Kathryn's Inbox

Not really street art this week, but a picture of a train at Seaford station. Seaford is the last stop on on the line, and is a relatively new station, and like many of Adelaide's railway stations, seems to have an orange, cement and steel theme. 

It's Friday! Do the Snoopy dance everyone!

Readers, meet Mya Jenson, the gorgeous, tough-speaking and arse kicking heroine of the romantic suspense novel Inheriting Fear . I was amazed by how quickly I feel in love with this character--and her love interest, the slightly more sensitive Luca. The plot is very clever as well. Set in the western suburbs of Adelaide, in a street adjacent to the Grange railway line, the novel tells the story of Mya, a feisty young woman who has taken control of her life, and has overcome a difficult upbringing. Mya is one of the good ones--she's smart, she's loyal and she'll do anything for her mother who has a permanent disability. She also doesn't take shit from anyone and her methods are not always entirely legal. Anyway, when someone starts sending her threatening notes (and threatening messengers,) and steals her mother's jewellery, she knows that there is trouble afoot and she sets about getting to the bottom of things--her way. Meanwhile, her new neighbour, Luca, i

This strange contraption appeared in Adelaide's Rundle Mall perhaps not so coincidentally at the same time as the Fringe Festival opened back last February. I'm not sure what it is, or does, or whether it lights up at night, but it was certainly a surprise addition to the Mall.

I was listening to the Thinkergirls on Friday evening and a topic came up that gave me pause. One of the presenters commented on how she now hated a jumper, because someone who she did not like had complimented her on the jumper. For me, it was one of those moments, when it really touched a nerve. Suddenly I was thinking about all those times when I've given someone a compliment and that compliment has not been taken gracefully. It's always felt like a bit of a hit--suddenly, it's out there that someone I hold in high esteem does not like me, or considers me unworthy. Either way, it's a pretty good sign not to talk to that person again. A part of human nature seems to be to divide people into two categories--people that we consider to be our equals, and people that we consider to be our inferiors. I don't think that we necessarily do this consciously, and I think it is different from divisions that people create between themselves and others through ignorance

This week, instead of my usual comic share, I thought that I would do something a bit different and share this clip from Elton John. Like much of John's work, Sad Songs is deceptively simple, a catchy hook, and a topic that anyone, regardless of age, gender or religion can relate to. Look a bit deeper and it's a work of pure genius. On one level, it's giving his listeners permission to be unhappy, and to feel and embrace those emotions, whilst he sings a catchy, pick-me-up tune. The clip itself goes from black and white to colour and in his trademark style, John's outfits get brighter and more outlandish the further we get into the song. But, as always, the magic of Elton John isn't just that he can write a song about anything, the magic is in the fact that he can sing to absolutely anyone. His music is something to be savoured and enjoyed as art.

I saw this and I just couldn't resist sharing it here.

We all remember the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  that brought the beloved character back to platform nine and three quarters as he saw his two sons, James and Albus off to Hogwarts. It was a great ending to the series, but what lay in store for younger son, Albus Severus Potter? A new stage play, which recently opened in the UK, tells the story of Albus and his difficult relationship with his father, who is now nearing middle age. And luckily for fans across the globe, the script from the play has been published, meaning that we can all enjoy this story without having to wait for it to be performed locally. The play works on two levels. On one level it is a coming-of-age story set in the wizarding world, where through a dangerous and gripping adventure involving time travel, Albus struggles to come into his own, and to be a wizard in his own right--one who separate from his father and the two important and famous wizards that he was named after, and who has h

I snapped this cool and colourful cow at the eastern end of Jetty Road at Glenelg. I think she may have just bought herself a new pair of ugg boots ...

On select Sundays I will be reviewing some of the old Apple Paperback titles from my childhood. These titles were published, or republished by Scholastic during the 1980s & 1990s and were written and set in the United States. In Australia, these books were typically only available from libraries or could be ordered through catalogues that were distributed through primary schools. Most of these titles are now long out of print or have been updated and republished for later generations ... This Sunday I am cheating just a little. In Australia, New Zealand and UK The Sleepover Friends series was published by Bantam, a division of Random House that was also responsible for all of the various Sweet Valley series and The Saddle Club . In the United States and Canada however, the series was published by Scholastic under the Apple Paperbacks imprint. The Sleepover Friends revolved around a basic but fun premise--a group of four fifth grade girls who liked to have sleepovers, a

This was a surprising find on YouTube, a commercial from the 1970s urging Australians to all pull together and "have a go" to make the country great, despite the economic setbacks that the people of the day were experiencing. I really cannot imagine a similar advertising campaign being successful today.

And I did ...

Fates and Furies is a novel that is bold, clever, occasionally overdone but never boring. Part One, Fates tells the story of Lancelot Satterwhite, or Lotto, a wealthy man who lives a privileged existence, thanks mainly to his charismatic nature, belief that most people are fundamentally good and his all round ignorance. The way he tells it, he had multiple lovers (men and woman,) until one night when he met Mathilde, the most beautiful girl on campus. Their eyes met, Lotto proposed and of course she said yes. What followed were years of marital bliss, until one night, when a revelation that is as cruel as it is perfectly timed changes everything ... Part Two, Furies, tells the same story from the perspective of Mathilde, a woman who, at age twenty-two, was far from the innocent virgin that Lotto assumed her to be. We read about a loveless childhood and a lifetime of struggles that led her to become the passive-aggressive manipulator that marries Lotto and manipulates him in a

A mixture of Australian female writers share some amazing true stories of life changing moments of defiance in Rebellious Daughters, a recently released anthology from Ventura Press. Krissy Kneen talks about her grandmother and the influence that she had on her writing--her grandmother had a huge imagination and an even bigger distaste for anything sexual. Jamila Rizvi tells of her desire to be seen as a good girl, and the jealousy that she had for her younger, and badly behaved sister. Meanwhile, Lee Kofman talks about taking her prudish mother to Sexpo--purely for the shock value--but finds herself being the one who is shocked when her mother embraces the exhibition. For me, however, a clear favourite was Rebecca Starford's piece, Who Owns My Story? which talks about the struggles that she faced after releasing her brave and brilliant autobiography, Bad Behaviour last year. Thought provoking, I read Rebellious Daughters of a number of days, reading one or two stories each

Did you know that Gay's Arcade has its very own museum, celebrating the history of both itself and the adjoining Adelaide Arcade? Well worth a look, as the history is well documented, including a special section devoted to the fire that gutted the original Gay's Arcade, and caused extensive damage to Adelaide Arcade. Well worth a look.

Picture says all. Happy Friday!

From the moment that I picked up my copy of Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, I was utterly hooked. Not only is it a love story, it's a story set in Australia during World War Two from the perspective of people that this particular part of history often glosses over.  The novel opens with Hiroshi, a Japanese POW living in Australia. Along with many of his fellow prisoners, he manages to escape ... and finds himself alone--and ashamed--in a strange country that he does not understand but knows that he is the enemy. Through chance, he finds himself on Erambie Station, an Aboriginal mission, and he encounters Banjo Williams--a good, honest family man and member of the community, who knows the difference between right and wrong. With the help of his family, and some other members of the community, Banjo helps to hide Hiroshi, sharing what little they have, in a time of war when their people are not recognised as citizens and have few rights. Soon, Banjo's oldest daughter, Ma

This delightful lamp-post, which was once part of a very important fence (now only the gates remain,) decorates North Terrace, just outside the University of Adelaide.