Radiant Fields

Radiant Fields

Being out in the desert at night is a pleasure. Wandering along the sandy path, we enjoyed the spectacle. Dad said, "What would happen if someone was lost in this field at night?" One of the workers said, “There was a pack of dingoes bothering some of the people,” he said.

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The Calling

The Calling

I’m not on call except for unusual emergencies. I sleep through the everyday emergencies — the heart attacks, obstructed gall bladders and car roll-overs — that my colleagues, the Remote Area Nurses (RANs) deal with at night. This week there are two RANs here with me — for a town at its peak population of around five or six thousand.

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A glamorous morning

A glamorous morning

A package arrived from India. "I love parcels like this," the postmistress said. Wrapped in cotton, soft as a teddy bear, it had been stitched up, with a dribble of brown wax sealing each end. I could smell textile dressing and dust. The package had travelled from desert to desert — from Rajastan’s yellow sands in India to the deep red earth of Central Australia.

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