South Asian Round Table at AMWF 2022

I attended the South Asian Round Table at the Australian Muslim Writers Festival 2022 which featured Nadia Niaz, Adalya Nash Hussein, Tasnim Hossain, and Tasneem Chopra (as the moderator).

The Coburg Library, where this event was held, is the very first library from which Nadia I got library cards when we moved to Australia in 2006 :)

Photo of a library event space with three green armchairs and a couple of coffee tables arranged in front of a wall. On the wall behind the armchairs is a TV screen with ‘The South Asian Round Table’ displayed in large letters on it.

The discussion was great!

The upshot was that we’re all excited about more (probably second and third generation) South Asians getting into the arts – both in front and behind the scenes. And though there’s been some representation in recent years, there’s still a long way to go and a lot more to do.

Photo of four women of colour sitting on armchairs, taking part in a panel discussion

Here Adalya is talking as a journal editor about making space at the table for South Asian writers.

Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.

Here is Nadia talking about how she built her own platform to showcase multilingual writers in Australia because nobody else was doing it.

Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.

And here’s Tasnim talking about creating safe spaces for minoritised groups in her role as theatre director.

Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point. The other woman, who is the moderator, is listening attentively to what’s being said.

Finally, a big shout-out to Özge Sevindik Alkan from The Right Pen Collective for running the whole festival. (This particular panel discussion was organised in conjunction with the SAARI Collective, fyi.)

Özge is the festival director. And, as you know, a festival director’s job is never done!

Photo of a woman wearing a bright blue hijab. The woman is sitting on a chair with a laptop on her lap, while at the same time typing on a smartphone that she’s holding above the laptop.

It would’ve been nice to attend more events from this festival this year, but hopefully I’ll get to do that next year.

Food court, 4pm

I love a good liminal space, and I walked by one my way home from work today.

Overhead photo of a mostly empty corner of a food court. There are empty tables and chairs neatly lined up, with only one person sitting and eating and a couple of others walking by.

Also this café, that’s now closed till breakfast.

Photo of a food court café named Lily Li that’s closed for the day. The lights have been turned off and all the chairs have been placed upside down on the tables.

Neighbourhood buffet

Best. Walk. Ever. Well, at least for Maggie.

We found a pile of chips under a tree (which is what she’s being pulled away from here), a whole open packet of crackers, and two small orange and poppy seed muffins.

She managed to sample a bit of each.

Photo of a red/brown dog straining on her walking harness and lead as she tries to get at something at the base of a tree.

Happy birthday Nadia!

Happy birthday Nadia!

#StarOnAStick #PotatoQualityPhoto

Photo of a woman standing in a public park at night. The gardens behind her are decorated with lanterns strung on poles to illuminate walking paths. The smiling woman has long hair and is wearing a black puffer jacket.

We celebrated Nadia’s birthday with an evening at The Wilds, an outdoor festival of art, light, and performance that had food trucks, bars, and an ice skating rink.

We got a little wet – which we expected, given the weather forecast – but we had an otherwise lovely time.

Photo of a large, artistically swooshy, and brightly coloured wireframe sculpture bathed in strategically placed lights on a dark, overcast evening. People have gathered around the artwork, and some of them are taking photos. In the background is a metropolitan cityscape with tall buildings that have their lights turned on.

Of course we couldn’t bring a cake to an outdoor event, so instead we brought all the macaroon flavours for everyone to share :)

Overhead photo of a box containing fifteen brightly coloured macaroons of different colours.

For the record, those flavours were: French vanilla, Nutella, salted caramel, double Belgium chochlat, crushed pistache, original bubble gum, lemon meringue, crème brulée, authentic tiramisu, strawberry & cream, raspberry & white chocolate, and blueberry cheesecake. I got these from Antipasti Deli & Cafe in Yarraville.

High visibility

Me, from three streets away: “Why have they closed that road again? They finished all the road works here a couple of weeks ago.”

Me, after I got closer: “Oh, that wasn’t a line of bright orange traffic cones laid out across the street.”

#ChildCare #RoadSafetyLessons

Photo of a group of small children, all wearing bright orange high visibility vests, crossing an intersection in a residential neighbourhood under the guidance and supervision of several adults.

Newport, VIC votes

I live in the suburb of Newport, which is in the Federal electorate of Gellibrand, Victoria. This is a safe Labor seat that last year Tim Watts won with a 15.8% margin.

So it was interesting that, over the course of this election campaign, almost all the political signs I saw around my neighbourhood were for the Australian Greens.

Photo of an election sign for the Australian Greens party installed in front of a house. The sign reads “Vote 1 Suzette Rodoreda for Gellibrand”.

I guess that explains why in yesterday’s polling the Greens got the biggest positive swing (+2.97%) towards them.

Two graphs showing votes received by each political party in the electorate of Gellibrand, Victoria, Australia during the 2022 Federal Election. The first graph shows the percentage of votes received, with the Australian Labor Party receiving 43.2%, followed by the Liberals at 27.1% and the Greens at 16.8%. The second graph shows the swing in votes compared to the previous election. The biggest negative swings are for Labour (-5.84%) and Liberal (-3.67%), while the biggest positive swing is for Greens (2.97%).

Labor held on to this seat, of course, despite that 5.84% drop in votes.

Which is something I’m guessing the folks living in this house expected would happen.

Photo of two election signs installed in front of a house, one for the Australian Greens and one for the Australian Labor Party.

Aside from a single One Nation and single United Australia Party sign, the only other campaign materials I saw sound the neighbourhood were anti-Morrison signs and stickers. Quite a few of them, actually!

One of which was gleefully updated overnight :)

Photo of an election sign installed in the window of a house. The sign shows Australian prime Minister Scott Morrison wearing Hawaiian shirt and a garland of flowers on his head. Below that is text that reads, in quotation marks, “NOT MY JOB”. Stuck on top of the sign is an A4 sheet of paper with the word “GONE” hand-written on it in large, all-capital letters; and below this a smiley face.

Walk in the drizzle

Might not be a lovely, sunny day in Melbourne today, but we still had a lovely walk in the drizzle.

Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a residential street on an rainy day. The man is wearing a light grey rain jacket with the hood pulled over his head. The jacket is wet in large patches. The dog is on a grass strip next to the road and is looking at something off-camera.

T = love

T = love? That's not something I’ve seen or heard in the trans community before – but, hey, you learn something new every day. Hormone therapy *is* love.

Photo of white coloured sky writing on a mostly clear blue sky. The text is upside down from this angle, but read correctly it shows the Christian cross symbol (meaning Jesus Christ, as represented by his crucifixion), the equal sign, and a heart shape. So the writing reads “Christ is love”.

(Or is that † = love because of Easter, meaning “Christ is love”? Nah.)

Neighbourhood drama

Someone is being a tad…dramatic in our neighbourhood. I wonder if that’s from the building owner or the current renter of this block of shops? Either way, they are decidedly Not Happy.

Photo of a side wall of a block of shops in a residential neighbourhood. The wall has been spray painted with a few graffiti tags, including two large ones. Written in the middle of this graffiti, in all capital letters, is “Tag in this place again I'll find you!!!”

Herring Island picnic

Hello from Herring Island in the Yarra River in Melbourne!

Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is standing in an lightly wooded area that’s on an island in the middle of an urban river.

The island is a short punt ride from Richmond.

Photo of a small punt making its way across an urban river to ferry people to the other side.

It has gazebos, public barbecues, several picnic areas, toilets, and even a pottery store.

Photo of a gazebo and some park benches in a large open field surrounded by a wooded area.

Plus there’s artwork to check out. Including this one – ‘Steerage’ by Jill Peck – that you can sit in :)

Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is sitting inside a large piece of artwork that’s shaped like a wide boat. This “boat” is made from pieces of granite, so it looks like grey cobblestones.

It’s a lovely place for a walk and a picnic. 8/10 would recommend.

Photo of a woman in a red and black patterned dress and a straw hat walking across an open field that’s surrounded by tall trees.

A smidge of sunshine

A smidge of sunshine…

Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a residential street. The man is wearing a bright blue cap and a light grey rain shell. There’s a bit of pale sunlight on the bottom half of the man’s face.

On an otherwise overcast and drizzly day.

Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a residential street. The man is wearing a bright blue cap and a light grey rain shell, with the shell’s hood covering the cap. There are splotches of rain on the rain shell.

Hot day

I know it’s going to be a Hot Day today, but it’s quite nice out there right now. Even if it is a smidge windy and a tad humid.

Selfie of a man wearing sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat with the sun behind the man’s head.

That said, the temperature did rise by almost three degrees in just the half hour that Maggie and I were out walking. So it’s not going to be pleasant for too much longer!

Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a red leash. The man is wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, a wide brimmed straw hat and is looking up at the camera. The dog is just behind the man, sniffing around in the grass on a nature strip at the side of a road.

Daily walks with Maggie

We walk.

Photo of a red/brown dog on a red leash being walked down a residential street on a sunny day.

We check our pee-mail.

Photo of a red/brown dog on a red leash sniffing the grass at the base of a tree on a residential street on a sunny day.

We ask for a treat (when we’ve walked by another dog and haven’t reacted badly to them).

Photo of a red/brown dog on a red leash on the footpath of a residential street. The dog is looking back at its human expectantly.

We take a selfie. (Optional.)

Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a sunny day. The man is wearing a black printed t-shirt, black hat, and sunglasses. The dog is sniffing a patch of grass next to the man.

Lovely day in Melbourne for a walk too!

Photo of a lovely looking residential footpath on a sunny day. There are picket fences to one side of the footpath and a line of trees on the nature strip on the other side.

Picnic at Donnelly Weir

Had a lovely afternoon with friends at Donnelly Weir in the Yarra Ranges yesterday.

Rebecca picked an excellent spot for a picnic, and the weather cooperated by giving us a a nice, cool day after the recent heatwave.

Group selfie of eight people in a wooded area.

Donnelly Weir has a picnic area as well – with a three-table gazebo, barbecue, and nearby toilets. It’s not too busy, either. Only one other table was occupied for part of the time we were there.

9/10 would recommend. But only because we had to drive across a shallow river to get to the car park, which not everyone and every car will be comfortable with.

Photo of a picnic area next to a weir in the middle of a forest. A weir is a small dam built across a river to control the flow of water. The picnic area consists of a wooden gazebo with picnic tables and benches, as well as a shared barbecue.

Weirs are always relaxing places to visit, and this one is no different.

You can’t get into the water here though. This spot is part of the rainfall catchment area that supplies Melbourne’s water supply (ie the water from here fills the dams that supply the city’s water).

Photo of a weir, which is a small dam built across a river to control the flow of water. The weir is located in a wooded area and has a log fence built to once side of it.

But that’s fine. You can still take lots of photos of the water :)

Photo of a weir, taken with the camera held out over the stone wall that’s been built to control the flow of water. Towards the back of the photo is is a small wooden foot bridge built across the river.

Both with…

Close-up photo of a weir wall that has water flowing over it. A long exposure effect has been applied to the photo, making the flowing water look smooth.

…and without the long exposure setting on your camera.

Close-up photo of a weir wall that has water flowing over it.

There are a couple of short trails you can wander down as well.

Selfie of a bald man, wearing glasses and a grey printed t-shirt. The man is standing on a walking trail in a wooded area.

But all you actually need to rest and recharge is to be surrounded by all the trees and birds and running water.

Selfie of a bald man, wearing glasses and a grey printed t-shirt standing in a wooded area. The man is looking down into a camera that is aimed towards the grey, overcast sky. Behind the man you can see the full length of the tall trees that surround him.