Cirrus@Austlit

'The train was unexpectedly full for an off-peak mid-week morning. As I scanned the front half of the carriage there was only one empty section. I settled myself facing forwards for the short journey to the CBD. On my left, across the aisle, a man was waving his hands and talking to himself. My breath tightened slightly. I put my coat onto the seat next to me and turned to look away out the window.'

'At a gathering recently I heard a rendition of Paul Kelly's song 'Meet Me in the Middle of the Air'. It brought back the moment, more than ten years ago, when I first heard Kelly sing it in a pub in Torquay, on the coast southwest of Melbourne.' (Introduction)

'A collection of insightful and compassionate stories that prompts us to think how many significant moments and small epiphanies we miss, simply by not paying attention.' (Publication summary)

'Saturday 4.50pm. On Melbourne's Punt Rd, bus brakes squeal and huff. The 246 hits a standstill at the Bridge Rd corner. There's a momentary pall of silence on board — only the indicator click-clacks. The bus rests low on its suspension and seems to sigh. I slide across to the window side of my seat and brace myself. I expect noise, heat, irritation. I'd forgotten about the train lines closing for works.'  (Introduction)

'At Adelaide Writers' Week in March, journalist George Megalogenis asked Leigh Sales who had surprised her most in the research for her book Any Ordinary Day. She replied: 'Steve Sinn, the priest. Because I'm not religious myself and I felt like we were going to have nothing in common and his way of looking at the world wouldn't make sense to me ...''  (Article summary)

'I once held a school chaplaincy position where I nearly got sacked in my first week on the job. I was employed by the Council for Christian Education in Schools (now known as ACCESS Ministries). In the lead up to my appointment there was some disquiet. The school wanted me but the parent representatives on the chaplaincy committee were not convinced - I had not shown enough evangelical orthodoxy during the interview process. In January 2000, by the end of the first week of term, I was in the midst of a furore.' (Introduction)