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News & reviews
"St Luke's Shepparton celebrates bookweek dressing as
some of the characters in Goldie's books."
Goldie Alexander talks about her new story picture book LAME DUCK PROTEST in Brisbane.
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Hedgeburners - an A-Z PI mystery
Illust: Marjory Gardner
(Interactive Publications)
PB RRP $16.95
Reviewed by Eleanor Massey
Zach has a full life, what with a menagerie to look after, a father facing bankruptcy, and friend Anna, who fancies herself as a private investigator, with Zach as her assistant. Add Ruby the wrestler, and Brett, the rookie journo, and there's not much time left for sleeping or homework.
Zach also spends every second weekend, and most of his holidays, with his mother and her partner, Mark, and in between times, he is pleading with his teachers for more time to do his homework.
No wonder he has nightmares night after night.
Then, there's a spate of hedge burnings – old cypress hedges, that add value to properties, but the police are too busy, and too short-staffed to launch a full surveillance. Enter the A~Z PIs, led by Anna, the girl detective with attitude.
Incident piles on incident as the pace picks up, but the story still gives the characters time to grow and change. Even if he doesn't fully understand what he sees, Zach shares with us the challenges which face single-parent families, the homeless and the elderly, and the accidents of fortune, human weaknesses and simple mistakes are shown to underpin many of the local crimes.
Goldie Alexander touches lightly on these family problems and societal glitches, but they're there for understanding teachers or parents to take up and run with, given the appropriate time and place. They make the story a fuller, funnier and deeper experience.
The Australian setting and vernacular, the pull-no-punches descriptions of characters, and the lack of moralising, vitalise the story. The silly mistakes and selfish behaviour of the adults are visited on the children, and take the story to a deeper level, but this is tempered by the robust humour that kids love and understand, and that is, ultimately, our saving grace.
Anna is 13, and in Year 7, and so is Zach. Given that young people like to read about characters who are the same age or slightly older than them, this story could happily be read by upper primary/lower secondary students, who are also at an age to appreciate the lively illustrations.
Hedgeburners lends itself to being read aloud, by teacher or parent.
It's a sharing sort of book.
Eleanor Massey is a long-term English teacher (now working casually in NSW schools) and freelance writer.
Hedgeburners: an A-Z PI mystery
by Goldie Alexander and illustrated by Marjory Gardner (Interactive Publications) PB RRP $16.95
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis Freelance Writer and Reviewer
Word count - 321
This is another title from IP Kidz, the newest imprint of Interactive Publications dedicated to themes that guide and teach young readers. This is the first of a series featuring the characters, Anna and Zach, Private Eyes, with Zach as narrator. It is based on actual crimes committed by youngsters.
Being a PI demands a lot of time as the youngsters soon discover. Anna is smart and conscientious, disciplined and organised. Zach is the opposite. He juggles caring for his numerous pets with homework and running around looking for clues with Anna. He also has a habit of associating everyone he meets with the animal they resemble, and that's how he views them after the first meeting.
After someone sets fire to an aged but thriving hedge next door to Anna's house, the A-Z PIs begin searching for clues. Anna's list of suspects in her computer file grows but they have no solid proof. The third burnt hedge which also threatens human lives brings the two closer to the culprits after a long investigation and a few lucky breaks.
Zach's friend Brett who works for the newspaper somehow becomes a suspect. When Brett goes missing, the two PIs have more on their hands than they expected. Zach is losing sleep following suspects at night. His homework is suffering. His father is stressed about his failing business.
But the PIs are getting closer. There is more involved here than just hedge burning. Some of their school mates are shop-lifting, coercing or bullying their peers into take part in illegal, careless and dangerous acts.
The theme of firebugs is just the springboard for the many issues covered here. The book teaches awareness and responsible behaviour and includes the effect adult actions and problems have on children and vice-versa. It also teaches that one should never assume anything, for sometimes things appear to be one way, but turn out to be something entirely different.
My Horrible Cousins and Other Stories by Goldie Alexander
(Teaching Solutions)
PB RRP $17.95
Reviewed by Anne Hamilton
From Shakespeare in space (with a twist in the tale) to a magician who knows exactly when to bow out, this collection of ten short stories is as varied in style as it is in location and atmosphere. In common, however, are a girl and a problem.
For Lorrie, it's the ‘horrible cousins' of the title story who are such irritating little stains that they perfectly deserve the comeuppance they receive. For Chloe and Stella, it's the ruin their families face as they struggle to hold on to their livelihoods. A stranger with a penchant for cowpats makes a difference for Chloe, as a helpful magician does for Stella, but in each case, it's the girl herself who takes action and brings a resolution to the situation. Not every girl wins exactly what she wants. Layla helps save a baby whale and gets carried away by imagining herself in a re-enactment of Free Willy. Rom's sister is far from happy when a space gypsy named Julietta captures her brother's attention. Lucy tours the world as a Spelling Bee celebrity and champion – until disaster strikes her dad's Instant Spelling Program.
Each story is told with flair and humour. The Horrible Cousins has a blog-style format, while others vary between first and third person narratives. Many of the resourceful girls are passionate about causes - Layla in Raising Ella about whales; Rosie about native animals in Lame Duck Protest; Stella about her parent's historic café in The Great Googol.
Supporting notes for teachers are available online at the Teaching Solutions website. Clearly targeted at educators looking for stories in which girls are given opportunities to shine, the stories are far too good to be relegated to the classroom. However the book seems to position itself in this niche with its unprepossessing textbook-like cover and indifferent interior design. My Horrible Cousins and other stories deserves exposure to a far wider market.
"Off the Bookshelf", a newsletter for schools and libraries produced in Pretoria by Audrey Hitchcock, an acknowledged expert in South Africa on children's literature, writes:
MY HORRIBLE COUSINS
Goldie Alexander (Teaching Solutions)
These ten short stories for girls by one of Australia's most prolific authors, brings to readers strong female characters who are 'strong and resourceful, girls overcoming adversity, solving problems, being determined, being passionate about causes……good strong stuff'. The cousins referred to in the title story are the older teenagers who object to everything possible on a trip the family take to Europe to visit an elderly grandmother. Familiar? Yes, our readers (in Grade 3 and 4) would certainly relate to the issues raised in this selection. From environmental issues and the preservation of heritage site to the fun of boredom and bullying- these stories are ideal for reading aloud and sharing with young readers.
Dramatics
Hazel Edwards and Goldie Alexander (Teaching Solutions)
What a gem! Extensively researched, packed with excellent ideas, here is a treasure for making drama come alive in the classroom and on stage! In addition to the plays, there are hints on adaptation, improvisation and script writing among many other skills required to get the best out of performers.
From short quickies, to longer plays there is something for everyone- and especially for the teacher wishing to put drama into an exciting phase of education. 'The attraction of drama is that it is active; children move and learn by doing. Indirectly, they learn to work with others, to explore new areas and to enjoy new concepts.'
SET in Melbourne during 1938, this novel chronicles the lives of the Marks sisters: the eldest, Julie, is a wonderful cook and protector to her younger twin sisters, the beautiful Ella and the disabled Lilbet. Their existence revolves around the domestic tasks required to look after their house and their rather stern father. Into the household comes Felix Golbfarb, teller of tall tales that entrance all. This wonderful novel is rich in historical detail - N.W.
In a word: mesmerising.
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FEATURE: Anna Beth McCormack
Sometimes a book comes along your way that leaves you feeling well-fed and satisfied. Such a one is Body and Soul with its blend of social detail, personal stories and historical context. Inner Melbourne in the first half of 1938, is vividly brought to life in the story of three sisters, attendant on their dour and demanding father. Julie, twenty-eight, has long given up thoughts of marriage to care for the motherless family. Ella and Lilbet, ten years younger, are twins, but whereas Ella is light-hearted and beautiful, Lilbet is frustrated, spastic and plain. She sets out to write a 'novel' about the family - this book.
Outside the home, drastic things are happening worldwide, in which only Lilbet takes an intelligent interest - until Felix Golbfarb, a refugee from Hitler's Germany, enters their household. He charms them with his appreciation, and hypnotises them with tales about his former rich cosmopolitan life and hopes for the future. Alas, Felix is gold more by name than by nature, and leaves in his wake impoverished friends, disappointed hearts and Ella pregnant. It is Lilbet who sorts out the family.
Lilbet's ambivalent relationships towards her family, Felix and others form a key theme. She prizes the family's care, but wants more independence. She wants love from her unloving father. She is attracted to Felix but not blinded by him, and protects Ella though jealous of her. She hates derision of her spasticity, but humiliates herself to the worst offender in order to help Ella. By the end of the half-year of the story, she has found some resolution through preserving her family, bringing happiness out of possible disaster, and achieving recognition of her true ability. Sometimes Lilbet's contrivances to secure her own welfare seem ignoble, but as they also seem to secure the welfare of others, we are left with the notion that the best solutions are those that benefit most people.
The narrative of Body and Soul is rich in period detail from domestic concerns like cooking, refrigeration appliances and feeding people still suffering from the Depression, to discriminatory public attitudes against the disabled, immigrants, Jews and women. Lilbet's newspaper cuttings also provide historical and social context: from the Japanese to China, to the invention of the helicopter, to women's eye make-up, and much more.
An affirming, rewarding novel, not to be missed.
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On My Bedside Table
The Age newspaper, Saturday January 22 2005.
I have many books beside my bed. They include Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a constant reminder of how a novel's structure should work.
- Geoffrey Blainey's: Black kettle and Full Moon. A fascinating social history of Australia.
- Margaret Mahey's The Changeover Still one of the best YA novels ever written.
Robert Dessaix's Night Letters. His character's letters reveal the revelations and experiences of someone with HIV.
- Haruki Murukami's The Elephant Vanishes. Groundbreaking surrealistic short stories.
- Justin Hill's The Drink and Dream Teahouse. An excellent account of what happens when old and new cultures clash in a remote village in Northern China.
- Bernhard Schlink's The Reader. What does it mean to love those people who committed such atrocities? An austerely beautiful narrative of the attempt to breach the gap between Germany's pre- and postwar generations.
Reading Habits: "The Jewish News"
Always a random pile that includes:
- Irvin D. Yalom's When Nietzsche Wept. A clever evocation of philosophy and psychoanalysis.
- John Burdett's Bangkok 8, one of the best thrillers I have recently come across.
- Jill Paton Walsh: A desert in Bohemia: a beautifully written account of changes in post WW2 Europe.
- Hazel Edwards' Antarctic Writer on Ice because of my strong connection as I received the emails that ended up as this book.
A great recent read: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. A children's book that really isn't. So clever, heart rending and simply written, I can hardly bear to read it without weeping.
A favourite from childhood: The first book I read entirely alone was Milly-Molly-Mandy. Though my family came to Melbourne in the late 20's and early 30's, we had too few relatives. I loved the warm extended family described in this little book.
A book that changed me: As a youngster it was Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I still admire its perfect structure. Of course there were many as I grew older, too many to enumerate, everything from the classics - I was educated in a completely Anglo environment - to a lot of what I read today. I am always aware of how much a writers 'guts' goes into every book and how often they can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, even dismissed.
My favourite Bible story: Genesis. After all that's where it began.
For a long plane trip: I have a great weakness for any of the contemporary English female writers such as A.S.Byatt, Margaret Drabble, Zadie Smith, Barbara Kilgsolver, Pat Barker, Jeanette Winterson etc. They are excellent commentators on the human condition.
A Jewish book that speaks to me: So much is excellent. However I still think Chaim Potok's The Chosen touches on many issues still relevant to Jews in the Diaspora.
A book I've always meant to read: Tolstoy's War and Peace. Always start but never find time to finish it.
Some favourite Australian Books include Dorothy Wall's The Adventures of Blinky Bill, May Gibbs' Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie, Henry Lawson's While the Billy Boils, Helen Garner's The First Stone, Tim Winton's Cloudstreet.
Where I like to read: In bed, in the bath, on any tram/bus/train/plane/ waiting room, in my favourite armchair. Well, anywhere.
KILLER VIRUS AND OTHER STORIES
This review appeared in the United States in the following newspapers:
- VISIONS MAGAZINE - MARCH 2006
- THE TOWN WESTSIDE CRIER - MARCH 2006
- ANDERSON COUNTY VISIONS MAGAZINE - MARCH 2006
- TECHACHAPI'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY - SPRING 2006
Author, Goldie Alexander, Fiction, ISBN 1 876580 36 4, Trade Size Paperback, Publisher-Phoenix Education, (www.phoenixeduc.com) Available at Bookstores Nationwide, or Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
It's not often that an excellent children's book hits my desk, but one finally did. This title basically was written for kids (boys) between the ! ages of 12-14. Still, it's worth a read even if a child is slightly younger, or even a few years older.
Killer Virus is a collection of short stories that will keep a child interested. The Killer Virus story is one often stories included in the book. Other stories are: Party Plan, First Kiss, and The Hedge, just to mention a few.
From fantasy, to humor, to realism... each story has a lesson to be learned by young eyes. And, don't worry about four letter metaphors - this title is clean as a whistle. It's educational, interesting and definitely a read that kids will enjoy. I did, and I sent the book to my grandkids in Texas!
Did you know that that the Spanish Influenza killed millions of people throughout the world? Originally, it was passed from hogs to humans. Here is another tidbit of information that came from the Killer Virus story. The Hong Kong Flu was passed from chickens to people. It too killed thousands of humans.
Not that the story was downbeat; Goldie Alexander used the story to tell kids about viruses around the world, and it was a great lead-in to her story. This particular story, Killer Virus was about a computer virus; still a little history was included.
Each story has its own ending; each story is a stand alone piece. Short and to-the-point is how to keep a kid's attention, and this author is a real master when it comes to writing at a young adult's level.
"A picture is worth a thousand words", it has been said. By all means, that fact is evident in this title. Mr. Ben O'Hagan did a fantastic job throughout the entire book. With his drawings, each story has been kept to a minimum of words. On a personal note, I'd like to see illustrations in adult works - books today tend to ramble-on.
Killer Virus is a four-star read for young adults, and should do very well in the US marketplace.
Note! For other books available by this dynamic publishing house, visit their web site for exciting, recently released titles
South Africa's Northern Cape Curriculum Review Committee for Grade 8
"Learners will easily identify with these stories. It caters for a wide range of ability and interest from fantasy to humour and reality. Activity sheets are well structured. Material caters for educators from a range of backgrounds.
Assessment:
Activities are quite developmental
Layout and Design:
Material is durable and user friendly."
UNJUST DESSERTS reviewed by SALLY ODGERS.
Goldie Alexander.
ISBN 1 920699 62 7
Unjust Desserts is a crime story with a difference, set in the Australian coastal-village of Grevillia. Style and atmosphere are immediately and affectionately familiar to anyone who has ever lived in a small town. The characters are believable, from doughty heroine Olivia to sad Queenie and her repulsive husband Harry.
The story-line revolves around Olivia Beaumont's efforts to keep her café/deli, Not Just Desserts, afloat. Even before one of her clients dies after eating one of Olivia s curries, there is trouble in the air. Harry Oldrich is determined to become Olivia's sleeping partner and she's just as determined that he won't! A possible development has the townsfolk at loggerheads, and the arrival of an attractive young Australian Chinese teacher named Eddie Wong ruffles quite a few of the more hidebound feathers in the village. Add Detective Richard Brumby as the investigating officer, Olivia s dysfunctional family, a spot of middle aged sex and some cooking, and you have all the ingredients for a home grown puzzle to suit the most jaded palate.
Along the way, Goldie Alexander makes a few sly thrusts at attitudes and suppositions that are sure to have some readers nodding in rueful recognition of their own, or their neighbours, quirks.
The production values of this novel are excellent. The type is clear and easy to read, the editing and proofing well done, and the book is sturdy without any tendency to close while I was still reading!
2007 STILETTO REVIEW OF "UNKIND CUT"
By Carmel Shute
Unkind Cut is the second in the crime series featuring Olivia Beauman, owner of Not Just Desserts FoodStore and catering firm in the fictional town of Grevillea on the Mornington Peninsula outside Melbourne.
Olivia has recovered from her bruising divorce and taken up with the hunky local Broderick Primary school principal, Eddie Wong, who is pressuring her to move in with him. Olivia is staunchly defending her independence but she's only too happy to attend the Grevillea Galah's performance of Julius Caesar to help raise money for the local fire brigade and Eddie's school. Another reason, of course, is that the play stars the renowned Shakespearian actor Kingston Ellis, who has retired to a grand local property.
When Ellis is stabbed for real on opening night, Olivia gets caught up in trying to find out who killed him and why while also catering for his memorial service.
The actor, famous for his arrogance, had acquired more than his fair share of enemies over his long career. But as Olivia discovers, the solution to this whodunit lies rather closer to home.
Detective Richard Brumby appears on the scene, but is he there to pay his respects or to investigate the murder.
Goldie Alexander's depiction of small town life– the petty jealousies, the distinctions between locals and blow-ins, and the fawning over Kingston Ellis and his entourage by those with pretensions- is spot on
The plot is pleasingly complex and Goldie again includes some of Olivia's recipes. Foody crime lovers will relish this book.
The Business of Writing for Young People
Authors: Hazel Edwards & Goldie Alexander
ISBN: 086806656-7
The first thing you notice about Hazel Edwards and Goldie Alexander's 'The Business of Writing for Young People" is that it is so overwhelmingly, uncompromisingly practical.
Edwards and Alexander, both successful children's authors and collaborators on a number of projects, cover both the business and technical aspects of writing. There are chapters on setting up a business, overcoming procrastination, dealing with agents, working with collaborators, handling the media and marketing manuscripts.
There are also sections on plotting, viewpoint, characterisation and dialogue, and discussions on different media and markets. The ideas, while not always fully developed, are head spinning, and exercises and checklists pop up at every turn. Going on a bookshop crawl to identify what's being published and eavesdropping in fast food outlets to research young peoples speech patterns are just two strategies suggested for keeping in touch with this readership.
The language of the book is succinct, pithy and often humorous. Crazy examples and amusing cartoons are included to illustrate a point or emphasise an issue. The text is also peppered with questions and exercises, making the whole experience surprisingly interactive.
But a word of caution: if you're expecting a simple, linear or narrative approach to writing for children, 'The Business of Writing for Young People" is not for you. It is clearly designed for those who like brainstorming and will take the time to complete all the exercises and answer the pointed questions. And because of the number of ideas contained in it, the book has a tendency to make the reader want to rush off and try at least ten of them at once. So if you need a disciplined approach, you might find it best to work through the book with a writing buddy or your writers' group.
That said, 'The Business of Writing for Young People" is a book to dip into again and again for ideas, inspiration and practical advice. It is a welcome addition to any writer's bookcase and is highly recommended.
IMMERSED IN ROMANIA
(Versions of this article were published in The Australian Newspaper
and the Victorian FAW AUSTRALIAN WRITER)
 Download the PDF of this article
Romania lost its Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescue in 1989. Since then this prettiest of Eastern European countries has barely had time to recover from a regime that brought its people to the edge of starvation. Romania is to join the Common market in 2007 and keen to establish itself as economically and culturally viable. So given her history of invasion, her fascinating folktales and mythologies, when I was invited earlier this year to participate in the 'Alviogot Foundation Writers' Cultural Exchange Program' I was delighted to visit a country that has yet to become a well trodden tourist destination. Besides... of the eighteen international writers that were invited, only two were awarded scholarships. Given that I received one, the other went to the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, this was not to be missed.
The program's notes promised: "Every September, the Alviogut Foundation hosts an international Exchange Program. While most of us (writers) dream of exotic places and unusual characters, we rarely get beyond the typewriter and actually live their adventures. This is a chance to immerse yourself in the traditions....while sharing ideas with local writers and other participants...."
Perhaps I should have foreseen difficulties when it quickly became apparent that any money or mail sent to Romania disappeared into a black hole. Nevertheless my future hosts sent warm and welcoming emails and I was promised a busy week that would include visits to the remote and the unusual. These activities were, in the final count, to be shared between two Aussies, eight Americans, two Canadians, two Brits and a Russian - poets, novelists, short-story writers, editors, children's writers, food and science essayists, many working in more than one genre. This was a well-published group.
We met in Bucharest in the Hotel Carpati, an establishment that didn't quite merit its one star rating. The beds and bathrooms were not for the faint hearted. More cultural diversity became apparent at breakfast where we asked to choose one of four set meals. My request for a Number 2 breakfast but coffee instead of tea sent the staff into a flurry, a reaction typical of the rest of the week. That morning there was just enough time to stroll around Bucharest. We quickly found the central gardens where we watched women stroll by in frocks that were to our First World eyes both startling in colour and design. These lovely gardens were surrounded by pre WW2 buildings that reminded us of the baroque elegance of Budapest and Vienna, though most were in need of plaster and paint. We also lamented the grey concrete post war 'stalinist blocks' and the newer metal and glass highrise that jostled uncomfortably alongside with little regard for Western concepts of streetscape. The traffic was wild. Pedestrian crossings were suicidal. Cars ignored them. Window-shopping was dull when viewed by affluent First World eyes. Restaurant food not as exciting as we had hoped.
Romanian infra-structure is in the process of being rebuilt. Our host had arranged for our group to be bused over roads in a permanent state of construction and as we bumped along the ride seemed to take forever. Our major destination was a villa in Bushten. Two hours and many bruises later we arrived at a charming village nestling into the Transylvanian Alps where milk cows wearing bells around their necks grazed in the town-square thus eradicating any need for mowers. The mountains seemed to rise perpendicularly into the sky to provide some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever come across; this only marred by the mounds of rubbish filling every crevice and valley. Appalled I soon learnt that every trashcan was stolen so it could be recycled. In Romania nothing is wasted.
Four males including Florin our host and eleven females meant that rooms were quickly established and we could set about the real business of getting to know each other. I found this the most rewarding part of the program as the promised wealth of Romanian culture, history and artists never did eventuate. As a children's writer I was particularly keen to meet any local counterpart. Because I knew about the 'unwanted children', I also asked to visit an orphanage. Our host claimed to know nothing about these, and though names were bandied about, I never did meet any local children's writers. We were finally visited by a young novelist who, with much flicking of collar length hair and chain-smoking, proceeded to tell his far more experienced audience how and what to write while his young wife sat silently by. Our Canadian poet quickly dubbed this as 'the dark valley of Romanian Arts Administration.'
Romanian cuisine seemed to mostly consist of fried potatoes, bread, polenta, pastries (very popular) sausages both cooked and uncooked, and the best tomatoes I have ever tasted. Most of the fruit – melon, peaches, nectarines, grapes - came from Turkey, though the local prunes were delicious. The freshest produce was bought in the street markets where it was essential to pretend to haggle. But what with the Romanian currency in the process of being changed (L10,000 had just become L10 and would shortly be turned into euro) it was all very confusing. We were probably cheated left right and centre, but everything was so cheap, it hardly raised a sweat. Small corner shops sold processed meat and small quantities of pork and chicken. No chicken farms, just lots of roosters that served as alarm clocks as did the dogs who barked out their territory around 2 a.m. Pastry and bread shops were everywhere. Good local beer was sold in two litre bottles and there was also plenty of demi dulci wine.
By the second day it was obvious that whatever we'd had in mind re Romanian History and Culture, that our host wasn't up to it. So on our own initiative we visited several Christian Orthodox cathedrals, many on the wrong days so they were closed. We did come across devout congregations - mostly women, bearded priests dressed in sumptuously embroidered robes, wooden crosses and candles. In the town of Brasov we visited 'Castelul Bran' where the infamous Count Dracula once resided, entering rooms filled with wooden beams, stolid black furniture and secret staircases. Unlike the vampiric Dracula portrayed in the Bram Stoker novel and Hollywood movies, the Romanians regard Dracula as a national hero who protected them from the Turks by thrusting a wooden stick onto the butt of any invading soldier unfortunate enough to fall into his hands.
Much favoured by local holiday-makers was Sinaeia where the weather was warm and the town centre dotted with outdoor cafes where we sipped coffee, admired the locals and felt sorry for the gypsies whom everyone seemed to despise. My favourite place was Sighisoara, a medieval fortified town set high on a hill crowned by a Lutheran church and cemetery where whole families were buried in one grave; these acting as a memorial to the large numbers of Germans who had invaded this country. The young Romanians we met were passionate about their history, viewing their country as 'open house' to any foreigner who infiltrated their rich land. Our Russian colleague was constantly embarrassed by having to listen to derogatory comments. Taking it on the chin, she made a point of offering Russian cigarettes to her denouncers.
Though we did see a lot of the countryside, much of it flat meadows planted with alfa alfa and corn, horse and carts, haystacks wrapped around poles, centuries old wooden farmhouses, travelling was fraught. No one in our group spoke Romanian and we met few locals who knew any English. Train timetables were hard to decipher and the times they ran unpredictable. No place for stragglers. Catching trains often forced us to run. We would have liked to venture north into the Carpathian Mountains, but both roads and railways had been washed away in recent floods. However all that rain gave us soft green grass, wonderful white, yellow and pink wild flowers, and the quietest beech and pine forests I have ever entered. Few birds. Only crows. Had the others been captured? Eaten? I never did find out.
The highlight of the week was sharing experiences with the group, though these were all off the cuff. Participants had brought their own books and left them lying about. If you were interested, you picked them up and browsed. Though many – mostly the poets - would have liked a more disciplined arrangement, much like everything else in this program, it somehow didn't happen. Yet it was this very inadequacy that unified the group. Though I mostly managed to stay calm as others grew angry, I nearly had my own meltdown when it was time to return to Bucharest and we discovered that no hotel had been booked and what's more, nothing was available. Saved by our other Aussie who found us lodgings for two nights via the internet, thankfully we didn't have to sleep alongside the gypsies in the streets.
As the week continued with more mistakes and confusions by our leader, he finally gave up. Tired of trying to explain his own and the program's inadequacies to angry foreigners, he took the only way out and quietly disappeared. All we ever heard was a sad little email sent to some of the participants. It read: "I won't do any program at all. My apologies won't be enough but now there's nothing I can do. I can't do any program and I will not do it again. I quit from Alviogut Foundation. Sorry for everything. Florin."
But if there should happen to be any writer out there still interested in travelling to lesser known parts permit me to issue a few hints:
- Don't ask for any grant money if travelling to unknown territory as the money must be first sent to the organisation in that country before you receive it in return. Long before that happens, it will surely disappear.
- Make sure the organisation has information for any emergency. We filled out no forms and there was nothing ever in writing that might be used by a hospital or the police if this became necessary. We were lucky. Others might be less fortunate.
- Take a cell phone that 'roams'. Don't depend on the local telephone system. And remember that old adage: "Pack less clothes. Take more money."
- Make sure you have a real itinerary. Before we left we knew each others names and that was about it. Nothing really about the program except a few vague promises and nothing about the organisation that ran it. My personal rationalisation was that another Aussie writer had attended the Foundation two years earlier and strongly recommended that I do the same.
- Though you may be asked to pay a set fee, check whether this includes entries to museums, galleries, food and drink. Be specific. The group had already paid a handsome up front fee, then were constantly asked to dip into their own pockets to pay for meals and drinks.
- Make sure you know what is expected of you: readings, lectures, workshops etc. Don't let this be ad hoc, as it will surely never happen.
- Don't depend on previous participants for information. Things change. Whereas the three previous programs had contained no more than five participants and the Alviogot Foundation had coped, once the numbers went up, all organisation flew out the window.
- Worth a visit alone are the art galleries, museums and Ceausescue's palace. So is the exquisite hand embroidery and lace you can still buy very cheaply in street markets. I suspect that antique dealers would find a visit profitable, particularly if they have a taste for ornate carving and lots of gold paint.
- Any plumber worth his salt would make a fortune. If you have a horror of cisterns that don't flush, squatting over holes, showers that run out of hot water and blocked drains, don't go!
- Astonishingly, we had no problem finding internet cafes. Because of the vagaries of Romanian telephony – contacting Australia went into the 'too hard' basket - I was able to email home every day.
Would I do it again? Of course. Though there is always a price to pay as I spent the next three days staring at hotel walls in Germany on my way home with a massive attack of 'Romanian Revenge'. However I made some wonderful friends, had unusual experiences, took masses of notes which gave me material for a future novel and was shaken out of my personal comfort zone. All positives for this great-grandmother who celebrated her sixty-ninth birthday with an al fresco lunch in Sighisoara, Romania.
Bridging the Snowy
by Goldie Alexander; illustrated by Cailan Burns
(Aussie School Books; distributed by Blake Education)
PB RRP $9.95
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton
Bridging the Snowy is part of the second Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! series of Australian chapter books for middle to upper primary school children.
In Bridging the Snowy, cousins Zach and Rowan are on their annual family camping trip to the Snowy Mountains. Rowan is the more cautious of the two and Zac delights in teasing him. When Zach heads of on a hike, Rowan reluctantly joins him. Zach injures his knee, and later loses consciousness, and Rowan must face his fears to save his cousin's life.
It is at this point that the story is at its most engaging as Rowan battles darkness, rain, a collapsing rope bridge and his fear of heights to reach help for Zach. Zach is saved and the relationship shifts to a more equal basis as Rowan demands respect from his cousin.
Cailin Burns' black and white illustrations add an extra dimension to the text and increase readers' understanding of the boys' isolation.
This is an easy to read and enjoyable adventure story.
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