The woman with the black dog

Apparently I am known locally as The Woman with the Black Dog.  This is sufficiently accurate and mysterious to suit me just fine.  As you know, the black dog and I walk daily and spend a lot of time playing thwacky ball on the beach.

There are a lot of messages to pick up from the locals.

For some reason, Jill is insistent we walk along Kangaroo Rivulet after we've been to the library, even though this adds considerable time and steps to the venture.  Not important now we have the car but exhausting before.

after a long walk

Sadly for me, her recovery time is quick and she's soon ready for more adventure.  The library is her least favourite place and she has strong feelings about books.

Made obvious here - her toy, a gift from her favourite neighbour Fiona, plonked on my book, a farewell gift from the Triabunna Tivoli.

This book is an absolute treasure - a tome written in a most becoming and friendly voice.  A number of people have their beady eyes on it...and it shall accompany us to Triabunna for Christmas.

Black has been a recurring theme recently.  Steve introduced me to Nina Simone many years ago.

I was stunned by her song 'Young, Gifted and Black' and perplexed that this has not been picked up as an anthem. Well, I have become intrigued with the Kanneh-Mason family members since discovering they are 1/4 Welsh.

Mum, Kadiatu, has done it in her 2025 book.  I haven't read this one yet.

I'm still reading this one.  I can't imagine living in a family of seven children.  Kadiatu explains how the household worked with each child encouraged to fulfill their musical potential.  Mindboggling.

This one is also mindboggling but for totally different reasons.  A totally different family experience.  Here is a carefully constructed storyline with hilarious one-liners and heart racing encounters.  You think it must end up ok because it's written in the first person but its so filled with surprises, who knows? 

This is a book filled with knowledge as in The Knowledge that London cabbies are required to have  - that deep knowledge of what really goes on in a place.  It's a book every teacher should read. There are so many kids like August and Eli, and mostly we teachers don't see them.