Moving: Spousal Visa 101

Moving: Spousal Visa 101

Getting an Englishman into Canada isn’t as simple as I thought it would be. Even if we have been married for almost 13 years. Even if he is The Love Of My Life. Even if he is the father of our Canadian-Australian children. Ok. Spousal Visa 101. The process is...
Moving House

Moving House

Moving House. It sounds so easy. It was easy when I packed up two suitcases and headed to Paris in 1989. It was simple when I shipped three green metal cases, and boarded a plane to Toronto six years later. My only companion was Bunny, my dwarf rabbit. Bunny used to...
Hanging out on Radio 4EB

Hanging out on Radio 4EB

In May, Radio 4EB FM invited me to their Brisbane studios. I was interviewed by Maureen and Nathalie who host Women’s Profile for the multicultural radio station that broadcasts in more than 50 languages. We talked about writing, how I became the Pop Up Story...
Where is the Pop-Up Story Catcher today?

Where is the Pop-Up Story Catcher today?

The Anywhere Festival starts today and Miss Kiki, your very own Pop-Up Story Catcher is on the move. Miss Kiki will perform the ancient art of listening to you and your stories of belonging and outsiderness. Join her as she discovers Brisbane’s coolest spaces to...
Inaugural evening for the Pop-Up Story Catcher

Inaugural evening for the Pop-Up Story Catcher

Belonging is… patting a dog a hug from my son feeling accepted These are some of the things people — adults and a child — wrote on the Pop-Up Story Catcher’s portable blackboard at her inaugural event Friday evening at Bemac,...
Writer out of residence and pop-up story catcher

Writer out of residence and pop-up story catcher

Why be a writer in residence when I can be the Writer Out Of Residence, exploring the world and meeting other people? Yep, that’s right. A Pop-Up Story Catcher who’s turning listening and writing into interactive art. Tell me your stories of  belonging and...
Writer Out Of Residence: story catcher, idea explorer

Writer Out Of Residence: story catcher, idea explorer

It’s birthday season and to celebrate I’m launching a new project: Writer Out Of Residence The writer is tired of being in residence, tired of working behind closed doors and windows, tired of typing away alone in her study accompanied only by the thumping...
How to spend money when your husband is overseas

How to spend money when your husband is overseas

Before my husband returns home from another overseas work trip, I’d just like him to know that I’ve pledged and spent some money. In his name. June 20 is World Refugee Day. Every minute eight people flee their homes and leave everything to escape war, persecution and...
We are all Sonny

We are all Sonny

I met Sonny on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, the island capital of British Columbia. Sonny is 29. He works at local churches vacuuming floors, folding bulletins and any other jobs that need to be done. His teachers have described him as a social butterfly....
What it means to be an award-winning writer

What it means to be an award-winning writer

In case you’ve missed the news from Canada, I’ve just become an award-winning essayist. I’m honoured and excited although I’m not running around the house flinging my arms in the air singing I’m the winner anymore. Not out loud. My essay Nana Technology won Canada’s...