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What really matters, BJ?
At its inception the idea of a place dedicated to the end of life, palliative care of people with HIV / AIDS was controversial.
Dougie
Sep 14, 20204 min read


The magnificent seven
Are we there yet?
Dougie
Sep 11, 20201 min read


The Reunion Quartet
Short story submission #6 to daily writing challenge 'Like the Prose' (1 complete story per day for a month). Original submitted 7/6/20
Dougie
Jun 7, 202012 min read


Unwittingly inviting in the very thing we fear
Social media is ... as we know ... a Trojan Horse. Our willing reliance on it allows the algorithms to suck out the bone marrow of our...
Dougie
Apr 5, 20201 min read


Vale Bill Withers
This. Today. So sad. So much part of a boy's growing up. Stay safe. Stay connected. Slow dance when you 'do disco'. Any time you can.
Dougie
Apr 4, 20201 min read


The past is a different country ...
I intend to take #COVID19Aus physical distancing to logical extreme. Looking for second-hand DeLorean to head back to 1973 to "be...
Dougie
Apr 2, 20201 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 13 -- Create a unique recipe
Dinner at the Bates Motel. Regrettably the kitchen at the Bates Motel is closed indefinitely while the management recruits its new chef...
douglasherd5
Oct 13, 20191 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 12 -- Set a riddle to be solved
In 1931 the possibly confused but adoring Amazon Liar had been struck in the heart since he first saw her. Which could almost be a...
Dougie
Oct 12, 20191 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 7 -- Write the perfect rejection letter
Like Ethan Hawke’s messages in Mission Impossible – sort of -- (but with fewer car chases and no lethal assassins) -- the daily writing...
Dougie
Oct 7, 20194 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 5 -- Translate an informative text into another language
This may be a bit of a departure. We are asked to engage in an act of translation. Given my schoolboy French and Beginner Level Japanese...
Dougie
Oct 5, 20194 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 4 -- Write an article based on researching the day you were born
The degree to which one has a low threshold for boredom (as my Auntie Anne reminded me the other day) can be revealed in the oddest ways....
Dougie
Oct 4, 20194 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 3 -- Send a birthday wish
It is not within me this evening to respond precisely to today’s brief, to follow the instruction exactly or take inspiration from the...
Dougie
Oct 4, 20192 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 2 -- Introduce yourself
Who am I? To paraphrase: if you want all that Holden Caulfield, “David Copperfield kind of crap” then – unlike the formerly famous,...
Dougie
Oct 2, 20194 min read


Reality Writes -- Brief 1 -- Why write?
Why am I here? Why start again with another of these daily writing challenges? Why write at all, Douglas? In part I’m here because I’ve...
Dougie
Oct 1, 20195 min read


Who says patience is a virtue?
I do not want to start an internecine theological dispute. But the possibility that to be patient does not necessarily mean you are...
Dougie
Aug 25, 20195 min read


The Gardens of The Midnight Queen
My round 2 submission to 2019 NYC Short Story competition. Write a fairy tale. Revised 16 January 2022 for my blog.
Dougie
Apr 7, 20198 min read


Disability Abuse Royal Commission Now?
So there was a busy start to the week today. I was privileged to join Bill Shorten MP (next PM of Australia I hope), Tanya Plibersek...
Dougie
Feb 18, 20191 min read


Our fragile Earth
On the Tahune Airwalk, Huon Valley, Tasmania 5 years ago in winter with Spike Deane & the airwalk yesterday (Photo: Tassie fire service)....
Dougie
Jan 30, 20191 min read


And it's not always about you either, Douglas
My brother Joe -- who lives in Scotland --- was awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list by Her Maj. The gong could never do justice...
Dougie
Jan 17, 20191 min read


People you meet on the way to becoming who you are, Part 1: Martin Currie
We met in 1975 or 76 through the Broad Left group at Stirling University. My life was never the same again. I usually phoned home each 12...
Dougie
Jan 12, 20192 min read
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