Christine Whiston began her working life as a newspaper reporter in New Zealand in the 70s before moving to Sydney where she embarked upon what was to become a long and successful career in women's magazines. Throughout the next 10 years Christine worked as a writer, stylist and editor on a number of leading Australian magazines and publications. Returning from London in the 80s, she started her own publishing business, packaging magazines for Sydney publishing houses. In the years that followed Christine created and launched several magazine mastheads as well as writing a series of specialist books before taking a break following the birth of her son. In 1998 she was appointed Editorial Director of what was then Federal Publishing Company (now News Magazines), overseeing a broad portfolio of titles. In 2001 she joined ACP as Deputy Publisher of the Women's Lifestyle Magazine group and in 2006 became General Manager of ACP Books where she relaunched the iconic Australian Women's Weekly cookbook range. Christine is now running her own business as a Media Consultant and Executive Coach.
- More white anting from the despicable Rudd. He cares nothing for the the welfare of Australians only himself. This mean little man would rather see the country delivered to the abominable Abbott and his crew of lying spivs than Gillard - "If I can't have the Prime Ministership, no-one can" No wonder they threw him out - xiaoecho
- Well done Barry O'Farrell and NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli for showing such leadership in being the first state to sign up to the new school funding agreement! Like Madge I never expected to applaud a coalition government. But that handshake with the Prime Minister means so much for school budgets and the future of kids in the NSW. It must be tough ignoring the rantings and scaremongering of Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne. But let's hope the NSW government stands firm and is able to encourage other states to sign up too - so all Australian kids get the best schooling we can give them. - Miranda Korzy
- An amazing and heart-warming story when an old woman finds her dog in the middle of an interview after a tornado destroys her house! (Irrespective of the pros and cons for us getting so much US news). I wish I wasn't thinking it's too good to be true and wondering if it the dog was planted there in a "re-enactment"? - miranda
- One thing you have forgotten to tell your adult children, is that they may be required to care for you in your twilight years, particularly if you develop dementia. They will then be the parent and you the child. The adult children may have to feed, shower, toilet and dress you, and hopefully you will have brought up those adult children to be as reliable and caring to you, as you were to them! I am now mother to my 88 year old father and don't ever want to let him down! - Anna Spencer
- Oh god I hear you jennifers. I too have an 8 yr old son & dinner time can be interesting at times...for all the wrong reasons! - Pixie
- Why do I get the impression that John Jay is either a fan of or an agent for the Westboro Baptist 'church'? - Will Marshall
- Why is it that whenever there is a natural disaster in the USA our media is full of it for days? But if something happens elsewhere in the world, it's hardly mentioned, if at all. The Victorian bush fires and the Queensland floods were mentioned one day in the US media and forgotten the next - but we get a barrage every time there is a storm over there and it lasts for weeks with all sorts of stories about answered prayers and heroism - which never seems to happen anywhere else in the world. Have you ever also noticed that if there is a blizzard or a heat wave, it always stops at the Canadian border? None of these things ever happen in Canada. This constant Americanisation really gets up my nose. I have met adult Australians who didn't really understand that we are not part of the USA. I fully understand why the French are so ... French - and want to stay that way and not become a cultural colony of America as we have become. - Jack Richards
- says so much about the human animal bond - life's experiences teach you who is loyal and truly loving and they are the ones you're most likely to reach for when you're at your lowest - melissa
- Gee Jack, you've sure stirred up all pumpkin-scone bakers from Akerman's blog. They must be desperate for attention to chase you all the way to here. I think many of those extreme-right women secretly have the hots for you - and that's why they go out of their way to find you. By the way, I read your comments on Rudd's blog about SSM. I couldn't agree more! - Yasmina
- Congratulations PJ and team!! A beautiful garden. Connecting to nature is what it's all about. - Fairy The Green One
ON THE HIGHWIRE PROFILE
Christine Whiston
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DO YOU SUPPORT VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA?
Life is about the journey. I don't believe we have the right to choose when to end it. Pain, suffering, vegetative state, these are all so difficult for ourselves to contemplate and negotiate and it is even harder of course, for those who love us. There is no easy answer, death has been one of life's biggest metaphysical mysteries for centuries and it is certainly not ready to be resolved by legislation in Australia in 2011. While not subscribing in any real way to Buddhism I am reminded none the less of the last words od The Buddahs on his deathbed:Decay is inherent in all compound things. Workout your own salvation with diligence.'
MY FIRST CAR…
I left my L Plate run rather late and learning to drive in Sydney traffic, albeit the late seventies, was stress city. So was my first car, a Renault 16 which had steering like a tank. Freedom? Immediately post license no. I used to drive around the block (s) for as far as it took so as not to have to execute a reverse park. Suddenly, one day not long after, it all snapped into place and there I was driving. It did represent freedom and still does .The vehicle itself is of no consequence - the driving is all.
WHAT’S THE ONE TALENT YOU WISH YOU HAD?
I sang, I danced but I never learned to play an instrument or to read music. The recorder and the uke simply don't count and by the time the rock and roll faded and Bach and the classical guitar and the great choral works took centre stage it was all too late to learn. Such regret.
SO, CHRISTMAS… WHERE ARE YOU UP TO?
All change this year. No tree, no tinsel, instead my partner and I have an airline ticket for a two week holiday leaving Chrismas Day. There will be books as gifts of course and a pre-Christmas (grown up) family lunch with all the trimmings the weekend prior to departure. I wonder if the airline will serve turkey and Christmas pudding over the Pacific?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED?
Sexual harassment is endemic in the workplace and it is more insidious than ever. No is longer limited to being groped at the Christmas party or ovehearing inappropriate comments about bra sizes in the tea room. Bullying, ageism, sexism, passive agressive behaviour, these are the ugly new faces of sexual harassment and in many respects, are even more difficult to fight. HR departments have policies in place, victims do take on the perpetrators, but overcoming these covert forms of harassment comes at a price.
Sadly, we still have a long way to go.
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
I am with the majority on this one, there is nothing I want or need for Christmas. It has been such a turbulent year at home and throughout the world. What I would really like to find under my tree this year is a gift delivering a bit of old fashioned 'peace on earth and good will to all men' but since that is nigh on impossible, I will be content with a year of calm.
IF YOU COULD STOP PEOPLE FROM DOING ONE THING…
I would like to reset the societal clock for the timing of women's lives. Let little girls be little girls, let young women not expect the have it all ( whatever that might mean) by 28, let new mothers slip into motherhood without the fixation of 'body after baby' and allow women beyond 40, to grow older without fear and the need for cosmetic surgery.
WHEN DID YOU FAIL? WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Curbing my spending on lovely but unnecessary objets. That is an endless failing. I tell myself sternly that I do not need another jug, or floral print or gratin dish but when my eye spots something on the muddled shelf in an antique market or sitting pretty in a home wares store I am unable to resist and before I know it, I am finding a space on the already crowded dresser for one more piece of china. The flip side is that these objects of desire bring me pleasure and so I justify my failure to resist temptation.
DINNER FOR SIX, WHO WOULD YOU INVITE?
I would love to open a window on my past by sitting down at the table with my forebears.First, I would ask my four grandparents - I only got to meet one of them you see. On my father's side, my grandfather was one of the few ANZACS who returned from Gallipoli and his stories went to the grave with him. His wife was much younger than him and how difficult must it have been for a young woman to have five children and be married to a returned solider who spoke very little but suffered in silence. On my mother's side, I knew my grandmother as I was growing up, but the man to whom she bore nine children was unknown to me. His taciturn features stared down at me from the sepia family photograph on the wall in my grandmother's tiny house. Then, I would skip a generation to include my great great grandparents who sailed on just the second ship from Scotland to Otago in New Zealand during the late 1800s. What tales they could tell about being early settlers in a strange land on the other side of the world. The sixth person at the table would be my son, whose task it will be to carry on the oral history of our family.
WHAT IS THE MOTTO YOU LIVE BY?
Try to live in the moment.
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR CAR (THAT YOU SHOULDN’T)?
Given the silly time it often takes me to complete what is in real time, a 20 minute commute to the office, I revel in the radio. RN, which seems to be the 2012 branding of Radio National, has over the years provided me with facts, food for thought, amusement, background to the news and a cultural infusion. I have no problem at all in confessing to my addition to 'car radio'. Indeed, I look forward to my time in my car capsule which allows me the mind space in which to focus on the aural world.
WHEN WERE YOU THE ‘HEIGHT OF FASHION’?
That had to be the moment in the mid sixites when I won the Miss Mod contest at the junior school dance! I wore a mauve drop waist dress with a pleated panel down the front complete with floral embellishments, patterned tights (or were they stockings back then?) and the piece de resistance, my first pair of heels, albeit only 2 inches, cream sling backs with a stacked heel and groovy laceup fastenings. I won a record voucher and so did Mr Mod but as to what he wore, my memory fails me entirely.
WHAT I EAT WHEN NO-ONE’S WATCHING
Snakes! Those giant, violently coloured ones. I simply can't have just have one. I secretly buy them at the petrol station when I am filling up then eat them all in the car before I get home. No one will ever know !
SEEN ANY GOOD MOVIES LATELY?
The Artist. Yes it won lots of shiny awards and they were well deserved. To sit in a cinema in 2012 and be utterly engrossed by a film in which not a word was spoken was remarkable. While the story line was simple in the way of silent movies, The Artist delivers on many more levels. A must see.
WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST DINNER PARTY DISASTER?
It was the late seventies. Quiche has just become seriously fabulous. I decided that I would serve one for a lunch event to really impress. I invested in a 'quiche tin' complete with fluted sides and a removable base for ease of serving. The recipe was a cinch and while the quiche cooked, we sat sipping white wine until, suddently, our chatter was interrupted by a strange sound which I soon realised was a sizzling coming from the oven. I opened the oven door and to my horror saw that the entire contents of the quiche had seeped through the pastry and run out of the base of the tin and burning on the element beneath. Fire was averted but my mortification at the faux pas was acute. Somehow however I gathered my shattered culinary skills together and served omelettes to the by then, starving guests.
THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME
So many things, but my favourite memories of her are linked to the thing she loved best, gardening. We lived in a cold climate and for a large part of the year her flower garden was dark and bare. But with the arrival of spring came the flowers, all sorts of colours, shapes and perfumes; grape hyacinth, the first blooms of spring, delicate, short-lived cherry blossom, a profusion of old fashioned roses in every colour and riotous gold marigolds in high summer. As a child I marvelled at the transformation and at the apparent magic my mother brought about every year. I attribute my love of nature to the quiet talent of my mother, the gardener.
WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND?
The answer depends on whether or not this is a solo voyage. Assuming that it is, survival is the key. So, matches of course for fire, food and SOS signalling. Second a Swiss Army Knife, the one with the works, to cover all practical requirements ( glass half full type speaking here), and finally, assuming the physical needs of surival are under control, albeit in a rudimentary way, then The Works of Shakespeare would come too to keep the mind in tact until rescue.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING YOU DO FOR YOUR HEALTH EVERY DAY?
A glass of water to start and end the day and lots more inbetween seems to clear the brain and maintain energy levels. Movement, exercise modest or rigorous is a must. I am about start yoga classes - enlightenment probably not, mindfulness, definitely.
THE TEACHER WHO INSPIRED ME
There were many, particularly English teachers who reinforced the power and delight of literature from Shakespeare to Rupert Brooke. However it was Mr Richardson, my first ever high school geography teacher, who took the non science student in me and utterly inspired my interest in the physical landscape. To this day I recognise the shape of valleys formed by ancient glaciers and those formed by rivers, coastal landforms speak of ancient life forms and weather patterns as do deserts and the mountains. This understanding of the way in which land was formed gave me a new insight and appreciation of the world around me. And to this day, whenever I travel to a new country or a new landscape and look about me, I find myself remembering that classroom, those field trips and the wonders of geography that Mr Richardson revealed.
THE SMELLS THAT MAKE ME REMEMBER…
Freshly mown grass; it takes me right back to summer days long ago. The sound of my father pushing the mower up and down the lawn wafting in through doors and windows thrown open to let in the sun shine in overlaid with the unmistakeable fragrance of cut grass. To this day, that smell brings back not only a sense of time and place but evokes a feeling of security and the warmth of family and the innocent delights of childhood.
THE LAST QUEEN OF AUSTRALIA?
History versus the future. It is not, in fact, about The Queen, she is remarkable. It is about what comes next. At some stage soon this country needs to assert it's independence but there is no clear model as yet for what that should be. And what of the Commonwealth? That is an anachronisic term in itself but in the bigger picture, it still speaks of ties and affiliations to more than Great Britian. I cannot imagine crowds lining the streets in Australia to cheer Charles and Camilla but again, it comes back to the alternative. As yet, there is none and so the status quo remains.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SINGERS?
How to choose - Nina Simone, K D Lang, Kiri Te Kanawa? But the one that really does it for me is Jeff Buckley. I remember the first time I heard him I was driving home and simply had to pull over, stop and listen. Tragically he died so young but the magic of his voice filled with all the heartfelt emotions of youth, resonates across the years and still has the power to stop me in my tracks and just listen.
LOVED THE BOOK, HATED THE MOVIE!
The Shipping News, wonderful book, woeful movie. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Lord of the Rings. I approached Peter Jackson's interpretation with trepidation - I had discovered the book as a teenager and it lived on in my imagination. But to my delight, the movie exceeded my expectations, the screen play was true to Tolkien's tale and the visual realisation saw it unfold just as I had seen it in my mind's eye.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
My very first job was at the Woolworhts Department store in my home town during the Christmas school holidays. I was relegated to the Christmas cards and wrapping paper counter and by Christmas Eve, I thought my feet were going to simply drop off. I could barely walk to the bus stop to get home. I lasted one season only and moved on next holidays to selling shoes in the city's 'leading shoe store', where I was required to climb up and down one of those high ladders that moved on wheels along a rail, to retrieve shoe boxes. Not a good look in the era of the mini skirt but I liked that job and became adept at applying heel and toe plates to new shoes!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN A GOD?
Not belief in a God as such, in spite of all those years in Sunday School, but in a higher being. The sense of the divine, palpable in those austere 11th century European monasteries, the humility that descends when standing in the great basilicas of the world, the tranquility and ever-present peace that exists in Buddhist temples, these responses feed into the innate belief in the deepest part of our selves that there is, and must be, something more than the here and now.
YOUR GUILTY TV PLEASURE?
Bonnet dramas. From Austen to Bronte, Dickens to Hardy, I will track them down, turn off the phone and settle in for the session. It doesn't matter how well I know the story, the characters or indeed how often I have seen the particular drama in question, the latest adapation gets me every time.
CAN JULIA GO THE DISTANCE?
If the Government is to retain any shred of credibility, Julia must retain the leadership until the next election. Things have gone beyond who is in charge. Without the status quo the party, the parliament indeed the country, will be in free fall.
WHEN WERE YOU MOST SEXY?
Contrary to youthful expectations, it's not about the body but about self assurance. When you know who you are, where you are going and are comfortable with that, your body seems to follow along and the feeling stays.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS?
The demise of neighbourhood communities is indeed a sad relection of contemporary urban life. The chat over the back fence, children from the house down the road playing together after school, Christmas drinks with the neighbours, many of these simple acts of sharing in our communities have simply disappeared as we dash around, drive the kids to school and cram the supermarket shopping into the weekend's events. And we are missing out. A study some years ago conjectured that our obsession with celebrities was a replacement for the loss of interaction with our neighbours and our neighbourhood generally. Friendships with those who share our immediate environment reinforce our sense of belonging and that is vital to our collective sense of well being.
MY FAVOURITE CHILDREN’S BOOK CHARACTERS
Enid Blyton created the first story book characters I fell in love with but it was C. S. Lewis and the magical land of Narnia that really captivated my imagination. I borrowed the series, one at a time, from the Children's Library in my home town, and spend hours totally enthralled by The Lion, The Witch and that remarkable wardrobe to another world.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY FAMILY
Overcome the obstacles on the way through. Family means a great deal in the end.
MY BEST DVD BOXED SET
I must confess to not owning one! However a friend did lend me the first series of Downton Abbey which I watched from beginning to end like a movie marathon one cold weekend last winter.
HELP! I’VE GOT TOO MANY…
Books of course. I love to be surrounded by them but my books shelves are protesting and the pile beside the bed is rising. It is a juggling exercise every time I complete a novel and want to put it away in the (and there are several) bookcase. I should cull, take a box load to the second hand bookstore or simply hand a whole lot on, and I will, starting with the very next book I finish!
ARE YOU A TECHNO-JUNKIE?
Luddites unite! I am the same. I use an 'non smart' phone as my mobile phone which suits my needs perfectly as well as being cost effective. I have the user-friendly iPad as my portable computer, bonus there is that it is ideally sized for handbags.The thought of having to learn the workings of a brand new device makes me tired all over. I want what I have to work and will replace it only out of necessity.
MY MOST MEMORABLE MEAL
It was in Venice, it was winter, the tide was high and we found ourselves out of the hurly burly of the tourist piazzas and in a back street where the daily market had just closed up for lunch. There was one tiny restaurant open. The owner beckoned us inside and although he spoke none of the languages we knew, somehow he convinced us to order that day's special which turned out to be baby squid cooked in its own ink. This was the first time I had eaten squid cooked this way and it was utterly delicious; cooked perfectly and simply, accompanied by a green salad and washed down with an unfamiliar bottle of Italian white wine. No squid dish has ever tasted as good.
WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?
Jugs. Floral patterned ones for the old dresser in the dining room, a row of shapely white vessels on the wide window sill in the living room, little ones, used for milk, hanging in amongst the cups in the china cupboard. Sometimes I put flowers in them, but mostly I just enjoy their pleasing contours and simple practicality.
A LETTER TO OUR NATION’S LEADERS
I believe we are looking for leadership, someone with a vision for the future and a voice we can believe in. The well intentioned but piecemeal attempts by the current leadership to promote women's rights, close the gender gap, combat ageism and sexism in the workplace are little more than whispers on the wind ; we hear the words, we turn our heads and then they vanish in a gust of hot air. The change in thinking needs to be directed by our politicians, our civil and our corporate leaders. Without collective belief in change, the glass ceiling will remain firmly in place and the battle for an equal voice for women at every level of contemporary society will rage on with no sign of victory on any horizon.
HOW DID YOU GO IN YOUR EXAMS?
Exams were ok. Writing was my strong suit and essays were the preferred mode of the examination papers in my school days and it was as easy to wax lyrical about the flowering plant as it was to discuss the literary techniques of the Romantic Poets. Many years on however and it is all about the pressure of performing well in exams. The joy of learning seems to have been consumed by the fear of failure. But I agree, once the spectre of the HSC has been and gone, life moves on and that once all-important mark holds little relevance in the world beyond the classroom.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR BODY AND MIND STRONG?
Yoga - it takes care of both mind and body.
I REALLY DON’T NEED ANY MORE…
I don't need anything but in the spirit of the season, comestibles are always welcome; special foodstuffs to share, to savour and to celebrate the festive days ahead.