THAT TIME OF YEAR
I
guess this photo taken by sand and sea best represents the Aussie lifestyle my
Reluctant Traveler and I enjoy. As you can see the advancing years have been
kind to us, or maybe I’m just viewing this shot through rose coloured glasses.
Honestly,
Stan doesn’t look any different to me now than he did 54 years ago when he
slipped the wedding ring on my finger.
On
a personal level this year has seen its fair share of sorrow and happiness, the
wedding of a nephew, the passing of his mother, my sister in law. At our age no perusal of the daily paper
passes without a quick glance through the funeral column. You just never know when the name of an
equally decrepit friend from our youth may sadly grace the page.
We
certainly don’t dwell on death, it is after all a fact of life and will come to pass in its own good time; and
right now we’re far too busy enjoying life to really give the ‘big D’ serious thought.
We’re
also blessed with a group of like minded friends, always there in the
background, non intrusive yet ready at a moment’s notice to party or, more importantly to help when a
helping hand is needed.
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STRADDY-ITES
TRANSPORTED TO ILUKA
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I
invented a title for this group shot taken on a recent party exodus to Iluka, Straddie’s Black Eyed Mob in deference
to the sunglasses shielding our gleeful, or in some cases bloodshot eyes.
To
give you some idea of the scope of our friends and the mainly open air life we
all lead I put together a montage of people, places and events.
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Makes for a hectic 12
months doesn’t it?
________
2012 BLOGS ROLLCALL
On
the home front I recounted Straddie’s
Darkest Day when our local post office was fire bombed and a shell shocked
community rallied to our post master and post mistresses aid. This was an event that brought to the
forefront Straddie’s precious community spirit.
From
the flames and the ashes a new post office is emerging and Brian and Hetty will
move back home in the New Year.
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___________
THE ANCESTORS
The
multifaceted Ancestry series progressed with new blogs posted about the tragic
life of Camilla the Fourth Sister from
Sussex; and the welcome addition of new found modern “cousins” ... Jenny Gallagher
in Australia, a fellow McGowan grand-daughter to share our Fijian heritage, and
from America new tales from another distant relation, Terri Porcelli whose own grandparents
were close kin to my Indiana grandfather with the dual name, ChasBert Brown
Parker.
These
wonderful new slants on my people from the past were covered in the two stories
I called, Wills, Bequests and Old Photos*
and an Accumulation of Cousins*.
The two photos above are my Grandfather ChasBert's Uncle Charlie Brown , and his mother and sisters in a rare photo taken possibly not long after the American Civil War.
This photo of my Grandmother Maggie's brother Alf McGowan taken in the sail loft, perhaps in Levuka or possibly in Suva.
These
stories from the past are an on-going adventure, old photos emerging from the
mists of time, newspaper archives extending their coverage to reveal new
sources. Snippets of family life lived
hundreds of years before suddenly springing to life in 2012.
_________
THE TWO HUSBANDS OF
GERALDINE
This
is the working title of yet another future chapter in my McGowan matriarch’s
life. The only photograph I have of my
great grand-mama taken before the 1900’s, fails to reveal the adventurous and
passionate young woman she must have been.
When
William McGowan, her first love died suddenly in Fiji leaving Geraldine with
four young sons and a daughter, all of them under the age of 10 years she soon
found that a marriage certificate was no guarantee of probate on a husband’s
estate.
Her
second husband Robert Foreman with whom she had several more children lived a
longer life but will desert his wife for reasons up to now unknown. If she looks sad and bitter in this portrait
then she has every reason to.
William’s
death has always been a family mystery. Enter now those two marvellous online
archives, New Zealand’s Papers Past,
and Australia’s Trove, invaluable
sources of clues for aspiring family historians. A very recent trawl through both sites has
revealed some hidden gems: Clues to
Geraldine’s life, a new slant on the life and death of both William McGowan and
Robert Foreman... in effect a new chapter in the making.
______
THE BLUEFIELDS OF
CUENCA
2012
has also seen daughter Jenny and her husband Chris opt out of a busy business
life in Cuenca for a countryside change in the mountains of Ecuador near Paute.
For
those of you who have read my ongoing series about Cuenca I promise there will
be more written about that vibrant, wonderful part of the world... not least
about the Bluefield’s love affair with a couple of cows, one of which fancies
itself as a soccer player.
_________
HILLGROVE
WHERE MY NANA BROWN MARRIED A BOER WAR GRANDFATHER I NEVER KNEW*
2012
also saw the popular stories about Hillgrove, the New South Wales town that
disappeared but gave me a fabulous story about the state of cycling one hundred
years ago... and led me into the amazing and touching story about two young men,
both pivotal in my life, who one hundred years apart put their lives on the
line for Crown and Country...Two Wars Two
Charlie Browns*.
_________
WHAT WILL 2013 BRING?
For
you, my readers, I hope it brings happiness, prosperity and above all peace.
Seems
silly doesn’t it that in this modern cyber world where you and I can meet each
other on common ground there are still pockets of war. I note with awe the many countries my blogs
are read in, countries both large and small.
If someone in China, Russia, Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Iraq, South Korea, Afghanistan or Greece can spare a moment to read a light
hearted story written by a grandmother in Australia then surely others in the
tormented areas of the world can stop awhile, lay down their arms and take the
time to smell the roses.
I can only wish...
______
With
Christmas approaching I decided to lead into the festive season with a quick
glance at just some of my favourite stories and photos...
Barney’s great swim has
to be my favourite.
Then there was the street
wise cow in Ecuador
Australia’s iconic
image - amid the fires a helping hand
In Ecuador life is just
one big yawn...
...especially
in the comfort of a barber’s chair...
Thank goodness the escalator is working...
Now, which wire
shouldn’t I touch?
It
took an awful lot of hens to lay these eggs, so don’t crack a joke! Er yolk...
Again in Ecuador... Simon says...hands
on hips!
Grandfather obviously
forgot to tell the poor girl to smile...
The eyes have it.
Keeping up with the
soaps...
...and this little piggie went to market...
Where does this end go?
Not here please boss.
Cuenca where outer
space meets the real world.
And finally finding Christmas
on a busy street in Quayaquil
~~HAPPY
CHRISTMAS
EVERYONE
~~
~~
Robyn
Mortimer ©2012
In keeping with the bovine theme, I hope 2013 brings as much fresh fodder for your literature and yes, Barney's is definitely the 'creme de la creme' of Cow stories until, that is, I come up with proof of Isla the Calf's first goal...
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