I love this line from Australian’s national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair” though plenty of people can’t stand it. They have a real problem with the wonderful word ‘girt’, past participle of the verb ‘gird’ meaning to surround, secure, enclose, strengthen … and other synonyms. Of course, for most people around the world, hearing our own national anthem played invokes all the wonderful feeelings of being part of our country, some of them enhanced by being forced to remain overseas rather longer than intended, thanks to the current Covid-19 pandemic. But this is no rant about the painful troubles and inconveniences brought to us by the virus that has turned the world upside down this year.

Next April there’s a SAQA virtual Oceania Region regional conference. And naturally there’s to be an exhibition of work by SAQA members of this region. It will open in New Zealand during the conference in mid April, then travel to a number of venues around the region in the following two years. Naturally, being Aussie, I am part of this region even though I’m currently in Uruguay. Although the prospectus details are just being finalised for immediate release, a few days ago we learned that the theme is “Distance And Diversity” and have confirmation that the dimensions are 60cmw x 100cmh. As you realise, there’s a short lead time until entries close, so even as I write, there are probably a few who have already started their intrepretation of this broad theme. Though I’m thinking about possibilities, I’m not ready to start yet. I need to rationalise and put away lots of fabrics from the latest works that I delivered to my photographer this morning. As I’m on the organising committee I do feel I need to submit at least one work for jurying!

In South pacific region known as Oceania, there are 14 independent nations, and one thing we do all have in common is that we are all girt by sea 🙂 There are many other things to think about for inspiration, too, like communications, history, flora, fauna, colonisation, cultural and economic differences, tourism, envoronmental challenges and so much more … but I still can’t get the girt by sea thing out of my mind!

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month – or hares and white rabbits, whatever you say to bring a bit of luck on the first day of the month. It is the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere, and is celebrated as National Wattle Day in Australia – if you follow that link to a plethora of images and information about the flowering Acacias that Aussies call wattles, you’ll learn more about them and their place in our history than you ever thought you could know about wattle.

The Golden Wattle was incorporated as an accessory to the design of our national coat of arms in 1912. And that has absolutely nothing to do with what I have been up to in the month since I last posted here. I haven’t been posting much anywhere – I am perhaps as active as normal on Facebook, but posting a bit less on my other blog, pickledgizzards.com Keeping in touch with our far flung family members also needs a fair bit of time, and that that seems all the more urgent in this dreadful pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s life in an infinite number of ways. Touch wood, so far there have been no cases in the families, and I’ve not heard of deaths of anyone I personally know. Mike and I are in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, where we’ve been living for many years. Now that he is retired, this was to have been the year we found ourselves a new home in Australia, got our stuff there out of storage there and settled into retirement living with a bit of travel. But, sigh, we’re still here, so thank goodness for our own house and garden. Uruguay’s handling of the crisis is very good, with a low number of cases and deaths, a well organised health system that has never been stressed, and clear concise updated information through one voice to a people who trust the system. The country is surrounded, though, by Argentina and Brasil, where the virus is ravaging the populations. Clearly, any lapse in the well controlled closed borders could bring similar catastrophic effects here.

We are all shocked daily by stories and images of the painful hardships and death totals that this virus has brought to people all around the world. Certain images are sticking in my mind, and this quilt is the first of what might become a pandemic inspired series.