Notes of Substance

In the last two-way conversation we had, I said to my father: ‘Mum says you wanted to tell me something dad?’ He paused. I stood holding the phone in a Manhattan hotel. My hair was wet. It was 8am in New York City and 10 pm in Melbourne. ‘Not now. If and when it’s necessary, Annie. If and when it’s necessary,’ he said. What did this mean? What did he need to tell me? When would it be necessary? Why could he not tell me then? I panicked. There were people in the hospital room; he had visitors. It is hard to reconcile sometimes that they were there when I was not. I can believe now that he needed to say ‘I’m dying.’ I’m hoping that he wanted to say ‘I love you’. Flying to New York City for my milestone birthday was a big deal for myself and my partner. We had planned for months, booked and re-booked tickets, researched hotels and created a complex spreadsheet to manage our children, who were to be left behind. Dad had been sick for a number of years at this stage, having...

If there’s one thing to get the local community Facebook site worked up, it’s a discussion about dogs. Dogs off lead, dogs on beaches, dogs at parks, dogs on lead, dog poo, dogs on sportsgrounds, dog owners, dogs barking. In fact, one of the reasons I left the local Facebook  page was the passion, and indeed, the nastiness that spewed from people once the topic of our four-legged friends came up. Talk about unleashing the hounds! Poo on the pavement? Poo on footy fields? Irresponsible owners? Lack of beaches for dogs? Lack of off-lead parks for dogs? Dogs running through playgrounds or sportsgrounds when they are supposed to be on lead? Dogs in the wildlife reserve, rushing birdlife? By-laws officers enforcing fines? Dead birds, yapping puppies and dog attacks all had a run. All of these topics often drew the most virulent of responses, in some cases leading to insults about peoples’ children and campaigns akin to bullying. Lucy Battersby’s recent piece suggests that when peop...