Letters to Ann

Dear Ann,

Another year has gone by during which I had been busy making another sixty little baby puddings for my Prime Timers Club to give to all it’s members. Friend Cheryl was in charge of them all. She had them sitting in her car when she called to pick me up & headed off to the nearby venue where we were to have our Christmas feast.

It was quite a load to carry in & place them all around the table with their proud little heads covered in Christmas cellophane waiting for all the recipients. There was quite an aura of excitement & anticipation as our year drew to a close.

Cheryl is an important person in our Prime Timers group as she is a true Salvation Army Soldier & on the committee. She helps our leader, Joan in a variety of ways; something like being Joan’s right hand man.

They are always on the go & we didn’t have her sitting at our table because she is so much in demand. However, Sandra & I were sitting together & opposite us was another special lady who is very dear to me. Her name is Noreen & I received a letter from her after I came out of hospital having been diagnosed with cancer.

Our table at Prime Timers Christmas lunch.

I had no idea at the time who Noreen was, but it was a very moving letter to tell me that prayers were being said for me & to have faith. She also sent me a small medallion of St. Christopher, who is also patron saint of cancer sufferers as well as travelers. That letter meant a great deal to me especially as Noreen told me she had also had cancer & survived.

I have no idea who placed Noreen & her hubby at our table, but somehow I think that’s where she was meant to be.

I will digress a little here as, towards the end of last winter & spring was approaching I developed itchy legs & arms. At first I thought it an ordinary itch & hoped it would just go away, but it worsened.

I realised I would have been rather silly to ignore it so went off to my GP & good friend, Dr. Bourke. I wanted his opinion as I was suspicious that the itchy cancer I suffered for over over four years may have returned. Dr. Bourke took no chances & I was with the Oncologists at the Maeter Hospital the next week.

I met two new Oncologists, Dr. Mason & Dr. Gupter who had my history in front of them. They spent a great deal of time with me, sussing out everything there was to know about me that they didn’t have on record. In doing this they learnt all about my pudding making, markets etc. & so on. Of course I promised that they would receive a pudding each. I didn’t listen to their protests!

An example of the itch out in full force on my skin.

So on my next visit to the hospital I took with me a Traditional Pudding & a Macadamia Nut pudding to leave for them. Later, on more visits both Doctors went out of their way to thank me. It was nearing Christmas at the time & I am not backward in leaving a bit of goodwill behind me particularly after all the interest they showed in my ativities.

The outcome of my visit with the good men was that I was told the cancer could return to attack different parts of my body from time to time. I was not surprised & as both legs were giving me quite some trouble with the itch causing two nasty lesions.

I was sent to the radiation department to take care of the problem even though I am still looking & feeling very well. I had already voiced the fact that it was a strange kind of cancer because I have never felt nausea or pain, only an itch, which can’t be described but apparently that’s the type of cancer it is.

The Doctors’ concern was that it not be allowed to attack the nymph glands as it did before as this can be terminal. I was sent the very next week for five days of radiation plus blood tests.

Of course bad news travels fast & some members of Prime Timers became aware of what was happening including Noreen. She is a lovely lady & as soon as we became settled at our Christmas venue & after our first course she came around the table to enquire how I was & what was happening.

I had not been unduly worried at all, but Noreen was making sure so she said there & then she was going to pray for me. She put her hand on my shoulder & she prayed the most simple & powerful prayer for me.

I felt the power go through my body & I will never forget that prayer in that noisy club with people all around us. I can’t tell you what that prayer did for me, but I can tell you that two days later all the itch was gone & my arms & legs were normal.

You can make what you like of that but I do not fear cancer. I have a team of five doctors looking after me & each one is always aware of anything that occurs, when it occurs & what tests & treatment is prescribed.

My son, David asked me on one of his visits on Saturday afternoons what I thought I would die of. I told him it won’t be cancer. It is my thought that I will just die in my sleep like my Grandfather did.

I also had a visit to Dr. Walsh, my cancer Doctor at the Mater Hospital last week & he introduced me to a visiting student as our indestructible Dawn!

If the cancer attacks me again I will take it in my stride as I need to continue my career in markets with Charley.

So, as you can imagine, I did enjoyed our Prime Timers Christmas get together.

Love you heaps. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

Almost a year has gone by since I decided to venture out onto the market scene with my Curried Zucchini Relish. I am certainly not disappointed with my decision as it has been interesting.

Since Charley joined me in this venture I look back & wonder how I did so many markets throughout the year without her, but then I have always been very determined that any job I do will be done well.

My Mum taught me that. She would say to me “If a job is worth doing it’s worth doing well” so I always give it my best & if need be, a bit more than that. To me it’s like a challenge.

In my later years I realised I liked a challenge, it made life interesting, but I am glad no one threw down the gauntlet to be picked up with a duel followed to the bitter end! I have a strong suspicion that I passed on this attribute & that it is hereditary as there is no doubt, our family like a challenge. We are determined (not stubborn) little elves!

The very first challenge with markets is getting out of my bed at 5.30 a.m. which proves how determined I am! Charley likewise as, mostly she has to be at my place very early in the morning & from where she lives to where I live takes another twenty minutes because we take my car.

I pack it the night before so when Charley arrives we both just have to get in & drive to the venue. Of course I like it when Charley drives, but the other side of this equation is that when we drive back home to my place she can get in her car & drive to her place while I unpack my car.

We work really well together. She is always on time & I think has inherited those qualities I have already written about.

During the year we have concentrated on Warners Bay Market, Fennels Bay Market, Wickham market & – from September – on Maitland Market.

The first two are practically on my doorstep, but Wickham is across the city & Maitland half an hour drive away but worth it. When we had the pudding business in operation I would often go to Maitland & always did well.

The market was held in the local show ground & managed by a lovely lady who always gave me a good spot. The same market is now organised by her daughter, Catherine who also looks after us very well. We now have a permanent stall there under cover in the Pavilion.

This market is held once a month, but from September on they held the market every fortnight, which clashed with Fennels Bay market. Therefore, Charley & I would split up. I would travel to Maitland where I didn’t have to put up a gazebo.

Charley did the Fennels Bay one as she can put up a gazebo in less than ten minutes. Her Dad taught her how to put a tent up when she was about five years old as the family went camping a lot with the Kombi Van, so needless to say Charley gets this job at almost every market. I make it up to her in other ways by packing & unpacking the car, keeping stock of what we have which often needs more manufacturing.

Sometimes a market is cancelled due to inclement weather, which can’t be helped as most of them are held out in the open & people won’t venture out to paddle around in the wet!

During the winter months it can be very damp under foot, so Charle has been looking for a weather proof mat. She found a brand new one last week at a market at a very reduced price & it is excellent.

We also learnt by experience that we need side covers for three seasons of the year as sometimes the markets are held near water, which can be quite chilly, so we are on the lookout for them too.

Until September I only sold our relish which proved extremely popular. It really surprised me. When it came time for Christmas Puddings they were so much in demand that we had to deal with both items on our stall.

This went much better than I thought it would. Charley soon had the set up covered by announcing to passers by that tastings were available for anything on the table! It worked!

Charley has been great & can hold the fort completely on her own, but I must admit that I love it when the two of us do a market together. It’s so much better in many ways.

Charley is very keen to do more markets. I think the bug has bitten her, so next year we will be looking to do more markets: hopefully every Saturday & Sunday, which may mean venturing further afield.

As far as Fennels Bay & Wickham are concerned we have decided to give them a miss as they seem to have run their race. The majority of stalls are bric a brac, so we will be looking at Farmers Markets who cater for home produce.

We would also like to get up into the Hunter Valley among the wineries, which I know from experience would be good. It just means an earlier start.

Our local primary school advertised they were having a fete in November & were welcoming stall holders, so I got in touch with them. The payment they asked for in lieu of money was some of the produce that the stall holders sold, for use in their raffles. I parted with one each of our four puddings which is a handsome gift amounting to over two hundred dollars.

This event clashed with Warners Bay market so Charley went to the school mid morning, with me following her after my market concluded, as the school fete was for all day. It was a real scorcher of a day when thirst was paramount.

Can’t say it was a success for the stall holders though but we had heaps of fun.

Do you remember me telling you about Priscilla a couple of years ago when I met her the time she had a stall at our local shopping mall? Well Priscilla was next to us & also two other lovely ladies, Sue & Sash, selling cosmetics next to us. They were wonderful to be next to as they had a cask of icy water to drink & Charley was so hot & thirsty they held the cask up above her mouth to give her a drink! Not altogether elegant, but it saved the day.

Thirsty Charley at Warners Bay Primary School Fete.

I was busy shopping from Priscilla who had some beautiful clothes. Most of them happened to look good on Charley, so I did some quick shopping while she was drinking!

I must tell you though what happened to me after the fete ended.

I had been up to the school on three occasions before the fete, so thought I knew my way around. When I went up there mid afternoon, everything was in progress: games, stalls, kids performing, raffles etc.

I went in the gate & managed to find Charley. It is a large school. After it was all over we packed up & I went out dragging a case of stuff behind me & couldn’t find my car. At first it didn’t alarm me, but after walking up & down the street a few times I was almost in a panic.

Fortunately for me when Sue & Sash came out they had a window down & waved goodbye to me. It must have been the look on my face, but about fifteen minutes later they drove back and found me.

They stopped the car to ask if I was okay as they thought I didn’t look okay when they waved to me. I must have looked like bursting into tears by that time as they put me in the back of the car & told me not to worry, they would find my car.

All kind of things were going through my mind as I knew where I left the car. We drove around for about fifteen more minutes by which time I was getting very dry in the mouth.

They turned up another street & there was my car, on its own on the crest of a hill where I knew I had parked, but what I hadn’t realised was that I went in one gate & left by another gate on the other side of the school! Can you imagine my relief? But what a dumbbell!

Our very favourite market this year was run by the Chamber of Commerce at Warners Bay, as they often put on a special one like they did with Halloween. They held a Twilight Market at Speers Point, which is only one suburb away & check in time was from 2 p.m. for the market to start at 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Last Warner’s Bay Market Dec 2017

It costs a lot more to get into these special ones, but it is well worth it. Charley & I thought we would be early for ‘bump in’ as they call it, so we arrived just after 2 pm. & found we were in a great long queue with about fifty cars ahead of us.

We got in & set up well before time, as once we are in our spot it doesn’t take us long to do what we have to do.

There was a real aura of anticipation, excitement & the public were absolutely adorable. Families came together ready to buy. Charley had put together two small jars of relish sitting on cardboard, wrapped in cello with a Christmas ribbon & card attached.

This was a good way of using up the stock of small jars & we priced them the same as one ordinary jar. They proved to be really popular. At one stage during the evening, while Charley was absent one of my line dancing friends, Anne, came up to the stall to purchase three puddings & seven Christmas packs.

When Charley returned she couldn’t help but notice her gift packs had depleted down to almost the last one. I told her what happened & she said “I feel like giving Anne a big hug for that.” I told her I thought that would be a nice thing to do so she has endeared herself to Anne who never fails to attend the markets that we are attending & is an excellent customer.

I sent Charley off to look around the other stalls & she came back pleased as punch. She had seen a deep dish with a blue Kombi Van painted on the inside of the dish. We both immediately knew that was another Christmas gift for David! He was real pleased with it too, along with his Kombi Shirt!

The Twilight market was brilliant & lingered on so much we were packing up in the dark.

Almost last Maitland Market 2017 Dec.

Our last market for the year was Maitland on the 17th December. I truly felt nostalgic as I drove home. It has been a year of learning, experience & satisfaction on a job well done.

When we added up the figures we had more than doubled the sales on Christmas Puddings from the previous year so we are floating on cloud nine & well pleased.

God Bless & Fond Love. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

I am a catalogue shopper & I still haven’t worked out which is the greater temptation: going window shopping with a friend just for a look, or browsing through the catalogues that appear in my letter box frequently & sell almost everything that tempts the pocket.

I guess catalogues win though. A couple of months before Christmas I ordered a tall rotating fan, which would fit into any small corner. It was one of those items that you could buy at half price if you bought a certain amount. I thought it reasonable so sent for it.

A few days later I walked out of my bedroom & saw something quite large propped up by the window next to the front door. My immediate thought was that surely the fan was much larger than I thought.

However, on investigation it wasn’t the fan at all. It was half my verandah ceiling, which had fallen down in a storm the evening before. I had heard something crash, but was not going to venture out in the howling wind & heavy rain so forgot about it.

Collapsed verandah roof.

It was evident that water had accumulated inside the roof causing it to crash. Beside it was a strange looking parcel shrink wrapped in blue plastic. I examined it & came to the conclusion that the wrapped parcel had been up in the ceiling & dropped down with the collapse, so I left it where it was.

Then, after notifying the body corporate of the collapse who asked me to take photos for them, I forgot about it.

It was getting close to Christmas & I had things to do. First, I had to go to my bank to get some money & that was my first port of call. I hadn’t been in there for a couple of weeks & when I went in I saw a large bin holding lots of parcels & gifts for the needy. Many of the larger businesses & shops have them.

Later that day when I came home & as I was going through a few things, I came across a big blue teddy bear & a rag doll clown. The latter I acquired from my niece, Michelle at her garage sale when she was relocating to live in Tasmania again. I took a liking to it so brought it home with me.

The teddy bear was your beloved bear Ann, given to me from your car by Richard after you gave him your vehicle. He knew the history behind the bear & told me how it had been given to you by your first love & treasured by you.

I brought teddy home with me after a trip to LA & have had both the teddy & the clown for some years. I loved them nearly as much as their original owners did, but somehow this year I decided to let them make some other little girl or boy happy by placing them both in the bin.

Ann’s Bear & Michelle’s Clown before they headed off on their new adventure.

After my visit to the bank I had arranged to meet Pat & Judy for lunch.  We do this every week, it’s a ritual we all enjoy.

Normally we do not give each other Christmas gifts, but I decided to break that tradition this year & give them a kilo Christmas Pudding each. After all they were the backbone when working in the Pudding Kitchen for many years. They could run rings around the younger people.

I thought a Christmas pudding would not go astray this year & that I would break with protocol. I put them into two matching Christmas bags that I had bought from a very special place in LA – Swaines – & had been saving for special people so I used them.

I was glad I did. Pat & Judy were delighted with all the love & thought. It didn’t go all my own way though, as next week they had gotten together to buy a very life like brown rabbit with a white baby one to put in my garden, both of which I love. I have lots of gnomes & little animals in my garden most of them given by my two friends & I love them all.

After this interlude, my friend, Ursula had also arranged to meet with me again later in the afternoon, as she had forgotten to give me one of her gifts. That made it another full on day, but that’s what Christmas is all about.

Afternoon tea saw me drinking more coffee as she brought out more Christmas parcels. The sad thing was that our mutual dear friend, Jean was in & out of hospital a few times so it does look as if some Christmas parcels will be taken into the New Year. Jean lives quite a way out from Newcastle, more into the country.

Ursula & I had another lovely hour or so together, with her going home a few days before with a new navy handbag to enhance some new clothes she has been buying &, of course, a Christmas Pudding as well.

She needs that as she was off to spend Christmas with famiiy in Queensland. There are no less than ten of them – daughter, hubby & eight children – so they need an extra pudding!

I came home to hang a New Year Calendar showing some rather nifty ladies doing some rather different things that you would not expect them to be doing, such as walking on stilts, water skiing & playing leap frog!

I don’t know where Ursula gets these great almanacs from but they are certainly different & bring a smile to your face.

I do love Christmas. I also loved my new verandah when it was repaired, so alls well that ends well.

Dawn’s package had to wait until Christmas.

However, let me make you smile & you sill see why my Dad always told me it took awhile for the penny to drop. The blue shrink wrapped parcel that had dropped out of the ceiling had stood by the rubble for two days & when David came down for our chat the following Saturday he naturally had a look at the damage.

When he came inside he remarked that I had a parcel at the front door. “No”, said I, “that’s something that dropped out of the ceiling & I have no idea what it is or why it was there.”

I was so sure until David said “Well it’s addressed to you.” Yes, it was the fan I had ordered among other things!

Love You Dear Friend. . Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

It was the Thursday before Christmas & I only had two appointments. First, the usual early appointment with my hairdresser after which my friend Cheryl & I had arranged to meet to exchange Christmas gifts with one another.

Cheryl called to pick me up from home & we thought it a good idea to exchange our gifts in the privacy of home rather than in a cafe as we normally do. That proved to be a good idea as Cheryl had a living plant that she had been nurturing for me. It was quite different to the norm with young cacti in a low circular container that I fell in love with & that I have been nurturing myself ever since.

Dawn’s living plant.

Our mutual friend, Sandra, was intended to be with us for this occasion, but a last minute vacancy meant she was called into hospital for a much needed operation for an issue that needed to be taken care of.

I was a little disappointed at this news as Charley & I had made a special jar of our Curried Zucchini Relish especially for her. What made it special was the fact that the jar was nearly a foot high with a nice silver screw cap that took almost the whole batch of produce.

Normally a batch would fill eight of what Charley & I term as our “$10 jars” which is a lot of relish. I had planned this for Sandra for a long time as she is the most avid user of our relish. She absolutely loves it & buys four very big jars per month.

Christmas with Cheryl.

I gave all the gifts to Cheryl to give to Sandra along with her other gifts in the huge gift bag & she was thoughtful enough to take a photo for me. Sandra was delighted.

So, minus Sandra, Cheryl & I went off to a nearby nursery, a venue we enjoy as we sit amongst the flowers & had a delightful morning tea, which we rarely ever do on our own. I had given Cheryl a frog which measures the rainfall. She loves frogs & this one was a little different to the norm & far from real!

By the time we parted company that day it was almost lunch time & I was wondering what to do for the rest of the day.

When I arrived home there was a message on my phone to say that my friend, Ursula, was hoping to see me at Micheles Patisserie where I usually go for lunch almost every day. So I didn’t waste any time getting there & sure enough along she came soon after I arrived.

It was gift giving time again & it’s times like these when I have short notice of the event that I am pleased to be as organised as I am for Christmas. I had Ursula’s gifts all wrapped & ready. Normally our mutual friend, Jean, would have been with us, but again this wasn’t to be as Jean was in & out of hospital at the time.

So Ursula & I exchanged our gifts; had lunch; drank coffee; & talked! Nothing unusual about that & we sat there in relaxed mode for the next three hours!

Christmas with Ursula

Then mid afternoon I sensed rather than saw, a figure standing in front of our table. I looked up & got such a lovely surprise. It was Nicole & Christopher, my nephew & his partner.

You haven’t heard me talk of them before, but Christopher was my first great nephew, son of my niece, Michele, daughter of my sister, Joice. I will digress a little here to explain how this couple came to be in my life recently.

Nic, as she likes to be called, met Chris at his younger brother’s wedding when she was bridesmaid. They apparently hit it off very well from their first meeting & became partners. When my sister, Joice, broke the news that she was going back to Tasmania to live, both niece, Michelle & Nic were in my home. I got a real shock at the news & why I did what I did I can’t explain, but I was nearly in tears. I turned to Nic saying she would have to take Joice’s place. Nic put her arm around me & assured me she would.

We had met quite accidentally on a couple of occasions before & since. Chris called at my home just before Christmas before last 2016 to say hello, which I was very pleased about as it was unexpected & it’s not every day the constabulary call to check up on me. Chris has been in the police force for some years now.

Recently I met Nic somewhere when she informed me that she & Chris intended to visit me before Christmas. There she was before me with Chris holding a lovely bunch of flowers along with a Christmas card. I was so thrilled, Ursula took a photo for me, then went on her way & I found myself drinking another cup of coffee!

The three of us chatted for awhile & among the chat they said how much they had enjoyed some relish I had given them some other time. I suggested they follow me home saying that Charley & I had some gift packs left over & maybe they would like them for gifts.

So we met again at my little villa & had more chat! I was just so thrilled that they had taken this trouble to see me, as they live quite a way out of Newcastle, so I knew it was done with a lot of thought.

I must say that although I did not know Chris as he was growing up I did have a special feeling for him as the very first great nephew. When I got the news of his birth I was in Heidelberg, Germany. I remember buying a very lovely baby towel with a hood on it, which was quite unique at the time, & mailing it to Michelle.

After Nic & Chris left I was pondering on how much I had enjoyed the day when my phone rang. At first I did not catch who the caller was & had to ask. When the voice answered saying it was Christine I almost screamed with joy.

It was my friend of 44 years calling from Munich in Germany. I was over the moon as it was so unexpected. You would have thought that we saw each other yesterday as our conversation picked up from when we last spoke & went on for over half an hour.

We talked of many things including Charley & I going to Munich to stay with her for a holiday, to her coming to visit us when we are next in America. Christine came over to Los Angeles & stayed with me at Philip & Greg’s apartment in 2009.

I think the odds of her meeting me in LA is greater than me going to Germany. She is now 73 & still a spring chicken compared to me! We discussed Charley going to Germany, as even though they have never met I feel rather certain that those two would get on like a house on fire despite the difference in their age.

Charley is keen, so we will see how things pan out in the next couple of years as we make our fortunes at markets!

Having spent a winter in Europe in 1982/3 I must admit to feeling a touch of nostalgia when Christine said, at the end of our lengthy conversation that after our conversation, that she was putting on her overcoat, warm gloves & going off to visit the Christmas Markets in Munich. Charley & I would absolutely love to be with Christine at a special time like that would put us over the moon.

I wonder if there are any pills to remove wrinkles & put a spring in my step?? I went to bed that night after such a wonderful day with all kind of possibilities going over in my head. Sometimes dreams come true!

Love you, God Bless. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

It was several months since the Tupperware girls all met. It doesn’t take long for time to pass & Dianne had been on the phone to us all organising our Christmas luncheon. These are the girls who were our packers & secretaries when we were Tupperware Distributors.

Our venue was to be a little old hotel well on the way into the city known as The Junction Hotel, one of those little places that’s great to know about, but you could drive past & never know it was there.

I must admit that I no longer feel confident in driving into the inner city or anywhere near to it, so our young Janelle – good hearted soul that she is – came to the rescue. It seems that I was not the only one either, as Janelle ended up driving to our homes to pick up Dianne, myself & Jenny, while Donnah went to collect Margaret who is in a retirement village out in the country a little at a place called Medowie.

Janelle & Donnah particularly still have youth on their side. Dianne & I can remember back when I was confident to drive anywhere, even in Sydney, but times have changed, or at least people have!

None of us are getting any younger. Joan, one of our flock who lives at Cessnock, which is almost an hour’s drive away, now finds it too far for her to travel to Newcastle. We missed her at our gathering.

The Tupperware girls. Back row: Donnah, Dianne. Front row: Janelle, Dawn, Jenny, Margaret

When we arrived & walked in, the whole hotel had gone through a great face lift & was looking young & elegant again, bringing back all its popularity.

It was indeed pleasant & we not only enjoyed a delightful meal, but also nearly four hours of chatter. Margaret had been on a trip to Scotland to a relative’s wedding, so she had lots to tell us. Despite her age she managed touring around & enjoyed it immensely.

Margaret is our matriarch, being the eldest, with Jenny & myself not far behind, but there’s still a lot of life in the old girls yet!

I took the all the girls a baby pudding as a little Christmas gift, which they all seemed rapt about. The steady flow of chatter didn’t let up for four hours before we had to part company.

I was the cause of the early parting as I had a date with my son, seeing as it was Saturday afternoon & I didn’t want to miss valuable time with him,  but we are all looking forward to meeting again early in the New Year. Each year is precious to us!

A few days after this event I had a big package left at my front door. As an ex-Tupperware Distributor I had received a letter from Head Office Australia previously to say they would be forwarding & sharing the magic of Tupperware with me at Christmas.

Charley with her gift bags and the Tupperware special gift.

When I opened the package, magic it was. Before me was a beautiful modern set of gorgeous black & gold Tupperware Salad Bowls complete with servers. I fell in love with them & even though I knew I wouldn’t be using them as I don’t entertain anymore, I knew who would also love them!

Charley loves black & I thought how fitting it would be to pass this great gift onto her. Tupperware had even included a big shopping bag, of course, with their name on it, so I put all the bowls together to give to her on her 25th birthday that was coming up soon, packed them in the bag & handed it all to her.

Needless to say, she was absolutely delighted, so we can chalk up another crash hit to Tupperware for their ingenious planning in supplying such a beautiful gift. I still love it all & thank Tupperware for not only a wonderful product that is still sought after, but also for a great life because of the opportunities they gave us.

My love always. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

It was so many moons ago when Judy & Frank Vandenberg came into our lives: too many to remember. I don’t even recall how we got to know this great couple, but we recruited Judy into Tupperware. She worked diligently until she became a Manager of her own group of Tupperware Dealers.

This couple are rather unique in the fact that what Judy got involved on, Frank would give his utmost support to & vice versa. They are such a positive couple who would make things happen & not afraid to make an adventure out of life.

Judy proved to be a very successful manager &, as sometimes it happens in Tupperware, they also became lifelong friends. One would have to say that they were special people.

Their lot in life was not always what you would want it to be, but they had a wonderful family of four whom we got to know extremely well. They would attend our private family gatherings as we did theirs. Their youngest son, Frankie, suffered with ‘Down Syndrome’ but he is adorable.

Frank was born in Holland, came out to Australia with his family when very young & no one could find a more dinky di Aussie than what Frank turned out to be. He was as Australian as they come & certainly learnt our Aussie slang.

Towards the end of our own Tupperware career Judy & Frank had decided to return to Holland to live there for two years for various reasons. Soon after that Max & I announced our own retirement from Tupperware & departed in November 1982 to spend Christmas in Denmark with friends.

Knowing this, Judy & Frank made us promise we would go & stay with them in Holland after our time in Denmark.

Frank and Judy Vandenburg, Dawn and Max Hodgetts in Holland 1983.

Never will I forget our arrival in Amsterdam & the welcome we had from the Vandy’s. They had their whole family with them & lived in a house the quarter of the size of the average Australian home.

However, they had a bedroom all ready for us. I am speaking the truth as I tell you &, as the saying goes, you couldn’t swing a cat in it. As a matter of fact you could hardly turn around in it, but what a welcome: a  rug depicting the Australian flag draped on the bed & a vase of tulips on a little bedside table.

The Vandys could adapt themselves to anything. For as long as I knew Frank he was a drummer in a band, or he could get a job driving a truck in a mine. He never lacked work & if he didn’t know how to do a job he soon mastered it.

When we arrived he was firmly ensconced in working in the tulip fields. Judy kept us in stitches telling us how the sticky beaks knew everything that went on in Holland. It  was protocol to never to pull your curtains across the windows so that all & sundry could see inside!

We had the most amazing two weeks with them in Holland. It was fun from start to finish & a never to be forgotten time. If I set my mind to it I could write a whole book on our experiences just with them for that fortnight in Holland.

I learnt so much from Judy & Frank. They are the most positive couple I have ever known. They treat life as one big adventure to be enjoyed no matter what. I have never ever seen them down hearted. They are always smiling no matter what setbacks they may have.

I often think of Frank when I am driving, as he said one day in true Aussie style how he never lets the ‘buggars’ driving behind rattle him when he was driving his car & they could deal with the problem. I often think of this when I am driving.

I have known their son, Frankie, since he was a teenager. Even with Downs he went out to work earning money in what we call ‘sheltered workshops’ doing something that he could handle.

Then one year I started making Christmas Puddings & Frankie got to taste them. To say he loves them is an understatement! Right from the very beginning I always made a special pudding just for Frankie. It is a ritual & if I don’t see the Vandy’s all through the year it is a promise that I will see them at Christmas so they can collect Frankie’s pudding.

A couple of years ago I made a phone call to their home & Judy & Frank were not there so Frankie answered the call. He asked who was calling so I said “Dawn,’ which I could tell meant nothing to him. Then I said “You know me Frankie, it’s Dawn the pudding lady.” Frankie was not slow on the uptake replying very excitedly by saying “Can I have two this year”? I think I gave him half a dozen little ones that year!

So this year was no exception. Just recently Judy & Frank arrived on my doorstep with a lovely bottle of white wine for me, plus a whole ham. I was overwhelmed, but that’s the kind of wonderful people they are.

Nor will I ever forget the card I received from them just after our huge robbery when my beautiful jewellery was taken which devastated me. It said “You might have lost all your jewels Dawn, but you are a beautiful gem yourself for what you do for Frankie”.

So what does a little old lady do with a whole ham? The whole family made good use of it as I gave it to David to care for, so he carved enough for me to have for about three weeks. Some went up to Medowie for Christmas lunch and David & family have fed off it for most of January. I have a huge ham bone in the feezer now waiting until Philip & Greg to come for their next visit because we all love Pea & Ham soup.

You can see now much I love this wonderful couple. Even with Judy suffering from Parkinson’s disease now, it never deters them from being the happiest couple you could meet.

The nicest thing that happened after their visit with the ham is a definite promise that we will meet for coffee in the New Year, as none of us are getting any younger.

Love to you always. Dawn X O X O