Saturday, April 27, 2024

Fran Cleland

FRAN CLELAND

Fran Cleland has been a writer for 40 years.
Currently she is the writer for
The Regional Horse News, covering horse events and stories.
She spent the previous 20 years with
The Weekly Times, and prior to that as the editor of
Hoofs and Horns and at Stock And Land, where she wrote the very popular From The Homestead column.
The Homestead column was later published in book form, and Fran spent a lot of time talking at Country Womens gatherings, and on a weekly ABC radio program.
The Homestead column is revived here on
Australian Rural & Regional News
in its new form as Letters From Home.

We hope you enjoy your letter.
Let us know.

Letters from Home 10/2024

Letters from Home: Pill popping

Well, the pill popping has started. To misquote John Travolta - I've got PILLS they're multiplying, and I'm losing control ... Sitting at a horse show last year with my husband, his mate of similar age turned and said to him, "how many pills do you have to take?"

Letters from Home 9/2024

Letters from Home: So many ifs

Easter used to be fun in our family, but not any more. It's the hardest time of year for our family, it's when our darling granddaughter took her life. When we lost our Jessica to suicide the police knew just where to look: her phone and laptop.

Letters from Home 6/2024

Letters from Home: Time moves on

I just phoned Bunnings;   I wanted some picture hanging strips so I don't have to stick nails in a wall... I spoke to a bewildered girl that eventually, after much explaining, found what I wanted, and she made me feel very old. I asked her to read out the directions on the pack, and she said to me - and I quote - "It says it holds up to a lub but I don't know what that means..."

Letters from Home 7/2024

Letters from Home: Of gardens, dogs and Agnes

People who love dogs often love gardens, and often, keeping mental peace while loving the two can be fraught. Many people have written stories about the perils of dogs and plants ... Doctor Seuss ... Banjo Paterson wrote a poem called “A dog’s mistake” ... Pam Ayres also struck trouble ... Enter Agnes…

Letters from Home 8/2024

Letters from Home: Battle of the Mynah birds vs Fran

I read in the local Facebook forum that there was this you beaut marvellous bird trap that could catch up to a dozen birds at a time.... As they have been bloody pests in the barbeque area where my husband feeds the dogs - stealing food and pooping copiously everywhere ...

Letters from Home 4/2024

Letters from Home: One special rose

I have lots of roses. They are always rewarding with their different shapes colours and perfumes and are often admired by visitors. But there’s one in the garden, that’s a bit shabby and out of shape, and is the one most loved and cherished by all the family. She’s had an interesting history.

Letters from Home 5/2024

Letters from Home: Always read the labels

You learn this as you go. When there’s a man in your life you quickly learn to grab the printed directions and stash them for future reference as men do not read labels or follow directions ... What I have especially learned by trial and error over too long a period is to keep the labels from plants bought for the garden ...

Letters from Home 3/2024

Letters from Home: Buying “online”

The pandemic taught us many things, some good, some bad, and apart from the possible terrible damage to our health, it has done some bad things to our credit cards. We learned, first by necessity and then by total impulse, to buy things online. We began timidly.

Letters from Home 2/2024

Letters from Home: The story of the new fish

So - I was given a lovely barrel fountain some time back. It has a top half with what looks like an old hand pump that runs by solar and trickles water into the larger lower cask. I love it and the sounds of the water. Recently, for some totally unknown reason, I decided I might like some fish in it... 

Letters from Home 1/2024

Letters from Home: Gardening on another planet

Well that’s what it feels like. Twenty five years at Mickleham, on top of a granite, rock covered hill made me learn which plants could cope, thumb their leafy noses at the wind and rocky soil and grow, and which took one horrified look at what they were expected to cope with and turned their toes up. The roses showed me just how tough they really are by not only surviving but flourishing, and they did well. Many even survived parts of the house falling on them in the blaze, others laughed it off and kept flowering.

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