Tomorrow and Friday will see a slice of Tasmania,

27,800 hectares (68,695.296 acres) to be precise,

go under the hammer. Gunns is selling some large

and some, not so large, pieces of real estate.

The pessimist in me thinks that Gunns is selling to

cash up to help pay for their nefarious pulp mill project.

Whilst the optimistic side of me hopes that these lands

will see protected forests, pristine waterways and

eco tourist destinations abound.

I guess only time will tell.

Coat of Arms, Launceston, Tasmania

Are you... local?

Apparently, to be eligible,
you and your parents needed to have been born there*

Plus, with at least one, or preferably both of your grandparents
buried in the local cemetery.

What is with the whole "local" thing anyway?

Having a lineage that goes back three generations

does not necessarily define one as a local!

When used in the context, I'm writing about,
re-defining local is long overdue.

For me, local, or should that be Local? Is about the attitude toward

celebrating - community, civic pride and locality, not about ancestry.

*It seems everywhere I've lived; I've never qualified as a "local"

perhaps till now