I
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. 'How happy we are here!' they cried to each other. One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden. 'What are you doing here?' he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. 'My own garden is my own garden,' said the Giant; 'any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.' So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
II
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. 'How happy we were there,' they said to each other. Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still Winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. 'Spring has forgotten this garden,' they cried, 'so we will live here all the year round.' The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. 'This is a delightful spot,' he said, 'we must ask the Hail on a visit.' So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice. 'I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,' said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; 'I hope there will be a change in the weather.' But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. 'He is too selfish,' she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
III
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. 'I believe the Spring has come at last,' said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out. What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still Winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. 'Climb up! little boy,' said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the little boy was too tiny. And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. 'How selfish I have been!' he said; 'now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever.' He was really very sorry for what he had done.
IV
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became Winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he died not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. 'It is your garden now, little children,' said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were gong to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye. 'But where is your little companion?' he said: 'the boy I put into the tree.' The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. 'We don't know,' answered the children; 'he has gone away.' 'You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow,' said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad. Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. 'How I would like to see him!' he used to say. Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. 'I have many beautiful flowers,' he said; 'but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.'
V
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting. Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved. Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' cried the Giant; 'tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.' 'Nay!' answered the child; 'but these are the wounds of Love.' 'Who art thou?' said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child. And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, 'You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.' And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
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There is a client I have that I see three times a week, I was told he was a bit of an ogre but really he's just a big teddy bear & we've become friends. In a former life he was a pastry chef & when I visited today he had a surprise for me, he had gone to the trouble of making me a rasberry cheescake which was simply superb. 
We have had such a mild summer here in Melbourne, a couple of hot days but that aside you would think we were in still in spring. Today was a perfect 19 degrees with not a cloud in sight. 
I went and saw the film Doubt today & let’s just say it’s left a pretty big impression. I can’t quite recall the last time I identified so much with a character as that of Sister Aloysius played by Meryl Streep. I wont give too much of the film away only to say that Sister Aloysius, the school principal, suspects the parish priest Father Flynn of inappropriate conduct with one of the school students. It is never quite established whether or not he is guilty, hence the title “Doubt.” Sister Aloysius approaches the Monsignor with her suspicions only for him to dismiss her & instead transfers Father Flynn to another school & promotes him in the process. The film ends with Sister Aloysius, who has thus far been portrayed as being of strong moral character & steadfast conviction, questioning herself & proclaiming her “doubts” to Sister James. It is left open to interpretation as to whether these doubts are about Father Flynn – has he committed no crime & she has therefore persecuted an innocent man? Or is he guilty & has now moved on to yet another school where he can continue to abuse young children? Or maybe she is questioning the very essence of her own personal faith in God?
35 years old today! I'm off out to see the film Doubt - have received lots of goodies including L'Eau D'Issey by Issey Miyake, Cherry Blossom by L'Occitane & a compilation CD of Nina Simone. 
Thanks for showing me how to use PAINT on the computer Jan - this is for you! Pretty average but I'm just a beginner!
You know that feeling you get sometimes like someone has walked over your grave? Well lately I've been experiencing it quite frequently. No doubt it's probably just yet another side effect of the medication but it's quite unsettling. 
You want to hear something funny? When I was undergoing training the other day we were all getting to know one another a bit better over lunch - we were swapping horror stories of community nursing, most of which were stories that dealt with psychiatric clients - one nurse started talking about patients with Bipolar disorder & then everyone else contributed by adding their stories about BPD. I sat silent, in an attempt to include me, one nurse asked me where I had been working previously & I explained that I had been off work due to illness. They all looked intrigued & started asking questions, skirting around the one that they really wanted to know - what was wrong with me. And so I put them out of their misery & told them I'd been diagnosed with BPD - well you could have heard a pin drop. 
From a very young age I decided that as soon as I was able to that I would leave home & move far away. I loved my family but resented what we were - provincial, uneducated......& average. I always wanted something more. And deep down nothing has really changed. Well here I am, almost 35 years old & living a thousand miles from home in a metropolis of 3.5 million people - in the "cultural capital" of Australia. And with each passing year I can feel myself becoming more & more isolated from the people I love. Is this normal? Am I a snob? "The more you change the less you feel" right? I adore my parents but even the fleeting thought of returning home (for anything more than a brief visit) makes me cringe. What happens when you finally become what you set out to be & then realise you're standing out there all on your own......alone? 
Getting a surprise phone call from my husbands daughter Valysha & seeing the joy on his face as he came up to speed with the busy life of a young adolescent. Here she is - the spitting image of her father.
As I stand here arms outstretched,
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