Grassroots change

The August/September 2013 issue of OUTBack magazine features the sustainable farming success story that I wrote about the Wright family property “Lana” near Uralla and the Soils for Life organisation.

This is the final post on this blog - I've moved over to janenecarey.wordpress.com

Slow writing

I'm relishing a slow-writing process: being able to read, reflect and gradually construct a story by allowing the ideas and sentences to rise up in their own time instead of being forced. I'm working on a feature for Outback magazine about sustainable farming, and my deadline is a luxurious four weeks away. Since leaving the Express, I've done a little bit of writing in my new capacity as the editor for the New England Writers Centre newsletter, but mostly I have been employed as a casual academic at the University of New England. In trimester three, I marked assignments for a unit on publishing and editing; currently I'm teaching grammar and formal academic writing to first years. This freelance feature is a gift that dropped in my lap, and it's doubly satisfying because the topic - agricultural practices that are both regenerative and profitable - is so important.

Hats in the air again

I've left the Armidale Express, after spending three and a half years there as a journalist, senior journalist, and occasionally acting editor. It's a cliche to say it was a difficult decision, but it was - so difficult that I had to make it quickly and emotionally. Reason was unreliable, always telling me that of course you can cope and certainly things will get better.

In a Facebook post, I said:

I've been like one of those frogs swimming in increasingly hot water for several months; now I've suddenly jumped out of the pot. But it is sad, I did love being a journo.

One of my friends responded that I was "Still a journo. Now a free one." Time will tell if she is right.

For now, all my former hats - from IT, business, writing and academia - are in play again. A few have settled tentatively on my head already. I will be running memoir workshops in Sydney this month and mentoring overseas students as they write about their experiences of studying in Australia. There are also a couple of part-time PR gigs in the pipeline, possibly, and this morning I agreed to take on a hefty stack of university marking in one of the communications units at UNE. And my husband hasn't been backward in coming forward with a to-do list of Hutchinson Software work either.

I'm looking forward to all of it - and time in between to do my own writing.

Step back in time at Saumarez Homestead

A feature in the Live, Love, Play magazine focusing on the ladies of the White family

Profile of Richard Torbay MP

Intro, on the front page: here And the main story inside, The rise and rise of Richard Torbay

The latest from Wendy James

Having just filed a news story for the Armidale Express about how and why novelist Wendy James caricatures Armidale in her new novel, The Mistake, as well as a book review detailing what a tremendous read it is, I went looking to see if the feature I did on Wendy and her sister Rebecca for the Sydney Morning Herald was out there on the wild web somewhere. And it is! Well, at least in plain text form. It's available here

Depicting the year, a day at a time

Yesterday it was my turn to contribute to the 3six5 project, a worldwide online chronicle of 2011 from 365 points of view. My entry, about early morning walks, magpies and Mum, is here

The Thunderbolt Mystery

I was invited to a location shoot at the old fossicking grounds in Uralla, to do a story about the making of a new docudrama about controversial local bushranger, Captain Thunderbolt. The atmosphere on set was surprisingly relaxed - probably because the actors were amateurs (albeit brilliantly cast ones), didn't have any lines to remember (the scenes were dialogue-free re-enactments), and the film crew consisted of only two people (director/cameraman Shayne Cantly and his lovely, warm partner/producer Jo Cantly).

I spent a guilt-inducing amount of time chatting to the actors and watching the filming. It was great fun. The guy who played Thunderbolt was perfect, a genuine slow-talking Aussie bushman by the name of Clint Poulsen. He lives on an isolated property 120km west of Chinchilla and landed the role of Fred 'Thunderbolt' Ward after his wife sent in a photo of him on his horse.

"The wife and I heard on the wireless that they were looking for someone to play Thunderbolt," Clint told me, the strong country burr in his voice evoking memories of long-dead, rustic great-uncles. "He had to ride a horse and have a beard. I never thought any more about it. But when I came back from work that afternoon, the wife said she'd put my name down for it. I thought it was a bit of a joke. I went off mustering for three days and when I got back she said I had the part."

While I was there, they re-enacted a legendary tale from Thunderbolt's life, about the time he and his teenage sidekick, Will Monckton, robbed some wandering minstrels on the road between Tenterfield and Warwick. When the bushranger demanded their money, the musicians protested that they had almost none. Thunderbolt relieved them of three pounds, and ordered them to perform for him. He liked their act, and promised that if he had a win at the Tenterfield races he'd send them back their money. His horse did win, and the money was returned, or so the story goes.

Jo suggested that I come back later that afternoon, to watch them filming the horse chase scenes. I wrestled with my conscience - I had more than enough material for a good story already. Luckily for me, it tipped down rain and I stayed diligently at my desk.

The full version of this article appeared in The Armidale Express on 24 October 2011, on p.1 and p.7. There's a preview here

A country journalist - tasks for today

I'm always surprised by how many people discount country journalism and don't bother to buy the local paper. I had lunch with an academic friend recently who seemed bemused that I'd want a part-time postdoctoral fellowship so I could continue working at the Armidale Express. She even asked me if I'd 'ever considered journalism as a profession?' - by which she meant a job on a "real" newspaper, a daily in the city covering serious, important stories.

Although the list of things that I'll be working on today by no means represent a typical day at the Express, tasks like these do come along often enough to keep me hooked:

1. Writing up the speech Walkley-award winning journalist David Marr gave in Armidale on Tuesday about the 'politics of panic' driving Australia's asylum seeker policies

2. Waiting to hear back from federal MP Tony Windsor about his reaction to what Armidale-based environmental activist Carmel Flint said about the bill he's just introduced to Parliament (it's aiming to protect water resources from coal seam gas exploration - something dear to Carmel's own heart - but she's called it 'a toothless trigger')

3. Interviewing former PLC student Fiona Simson, who in July became the first woman to head the NSW Farmers Association (largely on the strength of her campaigning against CSG exploration and its effects on food production) for a profile in our next glossy Seasons magazine

I reckon that sounds like an interesting day's work!

Compassionate Bastard

'Crushing lives, with compassion', a review of my friend Peter Mitchell's new book, can be found under Features - 2011, on the right.

Tackling Armidale's alcohol issues

Beyond Empathy's 'Just One Less' project is trying to kickstart a community conversation about binge drinking, risk-taking behaviours in young people and how we as a culture use and abuse alcohol. The feature I did for the winter 2011 edition of Seasons magazine (published by The Armidale Express) showcases the sensational outdoor projections they've got planned for July and profiles the fascinating woman behind the organisation, Armidale's Kim McConville. I've uploaded it as a pdf file into Google docs because there's a stunning photograph - zoom in a few times to read the text or see the text-only version under the 'Publications - Features 2011' page on the right.

btw this electronic version corrects the unfortunate last-minute production error in the magazine that caused my first word to be printed as 'Comong' instead of 'Coming'...

Covering the PM's visit to Armidale on Wednesday May 18

On television the previous night, I'd seen Prime Minister Julia Gillard alighting at Tamworth airport, Tony Windsor in tow, for the opening of a sports stadium. The Tamworth event organiser said the news of Gillard's presence at the opening had been embargoed till that morning. So she'll be on her way here tomorrow, I thought, just like we heard on the grapevine last month, and we won't find out about it until tomorrow.

Wednesday morning, I leapt out of bed when the bugle sounded at 6.30am, and quickly turned on the radio as if there might be an announcement that in Armidale today, Janene Carey would be covering the NBN launch by Julia Gillard. But I'd missed the start of the news and it wasn't till I was halfway through my shower that Chris popped his head around the door to say the visit was happening.

I opted for my suit and my purple shirt with the white ruffled neckline. The shirt is getting a bit old but goes well with the suit. Luckily I'd worn the suit to the office a few times since the colder weather began, so it wasn't going to look too try-hard if I wasn't chosen. I actually expected the gig would go to Peter Barrett, our news editor and most senior journalist, but he was committed elsewhere. Also wondered if it might be Mitch, as he's keen on politics and handled most of the Tony Windsor interviews last year when the three Independents suddenly became important. But it was me.

It was all a bit surreal. The editor said I should be at PLC at 11am, but visits to TAFE and UNE were also on the agenda for unknown times. Every phone number I rang trying to get a schedule diverted me to voicemail. Press releases kept lobbing into my inbox and Christian kept popping back to my desk with more tips and instructions augmenting what he'd said in the editorial meeting earlier. I was to do a quick, five para news story for the website, but was to focus mainly on peripheral stories of local importance because by the time we put out our next paper on Friday, all the hard news ground would have been well and truly trampled by everyone else. I was to provide the colour, the atmosphere, and the names of local folk - particularly children - who'd interacted with Julia. And I was to get 20-30 photos, including some to send to an expanding list of papers - Daily Leader, SMH, the Age, the Fin Review. And the Glen Innes Examiner, who'd called to say their mayor would be present and could I get a pic of him too, preferably with the PM?

As it turned out, the photos consumed most of my effort for the least impressive result and I don't think any of the metro papers used what I sent. Being short and not very assertive, I found myself at the back of the media pack at the most critical moments. I did try to think ahead and get in position, and I managed to take some decent pics of each speaker, but nothing stunning. I missed the money shot, when they all gathered around to press the button, as that was a riot of cameras and elbows. Luckily the next day Dave Elkins - the UNE photographer who is a handy six foot something - was kind enough to send me one he'd taken. Despite all the time I spent gliding from place to place and sitting crouched on the floor up the front of the room, my best photos ended up being the ones I'd done before the launch began, of Julia being greeted by the PLC head girls. The whole thing was a bigger spectacle than I'd anticipated, and having two people there - one concentrating on taking notes and talking to people and the other snapping photos and recording names would have been more effective.

At the press conference, I was struck by the boldness of the young female reporters, particularly one sporting jeans and long hair with an insouciant I'm-not-impressed-by-you attitude and no qualms at all about asking questions designed to be confrontational. I asked no questions myself - I just took notes, and the criticisms and responses became one of my stories. The only question I did consider asking - do you all (the panel was Gillard, Conroy, Windsor, Quigley) - see the NBN as an important legacy of your time in office? - seemed too nice, too polite, almost a Dorothy Dixer. Given the negative tone of what had been posed previously, I thought it would probably be greeted with howls of derision. I did try it on Windsor as he left, but he was rushing to catch up with the rest of the gang and seemed wary of sounding immodest and claiming too much credit for himself.

I ate lunch in the car as I drove from PLC to TAFE. Arrived a little late, but fortunately the best bit - Graeme Wilton the building studies teacher giving a demo of how broadband could improve his ability to diagnose student problems on a work site - came toward the end. He was a supremely confident, droll performer, sitting there totally at ease between Gillard and Conroy, and I got a good pic of everyone looking vastly entertained by his double-hander with the student on the screen.

Next stop for the PM was TuneFM at UNE but I decided there was no point following her to a radio station just to stand outside, so I went back to the Express to deal with the photos and get something up on the web.

I did four stories for Friday's paper - the one about the part played by PLC students at the launch is here.

btw I completely forgot about photographing the Mayor of Glen Innes. It was always going to be difficult as there was a crowd of 700 or so there, and I don't know what he looks like.

365 days of life around the world

I've been accepted as one of the blog authors on the3six5 project, which aims to tell the story of 2011 from 365 points of view, one day at a time. Part history, part diary, from contributors around the world.
On my assigned date – November 14 – I’ll post an account of what life's been like for me that day, in no more than 365 words. It happens to be the anniversary of my mum's death, so perhaps that will get a mention, along with whatever fate tosses my way.
They’re still looking for authors; to apply, you tell them a bit about yourself.
This is what I sent:
I'm a newspaper journalist in an Australian country town of 25,000 people. There's a university here, where I do casual academic work, and a good theatre, music and literary scene. I've been at the paper for about two years and love the variety of things I get to cover. Apart from work, my life contains a four kids, a husband, a dog that's a cross between a labrador and a fox terrier, an affectionate ginger cat, seven chickens, a PhD thesis that's being examined, and a book manuscript of creative nonfiction stories that I'm trying to get published. I seem to be the only "Janene Carey" on the web apart from a triathlete in South Africa.

Feast from Sophie

Author Sophie Masson is busily creating a biographical,culinary, cultural feast of blog posts about that exotic place where French and Australian food intersect
A la mode frangourou
I'll be offering a 'taste' of it in our next Seasons magazine.

Submissions

Well, I've submitted my PhD thesis to the university and my 'Hospital Bed at Home' book manuscript to a literary agent.
Now the waiting begins.

Interview with the writer/director of 'The Forgotten Australians'

An article I did for The Armidale Express (10 December 2010) has been included in the National Museum of Australia's collection of stories about life in children's homes, and can be seen at http://nma.gov.au/blogs/inside/2010/12/15/close-to-home/
It's an interview with Nicola Woolmington, the writer and director of a documentary called 'The Forgotten Australians' which was shown on SBS television on November 16.
Amazingly, I did three stories inspired by this film before finding out that Nicola had grown up in Armidale!
The first was a preview of the documentary highlighting the fact that it mentioned Armidale's St Patrick's Orphanage, and featured a local woman, Tracey, who was there in the 1970s. That stirred up a lot of community angst and was followed by two divergent takes on what it was like growing up at St Pats. Basically, one presented the views of various women who were there in the forties, fifties and sixties, who maintained that it was not such a bad place and even though there were only four nuns to care for eighty children, the amount of work the kids were expected to do was much like the chores that any child would do in a family at that time, and the nuns treated them in a 'firm but fair' fashion. The other corroborated Tracey's account - it was a harrowing tale of being overworked and physically and emotionally abused, told to me by a woman whose life story was written on her face and who repeatedly spoke of her five-year-old self as 'a horrible child' who 'got punished accordingly'.
So the interview with Nicola was the fourth (and I think, final) one on the topic, and it focused on the significance of her documentary, the long haul of bringing it to completion, the feedback she's received since it aired, and her background as an ex-Armidale girl who became a film maker.

What makes us love somebody

This thoughtful, beautifully cadenced discussion about what love is, from an old episode of the Philosopher's Zone, loaded onto my iPod when I switched to a new computer, and I found myself listening to it again today. The audio and transcript are available here. Do we love someone because of their particular characteristics? If so, why we go on loving them when those qualities change? Do we respond to them with an open heart because we appreciate and value what we perceive of their inner self? But if an authentic, autonomous self is not fully present - as with a child, or a senile parent - does that mean we can't love them? Jeanette Kennett from ANU steps through all these ideas and more.

Retreat to the Castle

My printed copy of Australian Book Review for June may not have landed in the mailbox, but the cover, contents list, and selected free articles are online now, including my Calibre Prize shortlisted essay, which is available here

I want to thank Helen Garner...

... not because I admire her writing (although I certainly do) but because of her wise words about not-writing at the 2008 AAWP conference. I had the most hideous day on Monday (at the desk, straining, unable to produce anything) followed by such a productive morning on Tuesday that I was skipping during my 5km walk at lunchtime. It was rereading Helen Garner's keynote speech that got me through the not-writing stage and out the other side. It's enormously reassuring and can be found at www.aawp.org.au/files/keynote-Garner.pdf

Back in chilly Armidale

It was a bit of a shock to return to minus degrees after several days of island life here, sitting on a verandah with a view of palm trees and Keppel Bay, chatting to people about writing instead of doing it myself...
I went snorkelling a couple of times (didn't see much) and traipsed over Kanomi trying and failing to find the highest point (they need to do more maintenance on their walking tracks). And of course there were the workshops. Four of them - Introduction to Life Writing, Memoir and Memory, Morning Pages, and Polishing & Publishing. The twenty participants were all attentive and well-behaved and applied themselves to the practical work with diligence and enthusiasm. It was much less daunting than I'd expected and I got to hear some utterly fascinating stories.