... the star in the East went before them ...

After finding this starfish adrift in the shallows on Clontarf beach at low-tide, I scooped it out and photographed it atop my grand-daughter's fish net. There were quite a few further out in the shallows, that the children had discovered. I have tried to identify it, but to no avail.

Retail's red tide

Retail is in a fragile state along the once bustling strip of Oxford Street that winds its way through Paddington. Once filled with boutiques that did a grand trade in fashion and accessories even on a weekday, they are now struggling even on Saturdays. More and more billboards are adorning verandahs trumpeting a shop for lease; more and more posters are stuck on shopfronts indicating a shop selling out from under. And yet, the general public has never been better off. The statistics indicate that wages are rising faster than prices. That interest rates are low. That employment is high. That taxes are lower now than they were 5 years ago.

Equally red

In urban myth, red hair is linked with freckles and pale skin, with determination and a fiery temper. Red-heads are teased with nick-names like ‘carrot top’ and ‘blue’. The vogue nick-name is ‘ranga’. This could be influenced by ‘South Park’, but it could also be derived from ‘orangutang’, an animal with a fiery coat.


Last Saturday, Australia had a federal election. The two major parties are tied on 71 seats, needing 76 to obtain a majority and form a government with the ‘confidence’ of the House. One seat has still not been determined. Seven seats have been won by independent candidates who belong to neither of the major parties. Our politicians are currently all out the back of the weather-shed having a fisticuff to see who wins the trough to stick their snout into!

The ranga is our care-taker Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. She has committed a few blues during her term and is luring the independents with carrots.



A member of the Theme Thursday community. A post in response to this visual prompt.