Newsletter
May-June 2023Caenys Kerr Reader Club
I have reproduced this post from the newsletter I sent to those who subscribe to it. If you’d like to join the direct mailing list for access to free reads or book-related recipes from time to time, message me through the contacts, comments or RSVP link below and I’ll add you to the list.
First, I’d like to welcome new readers who have joined the newsletter group. Thank you for being here. You have free access to one of my favourite short stories, The Jade Rose.
The timing of my ‘monthly’ newsletter has already blown out since the last instalment. My apologies if you were waiting with bated breath for this episode. I’ve found writing my stories is possible while I’m on the move; my newsletter not so much.
Last time, I invited you to let me know the topics you wanted me to discuss in the newsletter. The travel segment came through as the piece generating a lot of interest.
When I travel, there’s always an element of research for my stories. I acknowledge my good fortune in having the time to travel (because I’ve retired from the full-time workforce); a life partner who’s happy to plan trips for us without being too unhappy spending our superannuation to pander to my passion for new places; and, so far (fingers crossed) the good health to allow it. I hope you enjoy this month’s segment on Japan, Taiwan and a whirlwind trip to Outback Australia.
Keep those comments coming on what else you’d like me to address. Hit reply to this email and I’ll be happy to hear your responses. That’s where you can comment on any of the stories I’ve written too.
Writing News
This has been a great time to get back into my writing. Along with the continuing (never-ending) edits of my first shipboard romance, I’ve embarked on another. This one will have a medical flavour when a suddenly-rich, senior nurse and single dad connects with the ship’s doctor who has escaped to the seafaring life from the grief of losing her beloved parents in Ireland.
The story will draw on images from a cruise we joined from Darwin to Broome before the pandemic, and will include the scene where I tripped in a seabed pothole while reboarding the tender to return to the ship. I landed on my butt in the water, which triggered an explosion of the automatic life-vest I was wearing and further hindered me from regaining my balance to get into the craft.
The incident was the topic of conversation around the dining room that evening, much to my embarrassment. It did serve to prove the point, though, that the lifevests did not require any intervention to do the job they were meant to do. The pre-departure safety briefing the next morning used my experience as a case-in-point to illustrate. Sigh!
Character News
Characters of the month are Clancy, (think a wealthy better-dressed version of Shaggy Rogers of Scooby Doo fame), red hair, freckles, blue eyes; and Richael (pronounced Rich-el), medium height, dark hair, green eyes, who are onboard an as-yet-unnamed cruise ship (some suggestions would be appreciated.)
Richael is learning what the epaulette stripes mean — they don’t teach you that in Medical school. As a doctor, she wears three gold stripes interrupted by red cloth. The three stripes mean she is fairly senior in rank in cruise ship terms. The guy who’s trying to make life difficult for her and Clancy is the Staff Captain (second-in-command). He wears four stripes with anchor. His stripes have no cloth in between signalling he is in the deck area of the ship.
The most useful reference I found to help Rich on her epaulette study quest was this one by Life Of Iris: Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes – Life of Iris
Richael and Clancy’s story is in the early stages. I’ll keep you posted.
Travel News
At the beginning of April, we head off to Japan for two weeks. We based ourselves in an Air B&B in Osaka, located in the area between Shinsekai and the Tsutenkaku Tower.
Going through the photos, it was a difficult choice to whittle the selection for the newsletter down to four. Which to leave out? There is more detail and many more photos on my Instagram and Facebook pages.
Within Osaka, we trod the stairway to Osaka Castle with my niece, who lives in Osaka, as guide. We went shopping in the extensive markets near Nipponbashi, and learned to negotiate the metro system to get around.
From Osaka, we travelled by bus to Kyoto for the Shrine of a thousand torii gates and the golden shrine (covered in gold leaf). Our one-day trip to Hiroshima’s memorial of the A-Bomb attack in the second world war, and Miyajima, home of the world’s largest wooden spoon was made possible only because we used the Shinkansen train which reached 312 km/hour (measured by my phone’s speed monitoring app.) The torii gates that mark the entry to the shrine at Miyajima, stand in the harbour.
In Kobe, we sampled the beef for which the area is renowned, and then rode a gondola (aka ropeway) to the Nunobiki Herb gardens to wander through 75000 separate varieties of plants.
Since our earlier attempt to visit Nara and its famous deer was thwarted by heavy rain, we returned in the final week of our visit again with my niece. What a delight it was to spend time with her.
We’d thought our chances of returning to Japan were limited after the cruise we’d planned for last October was cancelled because Japan hadn’t reopened its borders at the time. My Dearly Beloved (DB) is resourceful and immediately set about planning this trip to replace it. He did such a great job, I might have to encourage him to do it again.
Two days in Taiwan. I managed to get us lost on the train system, though when I finally navigated us back to Taipei city, we had lunch in the largest food court I’ve seen outside China, then bought a carry-on suitcase and some clutch purses for next to nothing. We visited the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial and were entertained by the ritual changing of the guard. The visit reminded me of history I’d long since forgotten.
The Captain’s Choice trip to the Outback in May was brilliant and I’d highly recommend it if these are places you want to tick off your bucket list. On Saturday morning of Mothers Day weekend, we flew from Brisbane to Broken Hill for lunch at the Palace Hotel and a quick reconnoitre of the town, on to Coober Pedy overflying Marree Man and Lake Eyre; out to the Breakaways for sunset then back to town for dinner in an underground restaurant. Mothers Day started with a trip across the street from our hotel to the jeweller who had opened early to accommodate our group, (I had to have one small piece as a memento); a visit to the museum and a community-built underground Serbian church, then back on the plane to the Birdsville Pub for lunch. Whew.
By the time we returned to Brisbane airport we had covered an enormous area and marvelled at the beautiful, changing landscape we tend to take for granted.
I can include only a few photos here. Check out my Instagram or website for more. with the remainder from Outback Australia (Marree Man; Broken Hill miners’ memorial; Coober Pedy marker; sunset at the breakaways; Coober Pedy Serbian church and the Birdsville Hotel.)
What I’m reading
By the bed: Anthea Laurelton’s Spartan Quest: Salvation, a well-researched story set in ancient times with mystery and intrigue thrown into the mix.
On the phone: Amy Andrews’ Playing it Tough. I’m not too far into this one yet, but when the heroine decks the hero on first meeting, it’s going to be good.
What I’m crafting
The blue pullover is finished and despatched. It’s the same as those in an earlier posting so I haven’t copied it here.
I had intended to have some wonderful origami cranes to show off, with paper I bought specifically in Japan. Not so – they’re beyond my patience at the moment.
Instead, I’m working on a beanie, Bendigo woollen mills 12 ply, ready for next month’s adventure.
Until next time…
After a weekend at the Capricorn Coast Writers Festival in Yeppoon over the first weekend in June, we’re heading off to our son’s wedding in the Azores, Portugal.
It’s likely to be two months again before I catch up with another newsletter. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this totally unflattering image of me as Billiken, a charm doll created by an American art teacher, Florence Pretz, which is the unofficial mascot of Osaka. Billiken is labelled, “The God of things as they ought to be.” Sounds okay to me.
RSVP
Copyright © 2023, Caenys Kerr, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 459, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia, 4225.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
I have reproduced this post from the newsletter I sent to those who subscribe to it. If you’d like to join the direct mailing list for access to free reads or book-related recipes from time to time, message me through the contacts, comments or RSVP link below and I’ll add you to the list.
First, I’d like to welcome new readers who have joined the newsletter group. Thank you for being here. You have free access to one of my favourite short stories, The Jade Rose.
The timing of my ‘monthly’ newsletter has already blown out since the last instalment. My apologies if you were waiting with bated breath for this episode. I’ve found writing my stories is possible while I’m on the move; my newsletter not so much.
Last time, I invited you to let me know the topics you wanted me to discuss in the newsletter. The travel segment came through as the piece generating a lot of interest.
When I travel, there’s always an element of research for my stories. I acknowledge my good fortune in having the time to travel (because I’ve retired from the full-time workforce); a life partner who’s happy to plan trips for us without being too unhappy spending our superannuation to pander to my passion for new places; and, so far (fingers crossed) the good health to allow it. I hope you enjoy this month’s segment on Japan, Taiwan and a whirlwind trip to Outback Australia.
Keep those comments coming on what else you’d like me to address. Hit reply to this email and I’ll be happy to hear your responses. That’s where you can comment on any of the stories I’ve written too.
Writing News
This has been a great time to get back into my writing. Along with the continuing (never-ending) edits of my first shipboard romance, I’ve embarked on another. This one will have a medical flavour when a suddenly-rich, senior nurse and single dad connects with the ship’s doctor who has escaped to the seafaring life from the grief of losing her beloved parents in Ireland.
The story will draw on images from a cruise we joined from Darwin to Broome before the pandemic, and will include the scene where I tripped in a seabed pothole while reboarding the tender to return to the ship. I landed on my butt in the water, which triggered an explosion of the automatic life-vest I was wearing and further hindered me from regaining my balance to get into the craft.
The incident was the topic of conversation around the dining room that evening, much to my embarrassment. It did serve to prove the point, though, that the lifevests did not require any intervention to do the job they were meant to do. The pre-departure safety briefing the next morning used my experience as a case-in-point to illustrate. Sigh!
Character News
Characters of the month are Clancy, (think a wealthy better-dressed version of Shaggy Rogers of Scooby Doo fame), red hair, freckles, blue eyes; and Richael (pronounced Rich-el), medium height, dark hair, green eyes, who are onboard an as-yet-unnamed cruise ship (some suggestions would be appreciated.)
Richael is learning what the epaulette stripes mean — they don’t teach you that in Medical school. As a doctor, she wears three gold stripes interrupted by red cloth. The three stripes mean she is fairly senior in rank in cruise ship terms. The guy who’s trying to make life difficult for her and Clancy is the Staff Captain (second-in-command). He wears four stripes with anchor. His stripes have no cloth in between signalling he is in the deck area of the ship.
The most useful reference I found to help Rich on her epaulette study quest was this one by Life Of Iris: Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes – Life of Iris
Richael and Clancy’s story is in the early stages. I’ll keep you posted.
Travel News
At the beginning of April, we head off to Japan for two weeks. We based ourselves in an Air B&B in Osaka, located in the area between Shinsekai and the Tsutenkaku Tower.
Going through the photos, it was a difficult choice to whittle the selection for the newsletter down to four. Which to leave out? There is more detail and many more photos on my Instagram and Facebook pages.
Within Osaka, we trod the stairway to Osaka Castle with my niece, who lives in Osaka, as guide. We went shopping in the extensive markets near Nipponbashi, and learned to negotiate the metro system to get around.
From Osaka, we travelled by bus to Kyoto for the Shrine of a thousand torii gates and the golden shrine (covered in gold leaf). Our one-day trip to Hiroshima’s memorial of the A-Bomb attack in the second world war, and Miyajima, home of the world’s largest wooden spoon was made possible only because we used the Shinkansen train which reached 312 km/hour (measured by my phone’s speed monitoring app.) The torii gates that mark the entry to the shrine at Miyajima, stand in the harbour.
In Kobe, we sampled the beef for which the area is renowned, and then rode a gondola (aka ropeway) to the Nunobiki Herb gardens to wander through 75000 separate varieties of plants.
Since our earlier attempt to visit Nara and its famous deer was thwarted by heavy rain, we returned in the final week of our visit again with my niece. What a delight it was to spend time with her.
We’d thought our chances of returning to Japan were limited after the cruise we’d planned for last October was cancelled because Japan hadn’t reopened its borders at the time. My Dearly Beloved (DB) is resourceful and immediately set about planning this trip to replace it. He did such a great job, I might have to encourage him to do it again.
Two days in Taiwan. I managed to get us lost on the train system, though when I finally navigated us back to Taipei city, we had lunch in the largest food court I’ve seen outside China, then bought a carry-on suitcase and some clutch purses for next to nothing. We visited the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial and were entertained by the ritual changing of the guard. The visit reminded me of history I’d long since forgotten.
The Captain’s Choice trip to the Outback in May was brilliant and I’d highly recommend it if these are places you want to tick off your bucket list. On Saturday morning of Mothers Day weekend, we flew from Brisbane to Broken Hill for lunch at the Palace Hotel and a quick reconnoitre of the town, on to Coober Pedy overflying Marree Man and Lake Eyre; out to the Breakaways for sunset then back to town for dinner in an underground restaurant. Mothers Day started with a trip across the street from our hotel to the jeweller who had opened early to accommodate our group, (I had to have one small piece as a memento); a visit to the museum and a community-built underground Serbian church, then back on the plane to the Birdsville Pub for lunch. Whew.
By the time we returned to Brisbane airport we had covered an enormous area and marvelled at the beautiful, changing landscape we tend to take for granted.
I can include only a few photos here. Check out my Instagram or website for more. with the remainder from Outback Australia (Marree Man; Broken Hill miners’ memorial; Coober Pedy marker; sunset at the breakaways; Coober Pedy Serbian church and the Birdsville Hotel.)
What I’m reading
By the bed: Anthea Laurelton’s Spartan Quest: Salvation, a well-researched story set in ancient times with mystery and intrigue thrown into the mix.
On the phone: Amy Andrews’ Playing it Tough. I’m not too far into this one yet, but when the heroine decks the hero on first meeting, it’s going to be good.
What I’m crafting
The blue pullover is finished and despatched. It’s the same as those in an earlier posting so I haven’t copied it here.
I had intended to have some wonderful origami cranes to show off, with paper I bought specifically in Japan. Not so – they’re beyond my patience at the moment.
Instead, I’m working on a beanie, Bendigo woollen mills 12 ply, ready for next month’s adventure.
Until next time…
After a weekend at the Capricorn Coast Writers Festival in Yeppoon over the first weekend in June, we’re heading off to our son’s wedding in the Azores, Portugal.
It’s likely to be two months again before I catch up with another newsletter. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this totally unflattering image of me as Billiken, a charm doll created by an American art teacher, Florence Pretz, which is the unofficial mascot of Osaka. Billiken is labelled, “The God of things as they ought to be.” Sounds okay to me.
RSVP
Copyright © 2023, Caenys Kerr, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 459, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia, 4225.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
No comments have been added yet.
