning local walls.

The Capricorn Coast (on the Tropic of Capricorn, the circle of latitude around the world which contains the subsolar point at the December solstice) also delivers when it comes to sourcing fine food with specialty produce like premium, export quality beef (nearby Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia) seafood, and tropical produce. There is a wide range of restaurants, cafés and clubs catering to all tastes and budgets.

Families are well catered for in Yeppoon, with the foreshore also boasting the fantastic ‘Keppel Kraken’ zero-depth water park, open daily with fun and free activities for the kids on hot sunny days. The new lagoon pool at the southern end of Yeppoon Main Beach also has a children’s play area and dining areas.

I’d say Yeppoon is unspoiled, a relaxed and friendly little coastal town.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Information courtesy of https://www.queensland.com/au/en/places-to-see/destination-information/p-56b25db42cbcbe7073ad7126-yeppoon.html

. . . . .

Set against a spectacular coastal vista of blue seas and Great Keppel Island in the distance, the Singing Ship at Emu Park is a majestic monument that commemorates the area’s legacy of the historical explorations of Captain James Cook, who discovered this bay in May 1770. The unique design represents the billowing sail, mast and rigging of his ship Endeavour. Concealed organ pipes use the sea breezes to create haunting musical sounds.

Cotton Harlequin Bug

Image courtesy of Dot Bernet © September 2021

The whole plant was covered in these fast-moving jewel-like bugs! It was fascinating to see them sparkling in the sunlight in a suburban garden.

I am reading “Miss Benson’s Beetle” by Rachel Joyce, wherein Miss Benson and her assistant Enid search for a golden beetle in the wilds of New Caledonia, far removed from the comforts and safety of home, and this book has heightened my interest in insects.

The little Cotton Harlequin bugs (above) were enjoying lunch.

Scientific name: Tectocoris diophthalmus
Size: 2 centimetres

The Australian Cotton Harlequin Bug is a member of the Jewel Bug family named for their bright metallic colouration.

The males and females of the Cotton Harlequin Bug are different colours, with the females mostly orange and the males mostly blue-red.

The Cotton Harlequin Bug lives in urban, agricultural and coastal areas of eastern Australia. It eats sap from many species belonging to the hibiscus plant family (Malvaceae) including ornamental hibiscus species and cotton.

Reference https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/cotton-harlequin-bug/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

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A display of Australian beetles at the Cobb and Co Museum in Toowoomba, Queensland. Read about my visit https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2019/06/30/toowoomba-mountain-air-and-heritage-preserved/

U3A Adds to My Life

Design and photo © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2021

I am a member of U3A, University of the Third Age, an organisation designed for retired or semi-retired people over 50. My focus has been creative writing but U3A provides an opportunity for members to try something different, meet new people, and share and enhance their knowledge and skills in a friendly environment.

World-wide, U3A is making a substantial contribution to societies by helping members to remain healthy and active longer.

University of the Third Age promotes learning for personal enjoyment and well-being for seniors. Keeping the brain active, doing interesting things and making new friends are essential for helping older Australians maximise their chances of independence.

U3A Brisbane is one of many similar U3A branches throughout Australia. Formed in Brisbane in 1986, they are a volunteer organisation. Brisbane locations provide leisure, arts and educational courses to local members at low cost each term.

Classes are conducted on Zoom and in person at a number of venues subject to Covid-19 restrictions.

CLICK A LINK! ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS OR DISCOVER A NEW ONE:

U3A Brisbane https://www.u3abrisbane.org.au/

U3A Queensland https://www.u3aqld.org.au/

U3A Australia https://u3aaa.org/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

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Front doors of U3A Adelaide Street, Brisbane.

Crochet a Concrete Block

CROCHET is a handicraft in which yarn is made up into a textured fabric by means of a hooked needle. These public art works cover concrete blocks along the entrance driveway to Rocks Riverside Park, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Brisbane, a combined project from Crochet Clubs around the city.

If you are interested in trying this colourful craft, or yarn-bombing trees, here’s a link to Brisbane Crochet Club: https://brisbanecrochetclub.com.au/

Photographed on a sunny winter’s day June 2021.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Brisbane City Council initiative https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/council-venues-and-precincts/parks/parks-by-suburb/seventeen-mile-rocks-parks/rocks-riverside-park

Keys for Locking Things and Keeping Safe

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2015

COME ON, admit it. The majority of us have a container, a bowl or tray, on a side table where we toss things. Car keys, door keys, hats, toys, cards, pens, books, name tag, USB, junk mail, countless small items like Lego, and possibly your dog’s lead. They all get thrown, tossed, dropped into this repository, usually near an entry door. Next time you watch a domestic drama series, check how many times the house keys are tossed aside while the actor says ‘I’m home.’

THIS CASUAL receptacle is handy for coming home tired, but hopeless when you are in a hurry in the morning. I have discovered that annoyed pitching never works and requires the effort of fishing the item up off the floor and trying again.

OF COURSE, we are cautioned by Neighbourhood Watch not to use this careless form of storage because thieves can take your car keys on their way out with your Edwardian silverware.

DIFFICULT to disguise a set of car keys—good on you if you have keyless entry—but I hang unmarked keys in separate locations. At least that way the burglar has to scurry around trying to find the right set of hooks holding the right key to your vault or whatever. Naturally a door key may not be necessary if the entry point is used to exit.

THANKFULLY on the night my domestic dwelling was genuinely plundered, I was out, so my car was not there to ‘borrow’. I went to live theatre for the first time in years; you can read my anguish on a past blog post Stolen Jewellery Anger and Sorrow.

THE AVERAGE household uses only one or two different keys and bowl storage works out pretty well until someone wants an unused key necessary to unlock a side window in the spare bedroom. The relevant key is finally located from a neglected bundle at the bottom of a woven tray on the kitchen sideboard. It has been transferred to another storage facility, i.e. drawer. We humans know how to waste time searching for small things.

KEYS offer something primitive and satisfying about locking a door. It is real, it makes a solid locking noise and creates a tangible barrier between you and the world. For me, a beep doesn’t cut it. Do you hear an electronic click when you issue a ‘lock door’ command? Do you hear a thunk like a garage door closing when you tap a screen? I guess the modern manufacturer is well versed in consumer psychology and pre-programs various locking noises. Kind of like phone ring tones but different.

“I hope I could get an electronic sound like a warden pushing an ancient castle door closed, one which grinds and crunches as it shuts tight against rampaging possums”
GBW 2021

A LOT can be said about smart key entry, finger print identity, voice commands, internet-based security, eye recognition, tomographic motion detection, etc, but since I don’t know how most of that technology works, I am sticking with my metal keys. Of course, the family has keys so I check to see they have ‘properly’ locked the door at night—blame scary movies.

DOMESTIC security is important… millions of people don’t have a door to lock… or a home…

St Vincent de Paul
Vinnies Winter Appeal 2021
Over two million people live below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children. This winter Vinnies Appeal will provide emergency relief to families at risk and experiencing homelessness.
Donate https://donate.vinnies.org.au/winter-appeal

Please visit ‘The Lighthouse’ poet Tom Alexander and read his introspective poem on keys
https://tomalexwrite.com/2021/07/07/different-keys/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Alice and ‘Drink Me’ Bottle

DRINK ME

When Alice finds that she can’t fit through the little door to get into the beautiful garden because she is too big, she notices a glass bottle with a paper label which reads Drink Me.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by anthropomorphic creatures.

A Drink Me potion is a magical liquid in Wonderland – it has the effect of making the drinker shrink in size

This potion bottle has magically appeared on the table. Alice wonders if it is safe to drink, and she thinks to herself ‘If one drinks much from a bottle marked Poison it is certain to disagree with one, sooner or later’. However, the bottle did not have the word Poison written on it, so Alice drinks every last drop of the bottle’s liquid and finds that it tastes delicious. It had a flavour of cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee and hot buttered toast, all mixed up. She then shrinks down to only ten inches tall (approx 25cm) after drinking from this bottle.

Source https://aliceinwonderland.fandom.com/wiki/Drink_Me_Potion

Personally I did not like this part of Alice in Wonderland as a child and it has haunted me ever since. What writer puts that into a children’s story? Believing labels, swigging from bottles, shrinking in size. The stuff of horrors akin to storing cleaning fluid in soft drink bottles. Okay, I realise it is a fantasy story which has stood the test of time and been reproduced in many formats, still… I guess for me, reading this tale in childhood, there was the thought of ‘No, Alice, don’t drink it!’ without knowing she has to propel the story forward in the most unlikely way. Yes, it is a unique and radical plotline but I still see it as experimental drug-taking.

Apologies to staunch fans with no hang-ups, and those who embrace Lewis Carroll’s Todd’s syndrome or Dysmetropsia, a neuropsychological condition which causes strange hallucinations and affects the size of visual objects. It can make the sufferer feel bigger or smaller than they are – a theme of the book – write what you know. Then, and now, I have never seen Alice’s adventures in Wonderland as entertaining. I view this book as akin to a fitful, nightmarish fever dream. The characters are irredeemably scary, even Johnny Depp couldn’t save it for me.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Lewis Carroll was an English novelist and poet. He is best known as the author of the children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871) two of the most popular works of fiction in the English language.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lewis-Carroll

Walk to Cape Byron Lighthouse

Cape Byron Lighthouse © Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Before the sun gained intensity, it was a misty morning walk up to Cape Byron Lighthouse. Along the way, I enjoyed coastal views from the Cape Byron walking track which took me on a hike past beaches, through rainforest, grassland and along clifftops to the lighthouse.

The walk is shared by joggers and walkers and is rough in patches but passes through the shade of bangalow palms, ancient burrawangs, and across kangaroo grassland. I had tantalising glimpses of the white lighthouse ahead and views of picturesque beaches alongside before rising to the summit of Australia’s most easterly point.

From the historic town of Byron Bay, the 3.7km walk loops through rainforest and along clifftops with views of the foreshore, eastern coastline and vast hinterland behind the township.
https://www.visitbyronbay.com/

Remember to keep an eye out for friendly lizards on the land, and turtles, dolphins (which I saw) stingrays and whales (in season) in the waters off the headland. I was lucky enough to arrive prior to a guided tour of the fascinating 120 year-old Cape Byron Lighthouse https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/historic-buildings-places/cape-byron-lighthouse

Of course, you can drive to the lighthouse but walking is more interesting! And the town of Byron Bay may have changed but the lighthouse remains eternal.

Information on the Cape Byron State Conservation Area can be found on NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service website https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/cape-byron-walking-track

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Bush Stone-Curlew Capers

Bush Stone-curlew poised amongst the roses in New Farm Park, Brisbane © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2021

The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius) is a large ground-dwelling bird with a life span of up to 20 years. The bush curlew is endemic to Australia and found in Brisbane, usually in parkland. The curlew will adopt a rigid posture when it becomes aware of an observer, as this one did, poised amongst the roses in New Farm Park.

Curlews are terrestrial predators adapted to stalking slowly at night. Their preferred habitat is open landscapes which give them good visibility at ground level where they search for invertebrates such as insects. The grey-brown coloration is distinguished by dark streaks, its eyes are large and legs are long. Both male and female care for two eggs laid on the bare ground, usually sited in a shaded position near a bush, stone wall or fallen branch.

Queensland Bush Stone-curlews are capable of flight but rely on the camouflage of their plumage to evade detection during the day. Domestic animals are their biggest threat. At night their call is an evocative and unforgettable sound, a sort of wailing cry which echoes across open ground.

The curlew candid camera (below) is memorable!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Video by FAME 2019, Mt Rothwell in Victoria, Australia

“Hey Hey You You Get Off Of My Cloud”

Tribute to ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’ by The Rolling Stones (Photograph © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2021)

I was sick and tired, fed up with this

And decided to take a drive downtown

It was so very quiet and peaceful

There was nobody, not a soul around

I laid myself out, I was so tired

And I started to dream

In the morning the parking tickets were just

Like a flag stuck on my window screen

I say, hey (hey), you (you)

Get off of my cloud

Hey (hey), you (you)

Get off of my cloud

Hey (hey), you (you)

Get off of my cloud

Don’t hang around ’cause two’s a crowd

On my cloud…

Third verse of The Rolling Stones original lyrics ‘Get Off Of My Cloud‘

Songwriters: Mick Jagger / Keith Richard

The Rolling Stones performed ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’ live on Australian TV in 1966 on Brian Henderson’s Bandstand. The Stones are so young, so pretty. Check out the boys wearing ties and the girls sitting on seats tapping their toes, and the politely orchestrated screams. So much to love ♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward