I have an idea, as I eye the mountains beyond my window, that I am overshadowed by the dramatic character of the luscious tropical north. The geckos squabbling over my keyboard agree.Therefore, no tasters of my writings would be complete without all the flavours of the place I write in: from the rainforest to the Coral Sea and the Barrier Reef.

The geckos have just reminded me that I am frequently illuminated by the dramatic characters of my community, which stretches from my geographic home-patch in the Douglas Region out across the globe. These pages also celebrate creativity in collaboration, so please feel free to comment, contact me or suggest links.

For me, language is one of the strongest threads that form a connection out to others. My family taught me to embrace it as a first love; to have fun with it and revel in its nuances and ambiguities.  So, some of what I say may seem sensible (and some of it is meant to be), but some is decidedly silly. One of my favourite and very complex paradoxes is simply that what may seem foolish has grown out of wisdom, while what has been carefully crafted with conscious intent may collapse into folly. All we can do is nod sagely and then laugh.