A JAUNT WITH THE STUDENTS TO STRAHAN AND PORT ARTHUR
FIRST IT'S SCARLETINA NEWS:
The fairy magic is at work! I am so thrilled Calgary library have accepted to stock Scarletina's Quest for Fairy Wings, they have a policy of supporting local authors how fantastic is that!
More great news, Chapters Bookstore, at Crowfoot Calgary are going to have a book signing for me in May, so two book signings to go to next month YAY....
More great news, Chapters Bookstore, at Crowfoot Calgary are going to have a book signing for me in May, so two book signings to go to next month YAY....
Self publishing is very um... what's the word.... CHALLENGING.... for someone brought up to believe "self praise is no recommendation," this road is paved not just with stones but with HUGE boulders!
The world is full of creative people all striving for you to buy their book, and I am one of them.
To this end I am learning to promote both the book and myself, I twitter, Facebook and blog, but social media marketing seems so nebulous, I see that people do read my blog, follow me on twitter and Facebook yet it is just numbers and unknown names!
I am so thankful that people do respond and have to adjust to this kind of connecting, I am getting there, albeit slowly :)
------------------------------------------------------
MORE ABOUT OUR FUN FILLED ADVENTURE IN TASMANIA.
I had been volunteering for some weeks at Riding for the Disabled and was really enjoying myself. My confidence had grown with regards to working with the horses and getting to know the children who regularly came for their ride.
This particular day I was given one of the larger horses to lead round the paddock, the little boy riding him was having such a great time, and it really warmed my heart to see him so happy.
We were chatting away quite happily but I was to learn the important lesson of looking where I was going! I suddenly tripped and fell face down in the somewhat mucky and poo laden soil! This caused much hilarity all round especially among the children, luckily the horse didn't carry on walking unsupervised but had stopped and waited patiently for me to pick myself up and wipe my face clean.
Honestly I swear that horse rolled his eyes at me as though he was thinking "what I have to put up with"!
Life in my new home was peaceful, enjoyable and interesting,and I always looked forward to the times we all came together to eat. On one occasion I actually helped the Japanese students prepare sushi and learnt an invaluable tip about cooking rice.
.jpg)
After rinsing the rice they placed their hand, palm down on top of it and said you put in enough water to reach up to the beginning of your wrist, you then bring it to the boil, put a lid on the saucepan, turn off the heat and hey presto you get perfectly cooked rice every time!
It was on one of these get-together occasions that they expressed a wish to go to Port Arthur, Mary kindly said that if I wanted to go she would let me use her spare car, I happily agreed so we started making plans.
The students wanted the cheapest accommodation possible so we booked into a YMCA facility that had cabins, which, as we were only going for the two nights was okay.
I have to confess I have never been comfortable about sharing a bedroom with strangers, I like to have my own bathroom and really value my privacy, but needs must, so the cabins were booked.
It was going to take around 4 1/2 hours to get there, the route was very straight forward, and we planned to leave on a Friday afternoon. We set off later than we had arranged due to two of the students arriving later than planned, well the best laid plans of mice and men as they say! Anyway we set off in high spirits, I was the designated driver and felt very confident about the trip.
We had travelled through some beautiful scenery, wooded roads, very scenic but as we approached Queenstown the vista changed and the roads became, for me, somewhat more, shall we say challenging. I have a fear of heights and the fact that at times there was a steep drop didn't make for the most comfortable driving.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The following day we had decided to visit Port Arthur. Initially this had been a harsh and brutal penal settlement, which was home for many of the early convicts sent to Australia. The isolation and formidable geography gave it a much feared reputation.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Twitter Bess Drew Sherret@FaeryWisdom
Book Publisher: www.friesenpress.com/bookstore
The world is full of creative people all striving for you to buy their book, and I am one of them.
To this end I am learning to promote both the book and myself, I twitter, Facebook and blog, but social media marketing seems so nebulous, I see that people do read my blog, follow me on twitter and Facebook yet it is just numbers and unknown names!
I am so thankful that people do respond and have to adjust to this kind of connecting, I am getting there, albeit slowly :)
------------------------------------------------------
MORE ABOUT OUR FUN FILLED ADVENTURE IN TASMANIA.
I had been volunteering for some weeks at Riding for the Disabled and was really enjoying myself. My confidence had grown with regards to working with the horses and getting to know the children who regularly came for their ride.
This particular day I was given one of the larger horses to lead round the paddock, the little boy riding him was having such a great time, and it really warmed my heart to see him so happy.
We were chatting away quite happily but I was to learn the important lesson of looking where I was going! I suddenly tripped and fell face down in the somewhat mucky and poo laden soil! This caused much hilarity all round especially among the children, luckily the horse didn't carry on walking unsupervised but had stopped and waited patiently for me to pick myself up and wipe my face clean.
Honestly I swear that horse rolled his eyes at me as though he was thinking "what I have to put up with"!
Life in my new home was peaceful, enjoyable and interesting,and I always looked forward to the times we all came together to eat. On one occasion I actually helped the Japanese students prepare sushi and learnt an invaluable tip about cooking rice.
It was on one of these get-together occasions that they expressed a wish to go to Port Arthur, Mary kindly said that if I wanted to go she would let me use her spare car, I happily agreed so we started making plans.
The students wanted the cheapest accommodation possible so we booked into a YMCA facility that had cabins, which, as we were only going for the two nights was okay.
I have to confess I have never been comfortable about sharing a bedroom with strangers, I like to have my own bathroom and really value my privacy, but needs must, so the cabins were booked.
It was going to take around 4 1/2 hours to get there, the route was very straight forward, and we planned to leave on a Friday afternoon. We set off later than we had arranged due to two of the students arriving later than planned, well the best laid plans of mice and men as they say! Anyway we set off in high spirits, I was the designated driver and felt very confident about the trip.
We had been travelling for some time when one of the Japanese students said she would really like to have a go at driving. I was somewhat reluctant, she was only 4'11" and it was a manual car (stick for N. America) and we had just started on quite a steep descent however I relented.
We changed places and I was quite pleased to be given a break, but it didn't last for long! First of all when she stretched to reach the pedals her chin was almost resting on the steering wheel, and when she did manage to depress the pedal she couldn't see over the steering wheel!
Our descent suddenly seemed similar to those films where the car goes careering down a steep hill with hair-pin bends. I hadn't really noticed this until I was a passenger, so after sliding round the next bend I said that I really thought it would be best if I took over, and though resistance was initially shown the combined fear of the passengers won through :)
Our descent suddenly seemed similar to those films where the car goes careering down a steep hill with hair-pin bends. I hadn't really noticed this until I was a passenger, so after sliding round the next bend I said that I really thought it would be best if I took over, and though resistance was initially shown the combined fear of the passengers won through :)
We had travelled through some beautiful scenery, wooded roads, very scenic but as we approached Queenstown the vista changed and the roads became, for me, somewhat more, shall we say challenging. I have a fear of heights and the fact that at times there was a steep drop didn't make for the most comfortable driving.
The spiralling drive down to Queenstown has 90 bends and though Mother Nature is regaining ground the views are a testament to the brutal reality of Tasmania's mining history.
We carried onto Strahan but didn't arrive till late, so after sorting out who was sleeping in what bed, we all crashed exhausted into our beds!
The following day we had decided to visit Port Arthur. Initially this had been a harsh and brutal penal settlement, which was home for many of the early convicts sent to Australia. The isolation and formidable geography gave it a much feared reputation.
Today Port Arthur is remembered for another tragic reason, in April 1996 35 people were senselessly shot dead and 23 wounded, something that led to reforms in the gun laws in Australia and not something I want to dwell on. It was a day of reflection and I took time to remember the many souls who had perished there.
We then drove back into Strahan as we had decided to go out on one of the boat trips.
It was on this trip that a really funny incident occured.One of the Japanese students was busy taking photo's, she then looked at me and said "What is the word I need?" I of course had to explain that she needed to help me find the word by explaining what she wanted to say.
Her response was " I take apple and put into rubbish bin, what word for that?"
I questioned whether the apple was bad, and she shook her head and said the apple was good. "Stupid" I suggested? No it wasn't that, so, much to the amusement of a couple watching us, I spent ages trying to find the right word, eventually it turned out to be... wait for it... POINTLESS!
She had wanted to say that it was pointless taking photographs as she couldn't possibly capture the beauty of the surroundings!
The boat trip continued along the Gordon River with everyone enjoying the scenery. We alighted at the Heritage Landing and walked along an elevated boardwalk that threaded its way through the magnificent rainforest. The silence seemed to deter anyone from talking as we walked past sassafras, blackwood, myrtle and the long-lived and fabled Huon pine.
We had really enjoyed our time in Strahan, I felt it had strengthened our understanding of one another and given us a great shared experience, but soon it was time to return to Hobart and I have to say I was so glad to be back in my own room and bed that night :)
I was loving my life in Tasmania, it continued to be full of new experiences, new friendships and new horizons.
I was continuing writing about my life, which enabled me to revisit people, places and emotions which sometimes benefitted from being viewed from a different perspective.
I wasn't the person who had gone through these experiences, and I know that my guides and angels had wanted me to accept the challenge of uprooting at 55 and travelling to this very distant land. Here I would be given the opportunity to grow in ways that I wouldn't have done if I had stayed in the safety and familiar life that I had known.
One of the most important concepts I had learned whilst living in Ireland was to let go of having expectations. This was, of course, much easier said than done, as I think I felt safer in the belief I had control of what my future held. Fortunately many small lessons had been given to me whilst living in Ireland to teach me how to 'let go let God'.
By learning to have aspirations and dreams, not expectations, I allowed God and his Universe to light my life with extraordinary experiences that I would never have dreamt possible.
A friend had told me she felt that it had been a sort of testing ground for me, to see if I would be okay on my own, I think that was a good insight.
In Ireland I had found that I was more than happy walking a solitary path, and gaining confidence in being a solo traveller, relishing each new adventure.
As I looked back I knew I had no regrets about the paths I had walked during my life. In Tasmania I felt I was being given a clean slate on which to write new beginnings.
No-one knew me, or who I had been and that was the most liberating experience I had ever had in my life. The freedom to become or maybe to reclaim mySelf, it was an exciting and invigorating scenario, filled with unknown adventures and I thanked God and my guides and angels from the bottom of my heart, for encouraging me to open myself to life's offerings.
Blessings
Bess
Follow me on
Twitter Bess Drew Sherret@FaeryWisdom
Facebook Bess Drew Sherret
Scarletina Scarletina's Quest for Fairy Wings
Web Site http://bessdrewsherret.ca
Book Publisher: www.friesenpress.com/bookstore
