Doorways

This doorway into nowhere at the cliffs of diamond bay is one of my favourite places in the world. I used to go there and stare out to sea or read a book. Once you go through it, all you can see is ocean and the beautiful honey coloured sandstone cliffs. It’s like sitting on the edge of the world. It’s like a doorway in a story, that takes you out of this place and into another.

The door leads out onto quite a wide ledge, and to the right there’s a rope and a narrower ledge, some steps and rusty rungs of a ladder leading further along and down the steps. This side path goes further and further down the cliff. It was mainly unused except by some climbers and rock fisherman, and it became more and more dangerous the further along it you went. In a way it was a good litmus test for your risk appetite that day; how far down the path you would go.

Anyway, over the last few years, the way to this doorway has become increasingly blocked off, in some sort of metaphor for the loss of access to your imagination as you leave your youth. More signs warn about the dangers of the cliff edge. It’s harder and harder to get to that safe dangerous place.

My baby, ‘Laser Fraser’ (at the suggestion of her godfather) is now three months old. The whole of Q1 gone. That time they call the fourth trimester, that people feel so afraid of when they have children. Oddly it’s the bit I felt most confident about. According to this app I have, she’s in her fourth ‘leap’; where your baby freaks out because they’ve aquired new brain connections. In this instance, it’s meant to add up to the understanding of Events. So I guess for both of us, it’s going to just be one thing after another, figuring it out as we go along. I hope by the time she’s old enough to do it, that door to nowhere is still there.

FESTIVALS:

At this point, omicron permitting I’ll be doing Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Edinburgh. The first four of those are on sale already, so do buy tickets if that’s something you’d like to do

This week’s salon details:

Topic: Tea With Alice Salon 47

Time:

Jan 25, 2022 09:00 PM London GMT

Jan 26, 2022 08:00 AM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Or your local time equivalent.

I’ll send the link through on Tuesday!

Xx

A