Under The Mallee Bough

  A Notice of Decision. A Notice of Decision. Made under Part 6A of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. Applicant:                                       Ms. Dahlwitz. Respondent:                                  Jack Dahlwitz. Date of Conference:                     November 2002. [ I have found that at least one reason for departure from the administrative assessment of child support has been established and consequently must now consider whether a change to the assessment would be ; ...

  Night Messages..#2. Casper David Friedrich..1825-1830. Night Messages. #4 : The Writing Blog. Christopher Corridini writes and posts a controversial short story on a social media blog, which elicits some controversial commentary from the “in house cabal”. Noel Bourke.. Corridini, I’ll give you the tip, Henry Lawson, you are not. A fluffy bit of fantasy writing, maybe, but far from believable. Corridini replies to Noel..: ”Corridini, I’ll give you the tip, Henry Lawson, you are not.”……Why, thank you Noel…I’ll pass that on the next time I meet Henry….”Henry”..I’ll say..”I’ve had the good oil from Cyril Connerly’s understudy that YOU are so much the superior writer than I…….like another drink, bro’?” Now fuck off, Noel.. K-Leigh.. Corridini…If we put our writing up on a public post, we are inviting comment and criticism. If you can’t take it, then you don’t have to do it. But as Tich pointed out, we rely on donations...

  Night Messages..#1. Out of the shadows…Edward Hopper. Night Messages. #1; Michael and Meghan. The muted hum of “incoming call” burred on the mobile phone on the bedside cabinet, the soft glow of the phone lit up a middle-aged woman’s sleepy face half covered with dangling bangs of blonde, tangled hair. “ Y’what?” Meghan breathed, already recognising the profile pic illuminated. “I just wanted to say thank you for the delightful dinner date tonight..I really enjoyed it”. “Oh…ok, Michael…I’m glad you had a good time…” she sleepily responded..there was a weary pause in her reply, then; “I had a good time too.” “Did you REALLY!…oh that’s so good…first dates can be rather difficult to get through.” “Difficult?” the woman had woken up a bit more at this comment..”I don’t think I was “difficult”…” “Oh no!…not YOU…I mean …in general…you know, not knowing the other person..the conversation can be a bit…wooden…if you know what I m...

  Sweet Innocence. Sweet Innocence. A Play of one set, one act. Characters : .. Sister Cecilia..In charge of the Choir. Mother Superior (Charity by name)..Head of the college. Father Collins..Senior Priest. (N.B. : Both nuns wear similar dress uniforms of the modern style of Sisters of the faith.) Scene : The office of Mother Superior..lots of timber furniture, religious statuettes and fixtures..a broad desk with tidy, minimalist objects and papers on it. (There is a gentle, unobtrusive knock on the door..it has to be repeated before Mother Superior is taken from her reverie gaze out of the window…She turns to glance over her shoulder). Mth.S. : “Come in.” ( A diminutive nun enters, aged around sixty years, her white hair shining against her white face..her cheeks glow with two cheery pink blushes.) Sis. Cecilia : “ Ah! ..Charity…a pleasant morning isn’t it?” Mth. S. : “Yes Sister…thanks be to the Lord Jesus C...

  The Pencil. The Pencil . A play of one set, one act. Characters..: Narrator/ young tradesman. Mark..Older tradesman. Scene..: Room on a building site, bits and pieces of building materials about. The Narrator stands in front of the stage addressing the audience in a confidential manner..behind in dim lighting can be seen an older tradesman dressed in khaki bib and brace overalls. He sits on the floor with back against the wall, legs stretched and crossed out in front. He is in the action of starting his lunch.. The younger narrator tells of the situation before joining the other tradesman to have lunch. Narrator : “ In all the years I worked as a sub-contractor for the Greeks, I worked on my own. I found that  it was the best way to have control of my time and workload. But every now and then, there would be a commercial building job that required another chippie to keep the schedule moving and up to date. On one of the...

  A Quiet Little Corner of the World. A quiet little corner of the world. A play of one set, one act. Characters : Sam. Young, lanky man in his late twenties. Andy. Young man in his late teens…assistant to Sam. John. Middle aged man, manager of the funeral service. Backhoe driver. Man in his mid thirties. Opening scene: Flat curtain painted as a roller-door raises, there is painted on the door ; “Timothy and Sons, Funeral Directors.” Enter Sam and Andy on the chassis of a delivery van…it has been strategically cut away to reveal the two men and a coffin in the rear. It moves to the centre of the stage, stops and Sam and Andy alight. They make to open the back door and reach in to remove the coffin when a voice calls to them from off-stage. John: “ Hold it!..Leave it in there.” (Sam and Andy straighten up and turn to the voice..John strides onto the set.) John : “Leave it there..you’re going straight out again, t...

  Fields of Deceit. The Lawyer’s office.. Marinus van Reymerswaele.. 1545. Fields of Deceit. “For the farmer sows his fields, Of barley, oats or wheat, While the Lawyer reaps fortune. From fields of deceit.” Play of one act, one set. Characters : Brian Pascoe. Farmer / father. Mr Crompton : his Lawyer.. Jilly..: Brian’s divorced wife. Jilly’s father. Scene..: A lawyer’s office set out in dark timber furniture with soft leather chairs and low lighting. Brian on one side of the desk with his lawyer on the other. Brian’s hand is clenched into a fist and he sits on the edge of his seat as the lawyer speaks. Lawyer : “She’s got you on those points, Brian..First, you admit you’ve come home drunk and second you admit to striking the children…” Brian : “But not both at the same time…bloody hell!…Yes, I’ve come home under the weather at times, but not blind drunk mind..and then only after some local event, like winning...