Today at the end of what should be Pippa’s 15th birthday I feel I have more questions than ever.  Most of them are wondering and searching for answers that will never be.  Wonder at how Pippa, the 15 year old teenager, would celebrate her birthday?  Wonder at what subjects Pippa, the 15 year old school girl, would have chosen this year?  Wonder at what sports Pippa, the 15 year old athlete, would be playing?  Wonder at what Pippa, the 15 year old young lady, would be like.  How tall would she be?  What clothes would she be wearing?  Would her friends be ..read more

Tonight I waited long after it was dark wrapped up in towels and a rug after the heat of the day had gone and the only warmth left was from the bluestone against my back still warm from the day’s sun. As I watched the moon rise over the ocean I thought of my darling girl, how much she loved Christmas and how the ache in my heart is no less than it was last Christmas or the one before that or the one before that.  I thought of the people I now know (and those I don’t) who are also spending Christmas Day without their child.  I also thought of those people spending Christmas Day this y ..read more

Chips and Trains the greyhound named for and by Pippa yet born nearly 18 months after she passed away is proving himself to be a surprising star.  Our expectations for him were never anything more than to run in Pippa’s memory, with the racing name she had chosen, to create awareness for children’s brain cancer and hopefully raise a little money for research at the same time. Pippa was so proud of every time she went out to the kennels to help Chris and Linda with the dogs,  especially the pups.  It was her job.  In November 2014, a week before Pippa started needing to use ..read more

The story of Pippa, her love of visiting and looking after greyhound pups, a little friend who missed her when she was away for treatment and finally, a dog named by her and racing in her memory… Best told by someone other than me and thus, as written by Molly Haines here in the latest issue of Greyhound Monthly    of how Chips and Trains (affectionately known as Chippa) came to be It’d be a bit fun for Chippa to become a well loved dog all around the country and have Pippa remembered through him.  Another way I can keep my heartbreaking promise to Pippa that p ..read more

The following article was first published in the Australian Yoga Journal: Standing waist deep in water with rain falling on my face I reminded myself that I don’t believe in the phrase “everything happens for a reason”.  I do, however, believe in coincidences, circumstances, opportunities and fate.   That’s how I came to be in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Memorial Day 2016.   It was dark and I was wearing a now completely wet denim skirt and a black t-shirt, my hair was tied up in a pony tail and my bag slung diagonally across my shoulder tucked under my arm to try and a ..read more

Nibbles came to us Christmas 4 years ago….. He fixed tummy aches, he joined birthday parties and they shared countless punnets of blueberries.  Pippa used to tell him he had a very fat bottom! Since the 28th March 2015 he has provided comfort and love and sometimes has even mistakenly been called Pippa.  He would knock on the door to get let in and without fail he would hop up to Pippa’s bedroom.  Every Single Time!  The first thing he did after she left us was to paw and snif at her bagful of clothes.  We have often found him on her bed, with her teddies, playing w ..read more