tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61553132180578154422011-07-08T03:01:49.149-07:00Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.comBlogger1861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-81056273248614892422010-06-08T18:36:00.000-07:002010-06-08T18:44:44.719-07:00

New look, new blogging, at the imaginatively titled Emily Gale.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-26019967611080141522010-01-08T03:01:00.000-08:002010-01-08T03:10:56.459-08:00

www.emilygale.co.uk

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-69083681898568465632010-01-04T00:26:00.000-08:002010-01-04T00:49:36.268-08:00

I've been blogging for about three years. I started it because I was struggling so much with finding a balance between raising young children full-time and writing, and I needed to get some of that frustration and confusion out. Some of my posts have been about my children, some about writing, some about trying to make the two harmonious. I've blogged about Tupperware, fancy dress parties,

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-25833443836312956482009-12-23T18:26:00.000-08:002009-12-23T19:10:30.616-08:00

5 YA books I can't wait to read in 2010Swapped By A Kiss / Luisa PlajaThis much-awaited sequel to the fabulous, warm-hearted and funny Split By A Kiss features feisty Rachel who, suspicious of her boyfriend David's commitment to her and feeling sick to death of being in her own skin, suddenly finds herself swapping bodies with Jo (the main character of the first book). I love Luisa's writing, I

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-71935571190851641752009-12-22T16:09:00.000-08:002009-12-22T17:05:20.037-08:00

Over at the impressive Persnickety Snark (reviewer of YA books with a special interest in Aussie authors), Adele has been putting together the FIVE CHALLENGE, featuring lists of 5 bookish things in various categories (great covers, great debuts, best YA bloggers, etc). Inspired by that - and fuelled by a very great need to Get Over Myself (heady combination of vile PMT and homesickness) - I'm

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-18665493303294026422009-11-26T15:30:00.000-08:002009-11-26T15:33:52.984-08:00

Please help free a copy of my book from the confines of a cardboard box. Go here for details.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-39241498028096928742009-11-15T22:48:00.000-08:002009-11-15T23:07:03.592-08:00

One of the (many) ways I reveal myself to be a Proper Pom is the way I squeal at native wildlife - though I have improved slightly since last year when I got very excited about possums (the equivalent of tourists in the UK taking squillions of photos of grey squirrels), mainly because the buggers have eaten the strawberry plant and keep pooing on the garden furniture. I'm all outta love for them

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-38664317454365717822009-11-10T17:19:00.001-08:002009-11-10T17:24:25.890-08:00

We've done "books are like babies" to death, now let's try "books are like carrots". This is what happens when you want to see the results of your efforts so badly that you harvest prematurely... Cute effort, but basically no good to anyone in the long-run (after we'd killed ourselves laughing and taken a photo, we left it to wither on the kitchen bench). So next time you think your manuscript is

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-9701979721555513352009-11-09T00:52:00.000-08:002009-11-09T01:28:50.455-08:00

I don't write book reviews these days, but I wanted to mention Threads by Sophia Bennett because it's the first book I've read in ages, which makes me want to shout from the rooftops: I'M ME AGAIN!I think I'm just recovering from the author's version of cold feet before a wedding. The build-up towards my own book being released reached silly proportions (in my head, I mean) and I found I could

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-14653979081680903322009-11-05T00:58:00.000-08:002009-11-05T01:38:25.334-08:00

A good-writer-friend of mine (she's a good writer and a good friend) recently asked me if talking about my novel as a NaNoWriMo project worried me at all. I said "no", with the gusto of a writer who discovered the benefits of NaNo a little way along the line, as if I have to make up for the times I've privately thought that NaNoWriMo was a bit like "rushing your homework". Because, I have to

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-27453685743610325932009-10-23T16:46:00.000-07:002009-10-23T17:30:08.599-07:00

I get different reactions when I say I write for teenagers. Some people are very excited, because they know what a lively and varied genre it is, and they don't care who sees them reading a book that's marketed to folk much younger than they are. Sometimes people are not really sure what to say - maybe they would never consider reading teenage fiction, or they don't know any teenagers, and it's

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-61769134603676548002009-10-20T01:18:00.000-07:002009-10-20T01:53:47.550-07:00

It's 7pm on the day I gave up housework to see how that might affect my writing life...and it's a monumental disaster, people. I thought that if I stopped mopping the floor or hanging up the washing I'd maybe free up the odd minute for my book - okay, that was a bit optimistic considering the fact that I have a 2 year old at home full-time and that any time he sees I'm not occupied (and, no,

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-1638084847387438732009-10-19T05:02:00.000-07:002009-10-19T05:12:56.185-07:00

Housework Ban to commence at 00.00 hours.Ben linen: cleanHair: de-liced (nb. no actual lice located...may have been hoax)Floor: toy-free, raisin-free, Playdoh-freeDinner tonight: crackers, and some salami we'd forgotten about from...a while agoThe Australian: tetchyThe children: obliviousMe: ripping off my marigolds with my teethBrace yourself, Household, for what happens when: Mummy Goes

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-19829465814698933512009-10-18T17:43:00.000-07:002009-10-18T17:48:49.680-07:00

I've tried to embrace Australian Idol, really I have, but gawd-blimey-guvnor it's dull as ditchwater compared to the brilliant/awful/brilliantly awful British X-Factor. Thank you, YouTube (nasty ITV.com won't let me watch the show from Oz). And I can only agree with Simon Cowell when he says, at the end, that it's a bit like watching The Exorcist for the first time: you know you shouldn't put

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-5934222094444369902009-10-18T00:24:00.000-07:002009-10-18T00:34:19.163-07:00

Egads! A spanner in the works only hours before The Experiment II is due to begin. Or rather, not a spanner but a nit. A nit with no wit, crawling in The Girl's golden locks...and so I must avail myself of one of those blasted combs and wash all linen. And try to find the Czech word for 'nit' so I can explain to our houseguest why we suddenly smell like a laboratory. For logistical reasons all

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-76232646595317574552009-10-15T19:16:00.000-07:002009-10-15T19:31:05.429-07:00

1. Girl, Aloud will now be available from November... What's that you say? The November that's in just two weeks? Why, yes indeed, that's the November I mean.2. Inspired by the talented and successful writers I know who claim they don't do any housework, I'm giving it up as an experiment for one week, starting on Monday. I will post before and after photos for your viewing pleasure. When I

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-51006473511805763372009-10-06T23:55:00.000-07:002009-10-07T00:22:35.452-07:00

It was gratifying to discover that I have the ability to stay away from the internet for a whole week. (There's a point to this; I'll stop bigging-myself-up in a sec.) I'll be honest: it was really really really really hard. I gave up meat for 10 years but a week without Facebook was tougher.The soaring word count helped (10k in total), as did the fact that I used my friend Sam as a replacement

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-70907688248072564132009-09-26T20:32:00.000-07:002009-09-26T21:10:55.426-07:00

I am a yo-yo.I can't tell you how that compares to being, say, the walrus, or a rock, or an island, but there's something about about my wiring that makes any promise I make to myself or any mood I manage to get myself into become very intense but inevitably short-lived. Up, down, up, down, happy, sad, happy, sad, industrious, workshy, healthy-eating, binger, chilled-out, laid-back...unlike my

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-75754029519995528882009-09-19T01:05:00.000-07:002009-09-19T01:20:15.331-07:00

Go to Help! I Need A Publisher! and read a better version of what I've been trying to say recently, by Nicola Morgan.I don't know about you, but I need to examine my work- (or lack of work-) habits and make resolutions several times a year...okay, several times a week...just to get the books written. That's not a sign that my passion for writing is deficient but just an indication that like so

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-58322866613989004322009-09-18T00:38:00.000-07:002009-09-18T00:52:49.575-07:00

Like a lot of...er, people...I used to think there was only one place I could do it: in my bedroom with the curtains drawn, completely alone, with a cigarette on stand-by for afterwards.But now I can do it almost anywhere.I am of course talking about writing. Back in the days when I thought it was the surroundings and props (kind of wish I hadn't started this now) that would help The Muse to

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-16844349834769030232009-09-09T22:52:00.000-07:002009-09-13T20:52:40.757-07:00

I plan my novels much like I plan my outfits. Here's roughly how I plan an outfit:Decide outfit absolutely must consist of these particular earrings or this particular bag. Sigh with relief that I'm off the starting block. Reward self by doing something completely different, carrying around in the back of my mind a fuzzy image of the final outfit with that one clear detail. Realise it's the night

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-10227433639407497872009-09-07T19:11:00.000-07:002009-09-07T19:15:21.964-07:00

It's fair to say that about 95% of the really cool stuff (and 100% of the truly disturbing stuff, but don't let that put you off) I read on the internet comes from This Man, who has started blogging. Go there. Enjoy.For example:39 Truths About All Of Us

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-31837472875526750432009-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:002009-09-03T03:02:09.153-07:00

There are some really good excuses for Not Writing. Even if the novel is going well, even if it's already taking up half the space in your head and writing those characters feels like coming home, sometimes Life decides the novelist is having it a bit too easy (thanks, Life). Moving house was my latest good excuse. I knew that if I said it out loud: 'I'm so annoyed with myself for not writing

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-13257233765405886312009-08-31T01:37:00.000-07:002009-08-31T01:39:05.073-07:00

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-76742104428393957462009-08-28T05:25:00.000-07:002009-08-28T06:23:37.387-07:00

News in brief:We moved.Six doors down the road.Using trolleys, friends, neighbours and small children.I am a tad too weary to go into it.So I shall end this, frankly trying, week with a Meme, courtesy of the always fabulous Keris Stainton.Theme: Call Yourself A Writer?1. Which words do you use too much in your writing?Probably and maybe creep into first drafts a lot - I take great pleasure in

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-21445028645666015902009-08-18T01:01:00.000-07:002009-08-18T02:56:19.157-07:00

There is a mystical force that makes some days go swimmingly and others sink, even if all the circumstances are the same. Why is it that some days I have agreeable children who eat the nutritious food I lovingly prepare from scratch, while I manage to whip around the house making it shiny, achieve a dozen other miscellaneous things and then write a decent 1000 words on my novel before falling

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-86464034048669480992009-08-11T20:43:00.000-07:002009-08-11T20:51:14.436-07:00

I was a Parent On Duty at the Girl's kinder/nursery (take your pick) last week. This usually involves twenty-six children climbing on me while the teachers look on with a 'you're more trouble that you're worth' look - I just don't seem to have any authority. Children see me as a climbing frame / clown / object of derision.Now that the Ugg boots are a little too disgusting to wear outside, I have

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-79379810359813005612009-08-08T01:22:00.000-07:002009-08-08T01:34:23.810-07:00

I have finally grown up, and it's all thanks to that crafty lot over at Berrylicious Buttons for running a competition I couldn't resist entering (describe in 50 words or less why cloth napkins are better than paper napkins). I have never owned cloth napkins before! It's a whole new world of sophistication. Those of you who remember The Australian's big issue with wiping his hands will be

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-45238667340409975942009-08-02T18:38:00.000-07:002009-08-02T19:02:32.117-07:00

Since our cat arrived on the scene, both of our fish have died (RIP Sam and Jam), but unless the autopsy reveals Death By Intimidation, the cat's in the clear.The Australian and I have a good history of keeping fish (we even accidentally bred them once, leading me to run around the flat screaming FISH BABIES FISH BABIES!) but these two have only lasted since March (The Girl's birthday present).

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-39687336701870314152009-07-29T14:27:00.000-07:002009-07-29T14:33:51.233-07:00

Apparently we are moving house with one of these. Yep, I mean the trolley, not the van behind it. To complement this plan I shall be handing boxes to passers-by: "Just pop that seven doors down, would you? Ta."

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-79003284023544115902009-07-28T02:05:00.000-07:002009-07-28T02:42:55.610-07:00

Oh, Life, you surprising thing you. Just when I thought we'd decided on the next step:Move baysideGet dog......You pull one of your famous stunts and we find ourselves with a rather different outcome:Moving 7 doors down the roadGot catMoving down the road seems horribly unadventurous; just a bit too easy. Maybe emigrating took it all out of us and we'll have to move seven doors at a time from now

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-60215104420083298992009-07-15T04:58:00.000-07:002009-07-15T05:47:33.358-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that I'm more of a homebody than I ever imagined. When I went away to university, when I officially moved out of the family home for good, and again when I emigrated, I allowed myself to believe that I was slightly more exciting - that I wasn't bound by piffling concepts like "feeling settled". But the gig's up. I don't need to know where I'm going to be in five years

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-59671146504171446032009-07-06T22:23:00.001-07:002009-07-06T22:54:56.920-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that the Meg Ryan Talisman did the trick - the big red cross has been wiped from my front door. Judging by the number of neighbourhood folk who've inquired after my health since my self-imposed quarantine was lifted, I must have briefly been part of Local Gossip - how thrilling.Funny how life can give a writer unexpected gifts of insight - being cooped up all that time (

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-59559774776305317982009-06-29T22:48:00.001-07:002009-06-29T22:55:32.115-07:00

OK, I upset Parky - that much is obvious, because just two days after I damned him in the post below he arranged for a very grave punishment.Pig Flu!Of all the inelegant-sounding, media-hyped, but still fairly-unpleasant-when-experienced-first-hand diseases to inflict upon a poor struggling author.Michael, you have made it clear you are not to be messed with, so I shall be keeping this MEG RYAN

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-65486839880742586152009-06-23T02:39:00.000-07:002009-06-23T03:15:10.369-07:00

What do you call the force that makes everything happen at once as soon as a writer sits down to begin a new novel?I wish that was the start of a joke but it's an actual question. It seems a bit obvious to blame Sod or Murphy...maybe it's Parkinson I should point the finger at. Parkinson said:"Work expands so as to fill the timeavailable for its completion." What's that you say? It's not Michael

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-9212781520197721592009-06-19T02:39:00.000-07:002009-06-19T03:07:28.615-07:00

For the most part, The Australian leaves me to my whitterings about the defining quirks of his people - he knows it's just my funny little way of dealing with being a fish out of water - and retaliates with just the occasional "That's soooo English" whenever I say something unfriendly.But yesterday he came downstairs after putting The Girl to bed with such a look of triumph on his face that I

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-27925053356524475472009-06-15T05:10:00.000-07:002009-06-15T06:14:04.806-07:00

People keep telling me that my daughter is extremely small, and yet I look up to her in lots of ways. She's full of surprises, and has embraced the move to Australia in a way that makes me wonder if we are actually related. Yesterday she got ready for (yet another) party - she knew exactly what she wanted to wear... pink and purple striped tights, white gypsy skirt, mauve top, pink beads and

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-35663115312404913152009-06-05T03:18:00.000-07:002009-06-05T03:22:42.885-07:00

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-39882597541091542242009-06-03T19:06:00.000-07:002009-06-03T19:45:54.640-07:00

To a writer, there can be no more satisfying words to type than The End. Except, maybe, "Yes, I'd be delighted to accept your seven-figure offer, and cheers very much for the Nobel." But The End comes a close second.There must have been something in the air yesterday, because not long after I'd typed those magic words I discovered that two writers whose blogs I follow had done the same: hurrah

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-75412656370654860012009-05-31T23:17:00.000-07:002009-05-31T23:41:25.797-07:00

My friend sent me an sms: 'Just seen a magazine called Whingeing Pom!' I don't know why on earth he thought that might be of interest to me... But out of general interest in others who might possibly be considered to be both whingers and Poms, I had a look.Turns out I'm not a Pom at all, I'm a Possie - well, a low-grade one, since apparently a true Possie has dual nationality; us mere permanent

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-2541159832789836752009-05-31T01:26:00.000-07:002009-05-31T01:52:33.724-07:00

[cont'd from Part 1]7. Trust... Maybe it's just the folk in my local area, but to me, a hardened Londoner (well, not really, I was from West Hampstead) the sight of people leaving $1000 prams and a collection of children's bikes on their porches overnight makes me feel like we're on Walton's Mountain. Where are all the thieves? People leave prams outside coffee shops, too - I mean, how long do

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-7915793725874720702009-05-27T05:11:00.000-07:002009-05-27T05:54:45.410-07:00

If you're a fan of YA fiction...If you've got two minutes to spare tomorrow (or one if you speed-read)...If you think you might enjoy the sad sight of me trying to talk like a grown-up...Check out my offering on The Sarah Dessen Diarist tomorrow, part of a celebration of this highly successful YA author.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-78783883519421545862009-05-26T01:19:00.000-07:002009-05-26T06:46:59.665-07:00

Everyone says, when you're emigrating to Australia: "Oh well, at least you won't have to learn a whole new language."Are they kidding?Here are a just a few of the words and phrases you'll be forced to absorb unless you want to be ridiculed at every turn (actually, you'll still attract derision if, like me, you tend to say Aussie words with a kind of Hugh Grant awkward coyness, but at least if you

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-51659892914476424092009-05-24T03:53:00.000-07:002009-05-24T04:38:54.468-07:00

It's been a busy time, in a good way.Last week I decided I'd had enough of the pace at which my 2nd draft was going (as if the pace was somehow not of my making, but an Evil Force I had to battle with). I decided it was target time. I respond very well to targets - it goes back to my days as a convent girl, yearning for that gold star, or yearning for Sister to stop pinching my earlobes with her

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-30747706439895188242009-05-14T23:44:00.000-07:002009-05-15T00:22:07.697-07:00

I've been tagged by chick-lit author Claire Allan over at Diary of a Mad Mammy, so here goes:8 Things I Like:- I like that feeling I get when I've read the first page of a new book and I know, I just know, that I'm going to love it (recently: A Kind Of Intimacy, Jenn Ashworth). I usually pause at that point and take the time for an excited sort of sigh. I nudge The Australian and tell him. He

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-35018735033592029772009-05-13T20:12:00.000-07:002009-05-14T04:39:46.587-07:00

This list will come in handy if the following apply to you:1. You are emigrating to Australia, esp. Melbourne.2. You are the sort of person who quite often leaves the house and then panics that you've forgotten to put your trousers on.OK, so here's Part 1 of the things I've learned (the hard way) in the year we've been living here.1. When you ask for a loaf of bread in the bakery and they say "

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-30860317991323402692009-05-08T18:32:00.001-07:002009-05-08T18:42:53.283-07:00

When I click my fingers, you will have no recollection of the nice pink banner that used to sit on the right.I never went to London. There was no party. The Girl You Think I Am? You've never heard of it.I didn't put the nice book cover in the freezer amongst the calamari and the Calippos.July publication? No no, you have no memory of that.You will forget it all, and start a series of silly walks

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-52091463620810162322009-04-28T02:53:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:56:46.505-07:00

In her previous post, the author claimed that today is her one-year anniversary of arriving in Australia. It has since come to light (courtesy of someone smirking sheepishly) that tomorrow is in fact the anniversary. Yesterday was the day they departed. And today a year ago they were in mid-air, ie. Nowhere. Which explains a lot.As you were.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-53876420634719534152009-04-27T21:55:00.000-07:002009-04-27T22:24:43.737-07:00

We arrived in Melbourne exactly a year ago today. I have absolutely no idea how I should feel about that - perhaps, as I explained in my Lessons post, it will hit me by the end of the week and I'll write something more emotional and meaningful then than what I'm about to write . . .The big question all year has been: do you feel settled yet? I wish people would leave off the 'yet'. Some of them

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-33695337262712520492009-04-26T05:48:00.000-07:002009-04-26T06:18:29.413-07:00

I've never had much luck keeping a diary. I always thought the cause was a general flakiness on my part, but in truth the only thing slightly flaky about me - despite my hopelessness when it comes to footwear, my forgetfulness of personal details, and my fear of nearly all social situations that don't involve very close friends and wine - is psoriasis.No, the real cause is my uptightness. I can't

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-10577453040199370812009-04-14T04:44:00.000-07:002009-04-14T05:53:57.890-07:00

Indulge me as I make a timeline - I feel the need for that kind of perspective on the eve of my Big Scary Trip.March 04: first baby bornMarch 05: writing starts in earnestSept 05: sign with first agentSept 06: part ways with first agentNov 06: take part in NaNoWriMo, starting the book that has since become The Girl You Think I AmDec 06: second baby bornMarch 08: sign with second agentApril 08:

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-54400868845166752102009-04-13T04:29:00.000-07:002009-04-13T04:38:36.213-07:00

Flew a kite today for the first time ever. And none of the things I feared would go wrong went wrong! (did not strangle anyone with kite string, did not give innocent passers-by concussion by making kite dive bomb, did not get kite tangled with other, more professional kite, did not fall over while walking backwards to find good wind... Completely and utterly not stuck!)

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-67448708740497030932009-04-12T06:15:00.000-07:002009-04-12T06:29:56.865-07:00

First we brought to you: Stuck In A Dress. Now, for your viewing pleasure, we bring you:Stuck On A Bike.1."Oh, shit - help!""Mum, what are you doing?""I'm stuck! Go get your father! And put that camera down or I'm confiscating all your toys!""What's confiscating?""Argh, I mean it, I'm stuck! Get help!"2."What seems to be the trouble here?" "Well, I thought I'd have a go on your bike.""In the

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-2163161743548696692009-04-11T05:47:00.000-07:002009-04-11T00:31:05.799-07:00

Last weekend I did something I haven't done for a very long time. (No, Mum, it wasn't 'the ironing'. And no sniggering at the back there, either!) I went away for the weekend toSydney . . . without the children.For five years I had not even contemplated leaving them . . . okay, that's a lie, I had contemplated running to the hills an awful lot, but they were local hills and I only intended to

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-10066105088831416042009-04-09T07:03:00.000-07:002009-04-09T07:07:34.843-07:00

I realise that my blog is becoming a directory for other, funnier blogs, but I have to mention this one - Slightly South of Sanity - which has had me in blissful fits of giggles this evening. Oh I do love a laugh. Enjoy!

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-45813821316394831472009-04-08T00:39:00.000-07:002009-04-08T00:47:59.909-07:00

While I'm wrestling with picture books (you should see the paper cuts) check out this funny and honest new blog called The Fertility Diaries.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-48129677270553266082009-03-25T03:10:00.000-07:002009-03-25T03:37:41.592-07:00

Thank you extremely muchly for this award, BookChildWorld. It has given me a warm glow during a week in which I got stuck in a dress (see post below), locked myself out of the house and was told that I "don't look like a normal mum" by a 6 year old (yes, the jibes about my inappropriate fashion sense and general inability to behave like a grown-up in public continue).I am happy to pass on the

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-41493418761083689832009-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:002009-03-17T18:53:24.021-07:00

1. Your toddler is snoozing in the pram. You think: 'The perfect moment for a shopping spree!' If you are quick, you'll be able to nip into this shop - there is a sale! - and try on a couple of things before he wakes up. Hurry! This dusky pink dress - is it too girlish? Sod it! It's a lovely day and you only had yoghurt for breakfast - you're practically a waif (in a size 14)... Park the sleeping

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-87879351548914856672009-03-12T01:00:00.001-07:002009-03-17T00:54:11.380-07:00

In February I attended a local writers' festival called Writers At The Convent. I generally avoid anything that has the possibility of involving nuns (with all due respect to the hundreds of nuns I'm sure read this blog - I am of course genuflecting as I type), but this was well worth the risk.The talk that made me want to stand up and shout Hallelujah! was called 'The Divided Heart', and

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-39263539182391821292009-03-02T18:57:00.000-08:002009-03-02T19:12:59.832-08:00

The cover proofs for my novel arrived yesterday. I stuck one onto a copy of Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now (hoping that some of the bestsellerliness would rub off, perhaps, but mainly because the spine width was about right...sorry, Meg Rosoff, I shall restore your book to it's full glory when I've had my fun).I took photos of the book from all angles, including lined up with some of my favourite YA

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-4028654843973428002009-02-22T18:15:00.001-08:002009-02-22T18:33:39.460-08:00

How do I get thee to sleep? Let me count the ways... Over the years I have tried a variety of methods with the pair of them: rocking, breastfeeding, rocking while breastfeeding, womb music, lavender baby bubble bath, singing the same damn song every night, wearing a cuddly toy down my bra all day and then putting it in the cot at bedtime, pushchair, car, sling, eliminating certain foods, loading

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-83304371052990496492009-02-12T23:42:00.000-08:002009-02-12T23:53:38.324-08:00

On our first Valentine's Day, I made The Australian scrambled eggs with I LOVE YOU candles stuck into them. The candles melted between the kitchen and the bedroom, and so I presented him with blue/pink/green eggs with 8 burnt-out cocktail sticks. The year before last I baked him a giant heart cookie, elaborately decorated. It lived on the shelf in our kitchen, cruelly rejected. I kept saying "

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-62259193395148631052009-02-08T22:47:00.000-08:002009-02-08T23:37:07.474-08:00

Like any writer who is supposed to be working on her novel, I spend a lot of time analysing my blog stats (this activity comes under the General Procrastination category, along with cake-baking, deciding to sew a button on something you haven't worn in months, having to dash out to the bookshop for more "research", and staring out the window).During the course of my analysis it has come to my

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-86023304933971599922009-02-06T14:18:00.000-08:002009-02-08T20:45:35.656-08:00

This week I did my first ever reading (at my daughter's kinder...that's Australian for nursery school), of my pre-school version of Three Billy Goats' Gruff, published by Ladybird a couple of years ago.My pre-reading worries included:What if the children get up and return to the Lego after the first page?What if they yawn dramatically?What if the teacher stops me halfway through because I'm

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-27543222552930833942009-02-04T17:55:00.001-08:002009-02-04T18:17:00.529-08:00

Meanwhile, Book 2 is simply writing itself...I believe...we haven't been in touch for a while but I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-89962012025562035232009-01-31T23:21:00.000-08:002009-01-31T23:42:00.520-08:00

1. Pump up air mattress by hand so as to ensure a good night's sleep for competitor.2. Other members of the entourage may help with this task. This will not necessarily speed things up.3. Traveling light is not an option. Towels, shoes, hats, clothing, pre- and post-race snacks, and cuddly toys belonging to junior members of entourage must be carried, and even pushed across vast areas of sand. A

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-175672982654015662009-01-29T13:59:00.000-08:002009-01-29T14:19:05.758-08:00

I have become a swimming widow.I'd always felt pretty smug about The Australian's total lack of interest in anything sports related. While other women complained about being ignored in favour of 5-a-side after work, or the cricket season, or the Grand Prix (hi, Mum), I simply smiled and shrugged - I knew nothing of this pain.But apparently this was all to do with The Australian living in London.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-37043360993157625122009-01-19T17:37:00.000-08:002009-01-19T17:54:10.993-08:00

What a special, special chair. Who buys this? Do they buy one for each child? I mean, what if more than one child is naughty at the same time? Heavens! Where would the other child GO? TIME-OUT SEAT OVERLOAD! Mind you, it looks more like a bench - maybe if the children were very small you could fit a couple, even three, on there.I wonder, where in the house would one put such a seat? In the

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-202059764545171192009-01-19T01:06:00.000-08:002009-01-19T01:56:02.308-08:00

Since we moved to Oz, there have been a number of occasions when The (long-suffering) Australian has remarked, with slightly pitying smile, "You are SO English". He tends to say this when I have just complained about one of His People doing or saying something inappropriate. I want to give you examples but it might get me into trouble. And I do so loathe trouble. That kind, anyway.Lately I've

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-7646891537240258932009-01-13T22:47:00.000-08:002009-01-13T22:59:54.841-08:00

There once was a blogger from OzWho had plans to write a witty limerickUsing this tool,But found that the device pronounces it Ahz, not Oz,And therefore threw up such suggestions as: bras, and francoise.So she thought sod it,But wondered if anyone else fancied a go.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-87857147696109153352009-01-12T17:29:00.000-08:002009-01-12T18:25:20.606-08:00

Anyone who has tried to fit writing around full-time parenting of pre-schoolers will know that feeling of craving 'just five more minutes' to finish a sentence, or to seal the deal on a new plot twist you've been mind-coddling while grilling the fish fingers. It's all very well to suggest that writing comes post-bedtime, but after a full-on day of tidying up tiny bits of Lego, changing nappies,

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-2854928773441054362009-01-06T14:22:00.000-08:002009-01-06T14:28:11.564-08:00

Very funny blog post about Slush Piles here: Strictly Writing.Me having a first bash at answering author-type questions here: Bookarazzi.If that doesn't float your boat, there's always this: Rejection Letter.And finally, this: Take On Me.Don't say I never give ya nuffin'. Although you can, if you wish, say I keep giving you the same thing over and over.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-24930951089515069492009-01-04T14:36:00.000-08:002009-01-04T14:47:53.400-08:00

For those of you who were unaware that Writers' Shoulder is an existing medical condition, let me explain that if a pale, freckly writer living in, say, Melbourne, were to forego her Factor 30 one morning by the beach because the weather report said 17 degrees and she was actually quite chilly, waiting for her partner to take part in his first sea race in conditions so arctic that he was the only

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-28797073564111379672008-12-15T22:14:00.000-08:002008-12-15T22:48:11.592-08:00

We got into the car and went in search of a Real Christmas Tree. It had been raining for three days solid. We didn't know what to expect. The Australian had warned me not to get my hopes up. The Boy was articulating his extreme displeasure at being in the car by screaming. The Girl was shouting over him that she wanted THE BIGGEST TREE EVER IN THE WORLD. I just wanted to feel Christmassy, that's

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-49466434644658621312008-12-10T18:37:00.000-08:002008-12-10T18:38:30.258-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-9376635319255028792008-12-07T20:48:00.000-08:002008-12-07T21:25:38.601-08:00

It promises to be a very different Christmas for us this year. As usual I am syphoning out the doom and gloom of the situation and gargling with it.For a start, the unofficial weather prediction for Melbourne is fine and 30 degrees. Does that sound like Christmas to you? How does anyone have the energy to pull crackers and argue about politics in that kind of heat? Even more bizarre is the

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-81300552451454669222008-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:002008-12-01T23:36:17.641-08:00

I can't remember when it was that I became so hopeless at the basics. I was always a capable girl - irritatingly so, even. But now I struggle. We're talking Mr Bean territory here.As you may know, I could write a book entitled Inappropriate Adventures With My Ugg Boots. Or a pamphlet at least. And then there was the incident with the size 9s and my plan to stuff them with cotton wool to get over

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-82095960373946060622008-10-27T23:42:00.000-07:002008-10-28T00:01:24.684-07:00

...you wait ages for one to show up, and then five come along at once. You stick your arm out for the first one but the driver sees you have a pushchair and some shopping bags, and tears past you, by which time the second has decided you were going to get the first and keeps going, so you stick your hand out somewhat aggressively for the third, until you realise it's not going where you want it

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-83067967288677103592008-10-15T00:09:00.000-07:002008-10-15T00:27:43.496-07:00

I'm being terrorised by a fashion-conscious six-year-old.First it was the Uggs. Since that horrifying incident, during which she tried to forcibly remove the offending footwear from my person, she has kept up her Ugg-tormenting. "You're wearing your Uggs again!" she shouts from across the park. Then she comes closer, and looks from them, to me, with such derision that I feel a bit tight around

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-53367199515123221202008-10-07T01:31:00.000-07:002008-10-07T01:47:24.477-07:00

I was up early, at The Boy's insistence. We sat on the sofa; me bleary of eye and fuzzy of head, him raring to go. "Bugsla," he kept saying. "Bugsla," more earnest every time. I eventually worked out that he was saying A Bug's Life. It took me so long I actually agreed to let him watch it. Come on, it was 6am, not a time for wholesome activities like puzzles.I ate muesli. He had three bowls of

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-84287216313300741812008-09-28T02:54:00.000-07:002008-09-28T03:14:30.749-07:00

The Boy (22 months): Mumma? Cop porn.Me: I'm sorry what?The Boy: Me cop porn.Me: Please don't say that in front of the neighbours.The Boy: Cop porn?Me: Yes, don't say that.The Boy: Me cop porn? Me cop porn! Cop porn! COP PORN!Me: Shush!The Girl: Mum, he wants popcorn.Me: Oh. Thank god.Sappy hunday.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-34001729728827414812008-09-14T15:45:00.000-07:002008-09-14T15:55:50.664-07:00

Scene: Dreamworld theme park, the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It's a scorcher (ok it's only 27 degrees but it's a scorcher if you're blonde and prone to freckles...even if the blonde is largely bottled these days *heavy sigh*). Act 1The Teenager: You have to come on this amazing ride I've just been on. Come on come on, you have to, you'll love it.Me: No-no-no-no-no, I don't do

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-25793418481743538512008-09-08T05:09:00.000-07:002008-09-09T00:57:14.764-07:00

When they're not growling at each other because one wants to build a tower and the other wants to knock it down, The Girl (4) and The Boy (21 months) are heartbreakingly nice to each other. She often calls him simply "Brother" and seeks him out for comfort if I've told her off; she tries to heave him off the ground in order to show how strong she is (she manages half an inch, him being only 2kg

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-33015167466672596642008-09-01T05:03:00.000-07:002008-09-01T05:48:03.413-07:00

It came to my notice recently what a consistent approach I have to all creative projects - consistently mad, bad and stressful, with incredible highs and lows and a basic fingers-in-my-ears Lalalalala attitude to anyone daft enough to offer guidance along the way.The thought struck me as I wrestled (almost literally) with a chest of drawers I'd picked up cheap on ebay for the children's bedroom (

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-26103426198198856122008-08-28T23:37:00.000-07:002008-08-28T23:40:08.667-07:00

Here I am, trying to sound a teensy-weensy bit cleverer than wot I normally do, with my review of Kate Grenville's superb The Idea of Perfection.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-21729549054390444992008-08-21T05:09:00.000-07:002008-08-21T05:33:16.861-07:00

Now that the taste of Moet and spicy crisps has gone from my mouth, and the novelty of sidling up to The Australian and declaring: "I'm a real and proper author, y'know . . . do you really think I should be mopping my own floors and changing shitty nappies?" has worn off (almost) I find myself wondering if it was all just a figment of my imagination because since the flurry of excited emails from

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-21639870021309953132008-08-14T04:50:00.000-07:002008-08-14T05:23:31.026-07:00

Partly because I'm scared to tell you this for fear of jinxing it, I'm backing into some news slowly and gently... Prepare for lift-off:5. I lay awake, thinking: "Oh god, oh god, oh god, what have I got myself into?"4. The Australian dashed out to buy champagne and when he returned we stood opposite each other glugging it at great speed while I broke the World Record for talking very fast with a

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-4230143225452444932008-08-03T21:19:00.000-07:002008-08-03T21:27:42.996-07:00

Last night I delivered the first draft of my new picture book to the kindly goddess-like editor who commissioned it and *might* want to make it into a series.Here it is in Wordle form. I'm not saying you should be interested, but you might want to make your own. 

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-6918792205494445132008-08-02T02:44:00.000-07:002008-08-02T03:20:34.354-07:00

You may remember last month that The Girl was giving me a bit of trouble on public transport (see Read With Mother). An update, of sorts, on her reading skills . . .  But first, a newsflash: our stuff has arrived. Yes, all 31 boxes and 2 non-box-but-bubble-wrapped-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives-es. This was supposed to be a euphoric moment. I'd kept saying to the "Have You Settled In Yet?"

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-29595096730611709282008-07-28T03:54:00.000-07:002008-07-28T03:58:02.533-07:00

I've just added a new post but because I started writing it last Sunday it appears underneath The Girl On Time (Again). I know there's a way of switching them, but I'm the kind of blogging illiterate who could wipe a year of posts without even trying. So just scroll. Please. I hope you don't get RSI because of my technical blunder. I worry about you, y'know.

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-51722006093117245152008-07-20T04:39:00.000-07:002008-07-21T06:56:14.066-07:00

Part I:[at lights-out time]The Girl: Dad, can you just stay with me a bit longer?The Australian: I can't, sweetheart, because my mum is visiting us this week and I've got to go downstairs and spend time with her.The Girl: But Dad, when you were a little boy you spent every single day with your mum. Now it's my turn.Part II:[while waiting for the prescribed 15 minutes to pass before I'd take her

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-42675261604004221872008-07-20T02:26:00.000-07:002008-07-28T03:51:33.994-07:00

I've always wondered how I'd fare living in a small town. I've wondered, calculated I'd feel exposed and scrutinised, and chosen to squish myself in with about 4 million others, in a place where I could blend in and go about my barmy little ways in peace. What I wasn't prepared for was moving into a street that thinks it's a small town. This has had its benefits, of course. We'd not long moved in

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-73933613818166872712008-07-10T03:55:00.000-07:002008-07-10T04:48:50.105-07:00

I'd quietly promised myself never do to a Meme. It's not that I don't like other people's meme's, it's that I'm frightened of questions that will shine a bright light on my inner-dullness and reveal my past to be the incident-free cushy ride it has been. Aren't writers supposed to struggle? Plus I like to change my mind about things so I'm a bit wary of the commitment. But here I am, about to

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-46976904978496833632008-07-07T02:36:00.000-07:002008-07-07T03:18:12.611-07:00

I've been feeling slightly ashamed of my constant moaning and griping on this blog. For the record I do appreciate that what I have here is not a real problem, as problems go. (And, sshh, I am secretly loving the adventure of being here and the challenge of being a fish out of water.) Never was that more obvious than during a visit to the wonderful Immigration Museum last Saturday morning. This

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-36897387045132584532008-07-02T02:49:00.000-07:002008-07-02T03:35:12.811-07:00

People keep asking me: "Have you settled in yet?"I'm getting it three or four times a day. By email, by phone, face-to-face - it has become a pre-requisite to any conversation. They mean well, I know. But it feels like nagging, the way all well-meaning questions do when you know that the answer you're going to give will slightly disappoint (you as well as them). It's a bit like "Is the baby

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-35936006732393276232008-06-29T23:29:00.000-07:002008-06-30T03:03:11.745-07:00

I might start a new novel. At least, it feels like a new one is creeping up on me. Reading a story by Miranda July in bed the other night - "The Man on the Stairs" - I felt stirred up not just by the chill and depth of the story but by my own need to create something like that (I mean "like that" in the loosest sense, since I am much too flabby and mainstream to be anything like July). I fell

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-9329714803774069262008-06-20T04:35:00.000-07:002008-06-20T05:18:28.082-07:00

I am sensing a pattern.Since our arrival in Melbourne, less than two months ago, three of my Major Issues have been in relation to shoes.First there were the Ugg Boots - well, not 'were', as I am still resolutely putting them on and going outside in them, despite the pointing and laughing from the local children as they are pulled away from me by their

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-70645941686273436552008-06-09T20:20:00.000-07:002008-06-09T20:35:39.201-07:00

The Girl has just started to read, and couldn't be more proud of her new skills. Nor could I, though I have now realised that jumping three feet in the air and screeching 'YOU'RE A FRIGGING GENIUS!' every time she gets a word right might not be the best approach . . . However, being able to read has been causing me a few problems on Melbourne's public transport as The Girl points to every piece

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-10415789538383909502008-06-03T23:20:00.000-07:002008-06-03T23:46:43.027-07:00

Readers should note that the following incident took place after the French Windows Collision but before the Pineapple Fiasco...It was dusk. The children had played themselves into a state of exhausted ecstasy in the park at the end of our street and I carried them both home to our beautiful, big, empty new house. At the gate was a young girl."Bonjour," she said. "I am French student of ze art

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155313218057815442.post-37228426726857737302008-06-02T05:15:00.000-07:002008-06-02T06:05:00.851-07:00

I think I'm starting to believe that we really, truly, definitely live in Australia. Trust me to be fashionably late to this particular party - I usually suffer from arriving places intolerably early, but on this I seem to be a bit slow.And as it dawns on me, so too has the fact that it is difficult. It is. Oh god yes, it's difficult. For so long I have tried to cover that up, because I didn't

Robert Cochrane Kindergartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04739450222683170149noreply@blogger.com4