Welcome to my official website - my 'home' on the Internet.  A belated Happy New Year to you and may it be prosperous and full of laughter and love.

It won't take long for you to work out my special project  - child safety on the Internet! If you click on the 'About The Author' link you will find some of my thoughts and indeed, my fears about the exposure of children to the medium when unsupervised.  

If you have children who do use the Internet, and you care about what they do and with whom, then take a few minutes to read my thoughts.  Then go a step further and access the links above my picture.  These links will take you to websites that have been specially set up for children and parents.  If you don't believe what I say, you will believe what you read on those websites.  I chose them very carefully because of their authenticity and the way they bring the message home to kids and parents about the dangers and the need for safety when using the Internet.

Before the Federal Elections in 2007, the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard spoke about the Internet pointing out that the responsibility for the safety of children on the Internet must rest with parents.  I totally agreed with him on this point as computers are not toys;  they can bring into a home undesired elements that children do not understand.  They need to be protected and taught about this medium just as they need to be taught about life and people and most importantly, stranger danger.  Strangers on the Internet are even more dangerous than those out on the street, believe it or not.  However the responsibility also rests with others as well.

It is interesting to note that in August 2007 John Howard changed his stance somewhat as there are now advertisements, courtesy of the Australian Government, offering advice about children online.  Read the full story by accessing this website:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22219587-601,00.html

I hope that the new Government will keep the ball rolling and continue with the strategies set in place to educate and warn responsible adults about safety online for children.

Although I've been trying to get the message across about stranger danger online since 2003, my limited access to media and users was often met with little success and much ridicule and even abuse. I am therefore delighted that finally our Government saw the light and began actively doing something about this problem as have other Governments around the globe.  One only has to surf the net and do some research to see that my fears are reality, not fantasy and they involve everyone that uses the Internet, not just Australians.

Recently I was sent a private message in an adult chat room by another female who intimated to me that she was 21, gay, and interested in getting to know me.  While I can handle this type of sick approach by ignoring it, what about the young people online that are naive and vulnerable and are not told what the other person is approaching them for?  The men in chat that I know say they are often approached by gay men and they are absolutely horrified by this contact.  There is no point in anyone closing their eyes on the subject - the Internet is rife with people that cannot fit into mainstream society and they have found a place to hide out knowing that they are fairly safe and can escape easily.  However, the walls are closing in on them bit by bit and all of us that have suffered in some way from exposure to the Internet in the past will be heartened by the fact that many others will be saved from those traps by heavy policing of the service.  If you have issues, report them.  These people can be found but only if others pass on the word.

On the lighter side of life below is a picture of beauty of Killary Harbour in Ireland.  I actually went there late 2006 and I was so excited when I realised I had stumbled into the picture for real!  I had no idea that Killary was along the road I was travelling because even though I had a number of maps of Ireland, they are all different and many of the places you will find on one map are not on the others.  Such is the enchantment of Ireland and part of the adventure of finding places you weren't expecting to find.  I have no idea where the actual picture was taken from but I was there, in the vicinity, and I smiled.

I hope you have time to read some of my articles and short stories.  If you are interested in reading more of my work, or you would like to experience a  thriving reader/writer website, please visit www.authorsden.com.  There you will find a smorgasbord of writers from all over the globe and visits are free.  You can read all the poetry and stories and articles that you could ever want to find in the one location, and I am proud to be a member of that community with my own website within AuthorsDen.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoy the stay :)





Free Counter
Free Counter










image image image image image image image