Stressful day? What you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down

'A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down' was an expression that became a common Australian saying post WWII when aspirin became readily available.

It came to be used in the pejorative and abbreviated form "go and take a Bex" to indicate that someone should take a more relaxed attitude to a certain subject, or to soothe a frazzled housewife.




As was Valium in the UK, Bex in Australia was referred to as "mother's little helper". Sadly though, Bex only helped in the short-term, while killing in the long-term.


In the 1960s, women routinely used Bex to get through the day. However, once it was recognised that these substances were addictive and large doses of phenacetin were resulting in kidney disease, analgesics came under government regulation in the 1970s.

An ad I recall so vividly from my childhood!

Like so many other housewives, one of my characters in The Swooping Magpie (the heroine's mum) a 1970s Aussie psychological suspense novel, is addicted to Bex. During my research I came across this Bex TV ad, that I remember so well. Watch it here.



If you'd like to learn more about Lindsay's mother and the other characters, you can buy The Swooping Magpie for only 99c/p New Release price HERE.

1970s Australian medical drama

#Aussie #short stories collection: Friends & Other Strangers

Friends & Other Strangers, the award-winning collection of Australian short stories has been republished with a beautiful new cover.  

Special PROMO price of only 99c/p at your favourite retailer:

Amazon

Other e-retailers

 
What readers are saying about Friends & Other Strangers:

"… each story is a jewel filled with interesting and provocative characters… "

"… in stories like Santa Never Came, and Daughter of Atlas, Perrat explores the layers and complexities of an immigrant nation, of different cultures coming together under a baking sun and learning to adapt to one another … not the Australia of Crocodile Dundee, but a much more nuanced country, one the rest of the world deserves to know better … "

"… lovely collection of insights into Australia, but be warned, you'll be Googling flights when you put it down. The author captures the atmosphere of a young, vast country, with unpredictable weather and huge space"

"These stories are of the Australia that you won't find in tour guides - a still young nation still trying to blend together from the mixed ingredients of immigrants from all over the world… "

#Christmas #Reading Ideas!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when we ask ourselves whatever to buy for Christmas presents?

If you or your loved ones are into reading, you might find a treasure amongst these 12 Books for Christmas. And it'll be hard to stop yourself singing along to this fun video!

More details about each Xmas-special book on my author friend, Jean Gill's blog HERE!


Happy reading...

Be Careful of the Swooping Magpie!

Currently, in eastern Australia, it's crazy magpie season, with birds swooping down and injuring many humans.


The attacking bird is usually male, either gliding down onto his victim's head from behind, or divebombing the back of the neck.

Apart from protecting the young, this behaviour apparently also impresses female magpies.





Such is the swooping magpie phenomenon, it's become a popular Halloween costume!

Photo courtesy of Pam Brandy

Photo courtesy of  Carolyn Brady of Wollongong Botanical Gardens

While there may be the odd swooping magpie scene, my novel, The Swooping Magpie, is not however, about aggressive, human-attacking birds. It rather explores a young girl’s heartbreaking drama of lost innocence and deceit, amidst a scandal that shook Australia.

Photo courtesy of Camille Perrat

Following on from The Silent Kookaburra, book one in this 1970s Australian Family Drama series set mainly in Wollongong, New South Wales (but all standalones), you can purchase The Swooping Magpie at your favourite digital retailer, HERE at the new release PROMO price of only 99c/p.

Cover design by JD Smith

If you would like to read the actual true-life story that inspired The Swooping Magpie, it's all explained on the Triskele Books blog.

1970s  Wollongong Harbour. Photo from the collections of the Wollongong City Libraries and the Illawarra Historical Society

Happy Aussie reading, mate!

The Swooping Magpie: https://www.books2read.com/u/bMQdr7