GateWAy Blog

Probably in my case it’s more exciting, and it has been going on for months.

Can you imagine what it is like to get all these little bags, some not so little bags and boxes, given to you on a regular bases, well I do, and it is very exciting.

Majority of people will think I am strange, different or straight out crazy, yes some of it is true, but I don’t mind as I continue to collect all my treasures given to me so generously. Read the rest of this entry »

If you commit a traffic offence(s) and have your driver’s license taken off you, why should you be allowed to apply for  an extraordinary one? What was the point of meting out punishment in the first place?

A country magistrate has been recently quoted as wanting to ban extraordinary licenses so that people who commit offences on the road actually have to deal with the consequences of their actions and think twice about drink driving or speeding or behaving recklessly on the road. It appears that the law society opposes this, saying that it could impose unnecessary hardship on people if they were stranded at home and unable to get to work, take kids to school etc.  Read the rest of this entry »

Do you ever stick to your new year resolutions for more than a few weeks/ days? I am hopeless but love hearing what other people plan for a fresh start from January 1 - or 2 or whenever….

The usual ones include losing weight, getting fit, more exercise, washing up breakfast straight after breakfast, making the beds every morning and so on. Nothing overly challenging really, but in my case, rarely achieved. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is busy with food, food and more food - and the prospect of expanding girths to attend to afterwards. I found this recipe for Stuffed Dormice ( from Apicius - a Roman Cookery Book) in the front of my well thumbed Kenya High School cookery book which was published in 1959 to raise money for the new school chapel.

Ingredients: Several dormice, pork, pepper, pine kernals, asafoetida, (a gum resin with an obnoxious smell)and  liquamen. (Does anyone know what liquamen is/was?)

Method: Stuff dormice with minced pork and the meat of whole dormice (minced), pounded with pepper, pine kernels, asafoetida and liquamen.  Sew up the dormice, place on a tile and put in the oven, presumably with a bit of fat. Very tasty!

Does anyone have any recipes to rival this one for sheer revulsion and age?

There are 55000 hobby farms in western Australia. Many of these properties are small meaning 1acre up to 100 acres.  There are all types of issues with these properties.   I am also a small landowner (5 Acres) and last week someone told me I had a noxious weed on my property. I did not know, nor do i know what to look for.

Read the rest of this entry »

Meet Gnoblett and Gneville - two annoying little garden gnomes that ingratiated themselves into my garden and won’t leave. Their friend Gnorbert also lives there and is a particularly smug and intrusive little chap. So where is this leading? Down to the garden path to my new website which features  a wide range of entertaining and unexpected stories and audios to give you a good laugh! 

You can find out more about the Gnomes by visiting  www.annesimpson.com.au   and clicking on the In My Garden page where there is a free article called In the Beginning. Plenty of other free articles to sample as well! If you Register for the free newsletter aMusings you will receive another four free ebooks and audios! Enjoy…

Read the rest of this entry »

A work in progress!

There has been no lack of comments and opinions on our distinctive new entertainment centre on the Waterfront. Some have been very unkind, referring to it as some sort of monster… while others have put a positive slant on it and are confident it will one day be quite splendid - let’s hope so. Meanwhile in its present half finished state it doesn’t look too pretty but I firmly believe the end result will be fabulous. According to our poll, so do the majority of other people.

Meanwhile how about sending in some pics of really ugly buildings, that are finished, beyond redemption, eyesores, real monsters… from anywhere in the world!

Wearing her trademark favourite Red Hat Society hat

Anne Simpson has been a writer for over 25 years and is best known for her quirky sense of humour and ability to make people laugh.

She has a lifetime of experiences to share, including an amazing childhood and education in East Africa and many hilarious challenges of living in a couple of sheds on a bushblock in Western Australia with a young family.

Anne’s highly original and entertaining articles on middle age, underwear, hats, families, mothers - and even ghastly garden gnomes- are predictably infused with wit and warmth and guaranteed to delight. Read the rest of this entry »

There has been considerable media attention placed on the refusal of Crs Roley Paver and Judy and David Bostock to sit on any council committees. Other councillors now have to carry an enormous burden of work as a result. One new member is on 12 committees!

It is my understanding that committees are an integral part of the structure of local government and that all democratically elected councilors should participate. I believe it is part of their overall package of duties and obligations to their electors and fellow civic leaders.  Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s freezing in Albany today” I overheard someone on a phone call say… hmm, is this a case of what is freezing to one isnt to another? The top temperature in Albany today is forecast to be 17 degrees. Well, its cooler than it has been… is that freezing?

No wonder Albany gets a reputation as being cold when today is called freezing by the locals! It is a cool spell in comparison to what we have been having, I even had to get an extra blanket on last night. Comfortable could be another way to describe it. Give me a day like this one rather than a 45 degree day like Adelaide with extreme fire conditions any day.

Was it a freezing day to you?