Letters to Ann

Dear Ann,

When my friend Cheryl rang one morning to say the movie ‘Churchill’ was on at one of our local cinemas, stating that as a prelude the cinema was putting on a special morning tea & asked if I would like to go, my immediate answer was “yes.” I was all for it.

Before long she came to collect me with Sandra already in the car. Sure enough, when we arrived at the cinema, coffee, tea & cake was all set out for us. What a nice prelude to the film.

I didn’t even know ‘Churchill’ was being shown, but then I don’t watch out for what’s coming in the movie world, I leave that to Cheryl.

I certainly did know who Churchill was. He was England’s famous Prime Minister during World War II & noted for his greatness. Not only that, but during his young life he was an army officer in Great Britain where he saw action in a number of wars, British India, Anglo Saxon War, the Second Boer War & World War I.

He gained fame as a War Correspondent & wrote books about his campaigns for which he was noted. He was awarded the Nobel Prize. He was also nick named the ‘British Bulldog’.

Churchill warned England about Nazi Germany & what would happen.  So at the outbreak of World War II he was again appointed as First Lord of Admiralty. He also warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet & influenced & promoted a European Unity. He was a great man & a very important one in that war.

I think I remember him on air during the war, making some of his speeches & how strong & inspiring he sounded. I do clearly remember all of us children in our family had to be very quiet when the five o’clock news came on air during the war. Dad would not allow any of us to speak!

So when this film was about to be shown I thought it may have been about Churchill’s colourful life, but it was totally about the retreat of our allies from Dunkirk. None of my age would forget that event in history.

When the film commenced Churchill was getting dressed for a secret meeting with President Eisenhower at a secret venue. There were very few others there. The discussion was all about the planned retreat from Dunkirk & Churchill was dead against it, stating that it would cost the lives of too many men, which he was deeply upset about & showed it.

He was very brusque & to the point & even though the President & those with him tried to influence Churchill that wars had changed since World War I that Churchill was involved in, but no amount of talking would change his opinion & he walked off appearing very rude.

This was the theme throughout the film as Britain’s allies tried to convince him on many occasions, but he was adamant & would not listen. All sorts of aspects came into it, including the weather, but Churchill stood his ground.

Then something happened. In one particular scene he was so blunt & rude to his wife that she slapped him hard across the face making a remark about the amount of whisky he drank. It was time he started to think as others did about Dunkirk.

This action seemed to have more effect on him than anything President Eisenhower & his men could do, or even his own advisors, but still Churchill was adamant in the fact that it was all wrong & too many men would get killed. He had to agree with his allies as he was to give a rousing speech on air before the event.

The other leaders were adamant too that it was going to happen & right up to the very last Churchill was the only one against it. However just before it all happened, I think it was his wife slapping him that woke him up, but he even tried to kneel down & pray & even put his glass of whisky down untouched.

Then he did a marvellous thing. When it came time for his broadcast & his rousing inspiring speech he had changed his mind & did what everyone thought was right. He gave the inspiring broadcast particularly for those who were taking part in Dunkirk & the drama was all over. And we all know the story of that memorable event in history.

That film affected the three of us, but particularly me as I am thirteen years older than Sandra (who hails from Scotland) & more than twenty years older than Cheryl, so the whole thing was probably more real to me as I realise the war affected me very deeply.

I was rather quiet on the way home from the cinema. We were coming back to my place so that I could take some puddings off the stove & hang them before I put another lot on. It’s Christmas pudding time for me.

When we got home & I was doing this we were still talking about the film & how good the acting was. It was superb in every respect & depicted so very real that I started to explain where I was & how I felt when it was announced on air that ‘World War II is over’.

At that time we lived in the back of beyond with no neighbours whatsoever. It was a place where only fishermen went. Don’t ask me why Dad decided we should live there for a couple of years, it was just us, family.

It was in that insignificant little home that I heard the news. I couldn’t speak when I heard it & went into a front bedrooom overlooking the bush & the creek while tears rolled down my cheeks. All I kept thinking was ‘the war is over, it’s over at last.’  I will never forget the emotion I felt that day.

I was relating this to my friends as I ‘puddinged away & burst into tears again, which I don’t think I have done for the past fifteen years as it takes a lot for me to really shed tears these days. Churchill was a great film & Churchill was, in his time, known as a great man, particularly remembered in that war.

He was held in high esteem & Knighted by our reigning monarch to became Sir Winston Churchill. He retired as Prime Minister (second time round) in 1953 due to illness & passed away in 1965. The United Kingdom gave him a State funeral, which saw the largest assembly of world Statesmen in history.

He was also granted the honour of being one of only eight people in the world to be given the honour of being an honorary citizen of the United States of America.

If ever this film comes your way, go & see it as it is a true story of a truly great man even if he was known as a British Bulldog!!

Loads of love, Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

As I sit at my computer writing this it is the first day of spring which is indicative of new life but, sadly today was the closure of a beautiful young life, that of Hannah Rye whom I have been thinking of quite a lot lately. It is a sad story, but also one of courage & a positive attitude.

I never knew about Hannah until a couple of months ago when the story unfolded in our local newspaper. I seem to have empathy with names, as I have told you about Emma & what the name meant to me. So it is with Hannah, another name I love as it also belonged to my Gran who had so much influence in my early life when my Mother brought me into this world when she was so young herself.

I was eleven years old when Gran was taken. I had no one to cry my heart out to as my Mum was taken to hospital overdue in expecting her fourth child. Our family Doctor wanted her to be under his wing when informed of her Mother’s passing.

I never ever heard what transpired when Mum was told. It is only as I write this I realise how lonely & sad this was for her as she too, had no one to help bear the grief. Mum & I were suffering the same pain at the same time.

Gran’s passing was my first experience with death & I was heart broken. I can remember thinking that no way was anyone going to take my Gran away from me. I was determined I would go to Wivenhoe Cemetery where she was buried & dig her up to bring her back home!

In my childishness I had no idea how this was going to happen, but the thought stayed with me for quite a time. I found it so hard to let Hannah Amelia Graham go as I loved her so much.

I think she knows that as all of my life I have felt Gran was close to me & to this day I find it hard to speak of her without tears. However, I also feel she has followed me throughout my life & watched over me so much so that at times when I knew I was doing something naughty I would think “I hope Gran isn’t watching me right now!”

Having told you this I realise that it could have been the name “Hannah” which first caught my eye when it came to Hannah Rye’s story. At thirteen she was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer that was terminal.

Having been through this experience myself I guess it was another reason why it caught m eye. Somehow she had gone through her schooling in the next two years & graduated so that she could attend her formal at the end of the year with all who had graduated with her.

Apparently, by the middle of this year she was very weak & it was doubtful that she would live long enough for her to attend her formal. The Principal at her school then made a decision for the event to be brought forward so that Hannah could attend, which was a lovely thought.

It was told in our local paper, The Herald, & showed photos of Hannah hanging onto the arm of one of our famous footballers who offered to be her partner. The formal was held in July when Hannah was very weak & the medical team had to give her strong medication to help her get through the evening & apparently Hannah handled it brilliantly.

The story touched my heart as it did the whole country. The following Sunday evening, when I was up at David’s for dinner, Riley was chatting to me about Hannah & what a lovely gesture this was from her school Principal & her fellow school mates.

Scarcely a month passed & on the last day of August as I walked into the Patisserie to have my lunch I picked up my favourite paper, the Sydney Daily Telegraph. The first thing I saw was a photo of Hannah making headlines on the front page. She was devoid of hair because of chemo therapy, but had a beautiful smile that breaks your heart.

I instinctively knew that Hannah has passed on. I know it sounds weak, but I was in tears before I sat down. Hannah had endeared herself through her bravery & her story affected many people. I think we were all feeling for her loving parents who had her close right to the end & genuine comfort poured out to them from our hearts. Even the media were touched & this is what I read on that day:

“Courageous Teenager remembered as a ‘shining star.”

The write up said:

‘This is how the family of Hunter Valley girl Hannah Rye wants everyone to remember the brave teen, beaming from ear to ear & full of the joy of life.

After stealing the hearts of the nation when the fifteen year old took Newcastle Knights Star, Trent Hodgkinson as her date to the Kurri Kurri High School Formal, the last picture of Hannah’s dazzling smile & twinkling eyes will be a constant reminder of her positivity even as death’s shadow loomed.

Hannah at her Formal.

We have been overwhelmed about the outpouring of love by everyone who was touched by her smile, her strength, her courage & her kindness her Mum, Rachael Rye told the Daily Telegrath.

We have been incredibly blessed as a family to have been able to fill Hannah’s last months with such joy. Our beautiful Hannah fought with such grace & dignity.she lit up our world & captured the heart of a nation’.

The Year 10 Student passed away peacefully on Sunday evening held close by her parents.’

I expect Hannah’s story is only one of many such sad cases around the world, but every now & then you get to read how good the world is with a kind action given, in this case, by the principal of the school, Tracy Breese, to hold the formal early. It certainly did touch the hearts of many.

Apparently Hannah’s Dad, Lance, is a motor cyclist & one hundred motor cyclists arrived at the funeral to honour Hannah & say say farewell to her as she was taken to her final resting place while hundreds of purple balloons were released to the afternoon sky. It was a sad day & Hannah will be remembered.

God Bless & Much Love. Dawn X O X O

`Dear Ann,

Over recent years I have made it a habit to visit my favourite cafe, Micheles Patisserie, every day for lunch. When you live on your own it is good to get out of the house for a while, just to be out in the world. It makes a break in the day & I have realised it is good for my mind, body & soul!

Rachelle, the young owner, has been very good to me over the years, saving the crosswords in the daily papers for me & also supplying me with cartons that I particularly need as storage containers for my relish & Christmas puddings for markets.

Plus the fact Rachelle doesn’t seem to mind when my friends & I sit there for hours over coffee & lunches. All the staff know me & my likes very well.

Of course, I also know the staff well. They have become friends over the years. There are eight casual staff plus Rachelle herself, also her Mum & Dad, Richard & Sue. So when Christmas comes along I like to give them all a Christmas gift to thank them for their care & service.

Richard & Sue have become ‘constants’ in the patisserie for well over a year since their daughter became pregnant & ever since little Spencer was born five months ago. It has been like a little family with the clientele adopting Spencer when he first appeared three days after his birth with his wobbly litttle head & not able to decipher anything in his new strange world.

His Mum feeds him well; he is played with by many who talk to him, bounce him & take him for daily walks, particularly his grandmother, Sue. He is a good baby & smiles at everyone who fusses over him. For sure he won’t get spoilt!

We all love the little fellow. I even got to have a nurse of him the other day when his granddad passed him over to me. Wow, I had forgotten how heavy little babies can be & could hardy contain him. He knows me, doesn’t call me Dawn yet, but I am teaching him almost daily to wave ‘ta ta’!

All of us who frequent his Mum’s patisserie & although we are not biased, think he is the most perfect baby & realise that in no time at all Spencer will be making the coffee for us all!!

So that’s the latest development in that corner of my world. Over the years I have developed some very good friendships with some of the folk who make regular visits to the patisserie.

Firstly there was Richard & Sue. Richard loves cooking & shares with me some of his fare. Apart from his chutney, apricot & strawberry jam, I swear he makes the best marmalade in the whole wide world. I am not a lover of marmalade but I do love his recipe. In return he loves my Curried Zucchini Relish & particularly my Christmas Puddings.

Sue too, has become a real friend. I will never forget what happened when I came out of hospital over two years ago, David walked me down to the cafe ever so slowly while Rachelle & Sue watched. They hadn’t seen me for months.

Sue came around from behind the counter saying “Well you never gave us a hug when you went away so how about one now?” That was so nice & for me unforgettable. These two parents could not do more for Rachelle. I guess when little Spencer is weaned & toddling around we will not see so much of Mother Sue as she will no doubt stay at home to mind the little fellow.

I used to watch one of the customers who frequented the patisserie almost every day & finally learnt that he was David. I would see him order cakes & coffee. I often see his wife, Roslyn who I have met since, come in & catch him, chastising him as he is a diabetic.

He isn’t a serious diabetic & loves my Christmas pudding. Around the festive season I carry slices of it in a piece of Tupperware & when I offer him some he never refuses. He would make hay while the sun shone when Roslyn went over to New Zealand to spend a week with her Dad who is also a diabetic & because of this lost one leg.

I might add that he is also almost a hundred years old & still has all his faculties. I must admit I did aid & abet David when his wife was away as he has become a good friend.

I learnt that these two good people have two cats, they are twins, Anna & Bella, but they have different coloured coats. These two cats are not spoilt: they are doted on. Bella is bigger than Anna measuring a full metre from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail.

Earlier this year David was very miserable as Anna, his cat, left home & he thought she had lost her nine lives. However, he was elated when after four days she returned home to be doted on again. She got into the habit of leaving home intermittently & David shared his concern with me saying he couldn’t understand Anna doing this when he fed her so well, he felt hurt by his beloved cat’s actions.

Early in the year David had a fall when leaving the patisserie & I didn’t see him for awhile. When he returned he had lost ten kilos & looked very grey, but was okay. Just recently he had another fall & broke a leg, so I haven’t seen him for nearly three months.

It will be a good day when he can return & have a coffee with me so we can catch up on our news together. David is twelve years younger than I am, but that doesn’t matter when we are as old as we are.

Then there is John who is my age & one of the most interesting people you could meet. When we both meet accidentally at the patisserie we make it our business to sit together. Like me, John had a very early struggle in life & is never short of a great story to tell. Other than that he has some really good jokes stored up his sleeve as well.

John & Dawn

I have met his wife, Kathy. John says she is a strange woman (tongue in cheek) because she is of the age where she could retire, but she loves her school teaching so much that she refuses to leave even though she travels quite a distance daily to teach maths in another town miles from Newcastle.

Early this year she fell over in the school ground breaking her hip. The replacement wasn’t successful & the operation had to be repeated. She is now having rehab & John has been taking good care of her throughout the whole procedures so I haven’t seen as much of him lately as I do normally. I hope all gets back to normal soon as I have missed seeing both John & David.

Then there are my very dear friends, Harry & Freda, we gelled with each other the first time we met. Both are extremely interesting people, with Freda having delved into her family history so much that she has acquired books written about some of them. These date back to when they were sent out from England for some petty theft but made good in Australia.

Harry & Freda

I have read the books & wonder how the early settlers made a life for themselves & how difficult it was. I’m all for refrigerators, washing & drying machines etc and a motor car! I am very grateful that it was people like them who settled in Australia. I am truly grateful for the country they made for us but it wasn’t easy.

When the three of us meet we never run out of things to talk about. They have keen minds & one would never know that they are in their nineties. They still drive around & have been married for 73 years. What a record! They are still sharing a good life with each other in their own home. They are a real lovely couple & I can never see enough of them.

Christine & Alistair are another couple who are at the patisserie every day & hail from Scotland originally. These two are serious people, but a lot of fun.

Christine & Alistair

The other day when I went in Alistair had just sat down & was shivering a bit in the cold of the winter’s day so I jokingly asked if he would like me to give him a good rub down. He almost jumped on the seats to lay himself out ready! I reneged so he keeps reminding me every time he sees me.

Apart from these good people I have mentioned there are others like Mick & Margaret: another delightful couple who always greets me with a smile. Often when I walk in to the cafe Mick will hand me the daily paper with the crosswords.

They also keep me their used jars for my relish. When I receive them they are devoid of sticky labels & glue & all I have to do is the sterilising. This saves me a great deal of time as the the rubbing & scrubbing to get jars clean can be very tiring & time consuming.

Margaret suffers from a debilitating disease where her limbs & sight have been affected. Once when I asked Mick what the problem was Mick told me saying that Margaret has never complained, all she ever said was “Why me?”

Mick is a devoted husband looking after her in her wheel chair & also reading to her from the daily papers. They are a couple to be greatly admired.

These are just some of my friends at Micheles, perhaps the closest ones that I have known for the longest, so you can see I don’t lack for someone to talk to. There are always more friends in the making. Today I sat down next to a lady & her companion & she straight away looked at me, smiled & handed me the local daily paper.

Then it hit me that I knew this face, as she has done it a few other times recently so I smiled back thanking her for the crossword saying my habit must be well known, She replied that I could do the first half of the crossword & maybe she will tackle the rest.

Later her companion left & somehow we found we had a lot in common! Her name is Kathryn & she makes a Christmas Pudding from her Gran’s recipe! Then said it wasn’t a success as it went moldy, so I shared a secret with her telling her what to do so that it will keep for the next ten years if need be. I also asked her not to spread that secret around too much!

I think it was a mutual feeling that we enjoyed each other’s company so much that I possibly have another friend coming up from this venue, that I have enjoyed so much over the past decade & more. Needless to say we exchanged names & phone numbers.

So these are some of the people I have come to call friends, they are part of my life. Not exactly anything exciting, but if I couldn’t go to Micheles I would be a little devastated. Living on one’s own it is good to leave the house for a couple of hours.

I think I have said this before, these mundance things. represent life itself as you age in years. They are the things you look forward to when you wake up in the morning. It doesn’t worry me if I just drink coffee, have lunch & do crosswords that I am addicted to, or whether I talk to those who have become friends, but I really do enjoy the diversion.

A few years ago I would walk to this venue but since my hospital experience two years ago I drive & very thankful that I still have the mobility to do so – it’s a Blessing I appreciate very much.

Love you, Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

Today has been a red letter day for me & in Australia that means it was extra special. I almost missed out on it too, as I have had phone problems for over a month & the last fortnight without internet.

My provider came about the phone with good results but, apart from that, I need a new phone. In the interim David has connected me with an old phone, which is okay for the present.

Then, after some time I realised I had no internet. David again came to the rescue & had me reconnected two days ago. That was when I discovered an email sent nearly two weeks ago.

It was from my beautiful niece Karen, in Tasmania, asking if it was okay for her family to call on 22nd July on their way north to holiday with other members of the family. Thank goodness I received a phone call from Karen a few days ago about it, otherwise I would have missed out which would have truly upset me.

The last time Karen visited me was twenty one years ago as a young lady when we lived in a huge house. My grand daughter, Charley was a little girl & Riley not even thought of.

It was on that visit that Karen & I bonded & ever since she has held a very special place in my heart. I believe the feeling is mutual.

Of course we have seen each other at family reunions every four years but during those years other things developed rather rapidly with a marriage & a growing family. It really doesn’t take long for a decade to pass. All of a sudden there is another family almost grown up & seeing them very sparsely in four yearly eras is not enough.

The phone call from Karen was to say they were coming over from Tasmania & if it was okay would love to call & have lunch with me today.

I was elated with the news & could hardly wait. I had been to the hairdresser this morning, did some shopping & arrived home about ten minutes before the telephone call came whereupon I asked ‘Where are you”?

Karen said “Parked outside of your place on the street!”

I rushed outside & up the drive to see two parents & four offspring untangling themselves from their four wheel drive. I waved & rushed out on the road a bit to greet them. And what a lovely reunion that was.

Firstly, the youngest of the family was in my arms, Lisa aged 11, then came Benjamin aged 10, Bernard aged 13 who all gave their great aunt a great big bear hug. When young Kurt aged 15 years appeared hie also gave me a dutiful hug like the rest\, but a little more subdued which was understandable being the age he was.

Finally I got to greet Karen & big Kurt & how joyous that was.

Kurt, Bernard, Karen and Benjamin with Lisa and Dawn in front.

Then the chatter started & we never stopped. We didn’t waste one minute of the precious time together. Somehow I got them down the drive & inside where we had a quick tour of my little villa with Karen remarking that it was much larger than she thought.

When I took them up to the spare bedroom with its door closed I counseled them that they had to be very careful going in there because there were some little beauties sleeping on the bed. Then when I opened the door a sea of cellophane wrapped Christmas Puddings greeted them: the whole 200 on the bed & the others in cartons on the floor!

They were astounded & of course I told them they had to take a couple with them on their journey, with Karen remarking there was no way she would leave without them & if I forgot, she would remind me. (I kept to my word!)

The children were amazing. They made themselves at home settling on the lounge room floor with games while I made coffee in the kitchen.

The night before I had made some Roasted Almond Slices, which you have heard so much about & stacked them into five take away containers, one for each of the children while traveling & one to have with our coffee.

However, itwas just big Kurt, Karen, Lisa & I sitting around the table while Karen got her phone out to look up all the photos stored. Lisa really came alive then & I saw photos of the newest addition to their family, a big black curly haired poodle dog called Jelle who is only a few months old.

I saw Mumma & Dadda Bunnies & their six offspring plus several guinea pigs. Every now & then I saw photos of the rest of my nephews, nieces & parents. I loved seeing every one of them.

There is no doubt little girls touch the heart strings & Lisa has excelled in my book. She was named after Karen’s eldest sister, Lisa whom I told you about in my very first letter to you & how tragically her life ended, which was a period in our whole family that was just the saddest ever.

Therefore, Lisa, my great niece had to be special from her birth. One of my treasured memories at a family reunion when she was such a small child & to me seemed so shy, she came & sat on my knee for hours not talking, just cuddling up to me.

I was very close to her Auntie Lisa & I guess took this as a message from her to let me know she was still with me. It was very simple but so beautiful at the time because Lisa was not one to just go to anybody & at that time, being so young, she really didn’t understand who I was.

Anyway today she was in my home & looking in the cabinet where I keep some treasures & I asked her what was the favourite thing she saw.

She immediately pointed to a glass bell with a panda bear sitting on top. I have a set of six of these bells with different birds & animals on them.

She also took a liking to two beautiful brown china bunnies made in Germany. I decided then & there that I would give them to her.

Well after two hours of non stop talk; them seeing the inside & outside of my home; me looking at pictures of there home, which was built in the eighteen hundreds. It is  situated on a half acre of land, which is indeed a very beautiful spacious mansion, it was time for them to go.

They had a four hour drive in front of them to get to their friend’s place in Coffs Harbour, further up north. We all got to the car with Karen in charge of Christmas puddings when I remembered the little bunnies in the china cabinet.

Lisa had already given me the hug of a lifetime which I will never forget, it was full of love, warmth & whatever other ingredient of that kind that brought the tears to the back of my eyes & I remembered the bunnies.

So hand in hand, Lisa & I trotted back to get them & when I put them in her little hands I knew she will love them.

I also told her I would bring the panda glass bell with me when I go to the next family reunion in 2019, but I changed my mind & wrapped it up tonight with lots of padding to post to her.

I also said in the letter I wrote to her that Koala Bear had been at Panda Bear’s side for fifteen years & they could not be parted. So when she arrives back home she will have two bell bears waiting for her.

With hugs & hugs all round, they were about to leave when Karen asked Kurt to take a photo. I would have been so angry with myself for overlooking this as it is so important to me so that I can send them to you. So big Kurt did the honours making us all laugh then they were in the car & six pairs of hands were waving goodbye all the way down the road until they out of sight

Then I had one of those rare bouts of feeling so alone like when David leaves after his Saturday afternoon visits & when Philip & Greg left after their four week stay last December. When family leaves me that’s when I feel a big lost.

Thank goodness for Micheles’ Patisserie & their coffee!

Sending Hugs & Lots od Love. Dawn X O X O

PS Forgot to say that Karen & Kurt manufactured some great offspring – those three great nephews of mine are so handsome I wouldn’t like to count the number of hearts they are going to break!!

Dear Ann,

Somewhere in my early years I read a fabulous book by Barbara Taylor Bradford that was published in 1979 & it had a great influence in my life. It was titled A Woman of Substance. It told the story of a young girl who had a very humble & difficult beginning, but overcame many adversities to build a family empire.

Her name was Emma.

The author wrote many more books following on from this one. Although I enjoyed them all none had the impact on me like her first one. For many years after when family would remark on achievements I made throughout my life I would answer “Just call me Emma, Emma Harte, a woman of substance.”

Also from the time I read the book, Emma has been a favourite name for me.

I guess that’s why when Trudy, a close friend of my own hairdresser, Felicity, told me about her little niece whose name happened t be Emma & the great fight she was having I took that little girl to my heart. She has suffered a great deal of adversity with cancer.

I have never met Emma but she became a very real part of my life in the fact that I care about her deeply especially when Trudy told me that one of Emma’s greatest wishes is just to be able to go to school like other little girls.

Emma is now five years old. She had a bone marrow transplant well over a year ago. The doctors said it was successful & she was given steroids after the operation, This treatment has not been very successful as when the medical team attempt to take her off steroids, within ten days she is so ill that she has to go back to hospital again.

Emma

She is also not able to go out where other people are congregated without a face mask that has proved not very successful either. She can’t even play with her cousins when she is home from the hospital. Her life has been spent at home & in hospital &, as strong as that little girl is in her endeavour to get better, she has had so many setbacks that it causes problems not only to her but also to her family.

I care so much about Emma that over a year ago I have been praying for her constantly for someone, somewhere somehow will find a cure for her. I asked my friends would they pray for her too so that we could have a whole prayer group thinking of her.

In connection with this though I would like to tell you a little story which also touched my heart. There is a lady who sat next to me at Michele’s patisserie a couple of years ago & we got talking & kind of gelled as you do sometimes. She is a very humble person & a lady you could put trust in. There is nothing fancy or uppity about her. She just came over to me as a really nice humble person. Her name is Sarah

A few weeks ago she came into the cafe to enjoy a coffee before she caught her bus to where she lives, which is almost right into the city. I hadn’t seen Sarah for over a year, but the meeting was very natural & comfortable even though I do not know Sarah really well.

I am not backward in asking so I told Sarah about Emma & asked if she would pray for her also. Sarah did a very nice thing, she looked at me kindly saying “why don’t we do that right now.” So there we were, in a cafe praying for Emma. Sarah said that prayer so beautifully not only making me feel stronger about Emma, but I know that Sarah will keep up the prayers even if I don’t see her for another year.

Emma

Now that I have explained about Emma I want to tell you a beautiful story.

When I saw Trudy at the hairdressing salon yesterday, she told me how badly Emma wanted to go & see ‘Disney On Ice’ which was showing at our Entertainment Centre. They perform there every year & it was a tradition that I always took Charley to see that show annually.

Emma really wanted to go & see ‘Disney On Ice,’ but of course there was no way that Emma could be among the thousands of people that attend. The teacher at the hospital who gives lessons to young children too sick to attend school rang up Disney On Ice & told them about little Emma.

Trudy could not wait to tell me that the Managers of the Show rang Emma’s Mum to invite her & Emma to attend the entertainment centre where they would put on the complete performance just for them. I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes & I came home elated. What a beautiful thing to hear amongst all the horror things we keep hearing about in this world. This was a wonderful gesture of kindness.

Needless to say, Emma got to have her photo taken with all the cast in the show & she looked the part herself dressed up in her own fairy outfit.

What a thrill for a little girl. I have seen the photos so now I have seen Emma & the steroids have blessed her with a mass of very thick black hair, which I am told is very soft to the touch.

This was the second lovely thing I heard in the same week. When we visited Wayne Rogers in his home & while entertaining us he asked had we heard of Danny La Rue who was another famous drag queen from England, years ago.

Of course we had. He was famous & like Wayne, a great entertainer. Once when doing a big show here in Newcastle, someone spoke to him from a Nursing Home saying he had enjoyed the show so much it was a pity some of his friends hadn’t seen it too.

Danny immediately asked his manager if they had anything on the next day, which happened to be a Sunday. When the answer was “No” Danny said “Well we do now”. They took the show to the Nursing Home. There are lots of good people still in this world.

Mentioning nursing homes brings back the memory of my last birthday gift from my sister, Kim. She did mention to me over the phone that she wasn’t too sure if it was the right choice of gift or not. When it arrived & I opened it up I must admit to being a little surprised.

The parcel contained some very lovely colouring in books complete with a very nice set of colouring in pencils. I was not aware that this is the current activity in nursing homes, but in any case it was not for me. I would rather be making my relish & Christmas puddings to take to markets!

A friend of mine remarked on what a lovely gift, so I toyed with the idea of regifting it to her, but then I thought of little Emma who loves colouring in so that’s where it is right now. I feel sure Kim will not mind one bit. She will no doubt feel happy with the fact that a very sick little girl is loving it.

God Bless. Love You. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

My little Toyota Echo car was due for registration so I had been a bit busy getting quotes, insurance etc. & my last port of call was to have a registration check for the RTA . I have been going to the same mechanics for the past thirteen years, since moving here. The boss, Andrew, knows me quite well; looks after me very well & when the festive season arrives he is on my list for a nice big Christmas pudding for the good service he gives me.

So he took my car into the workshop & I opted to wait for the required check. It wasn’t long before the mechanic came to where I was doing a crossword puzzle & took me to the workshop to show me a little problem.

With heart in my mouth I learnt that something (I can’t even remember the name) had a crack in an important piece of the steering works, which was going to cost a few hundred dollars. He explained it was okay to drive & could be left for awhile, but would only worsen. If the authorities saw it I would have a fine of nearly a thousand dollars on my plate. I told them to do it straight away. It would take two days & an appointment was made for this past week for Tuesday & Wednesday.

As I was about to become housebound for the two days I thought it a good opportunity to do a batch of fifty kilo Christmas Puddings. So last weekend I bought all the ingredients necessary & started weighing, mixing etc.  I was doing very nicely.

By Tuesday morning I had them well under way when I delivered my car to Andrew who had someone drive me back home. I was completely reconciled to being housebound for two days.

This never happens unless there is a good reason as I go out every day. I was working back at my pudding project when, after a few minutes I had a call from Andrew who was highly embarrassed because the parts they had ordered to do the repairs were found to be the wrong ones.

This meant another delay & that I was not going to be housebound at all this week. This was an unexpected change of plan that meant Andrew had to come & collect me again so that I could have my car returned to me. Another appointment was made for next Tuesday & Wednesday.

It couldn’t be helped & it didn’t bother me as it did the mechanics. I just got back to my pudding making & was down to the last nine puddings to be weighed out, tied up in their cloths ready for boiling.

So I got my good old fashioned scales out to do this small job. As I had the last container holding the mixture sitting on the table where the cloths were laid out ready, I did something I had never done before. I put the scales next to the container on the table because it was only for such a small quantity of weighing. My regular practice is having them on the kitchen bench with the container next to them.

I had weighed out one pudding when I knocked the scales flying across the floor & did a good job of smashing them.

I had the big saucepans on the stove with the electricity encouraging them to boil quickly so, I could get the last nine nestled in the boiling water. I had to turn the stove off because as frustrating as it was, it was necessary to dash out & buy new scales.

After three shops I finally ended up at The Good Guys just up the road from me. I really must have been in a flap because they were the obvious people to go to in the first place! Also they are the closest to my home.

They had scales but only digital ones. My dear old faithful scales has pounds & ounces as well as grams & kilograms. As I am old fashioned I like old fashioned scales.

It wasn’t to be. They only had digital ones. I refrained from using a naughty word & only said it under my breath. I just didn’t have the time running to the next suburb, so I had to settle for digital. The lass serving me showed me very quickly how to set them up.

So off I drove home with something I knew I wasn’t going to like as I tried them once before & they were so slow!

I arrived back home after an hour, turned the stove on again & set out to weigh out the mixture. At least the scales were flat & I wouldn’t send them flying!

When I came to tare them for the mixing bowl to weigh the mixture into I got highly confused as I always do with new tools. I thought I read something about batteries, but I had to get the aid of a magnifying glass to read the small print.

There was nothing else to do but turn the stove off again & – armed with batteries, bowl & scales – I choofed off to The Good Guys again. I was feeling a bit foolish when I walked in & three good guys were having a chat together.

As I walked in one asked if they could help me. Yes sir, please show me how to tare these scales so that I don’t give my puddings the incorrect weight. The nice good guy was only too happy to help the poor little old lady & showed me how to do it: just where it says on-tare, press that button! No batteries needed, nothing.

As I stepped back into my car I thought how, at times, it is good to be looked at as a poor little old lady that knows nothing about gadgets! I came home, turned the stove on again & got the job done.

Wasn’t it Shakespeare who said “much to do about nothing?” Well he was right. This was such a small thing that caused me a lot of frustration & time. Not that time worries me as I have plenty of it, but I had planned that day to have the last nine puddings in the pot, cooked & hung up to dry by 11 a.m.

As it was I got to go to lunch at 2 p.m. with them still boiling in the pot & due to come off at 4 p.m.

The ray of sunshine through the cloud was that I had my car when I needed it, so I guess all that was meant to be seeing as I found it necessary to send my lovely old fashioned scales flying.

I kept my cool & went off to line dancing on Friday. As I was dancing I couldn’t help thinking how good it was to leave everything behind & dance. Sometimes the mental & physical is just so good for me. I may not be the best in the world, but I do love my line dancing. I really realised that as I was floating around doing the dance to the tune of ‘The Rock & Roll Waltz.’

Then we had our first five minute break, when our teacher, Jean announced that she had made a decision to retire. We were all a bit stunned.

My immediate thought, after the first dozen immediate thoughts, was what I learnt from my son many years ago “life is full of changes, they are inevitable & we must embrace them.” But I’m going to have trouble with this change in my life. I am greatly attached to all my teachers & to my fellow dancers as, apart from their friendship these good people bring me their empty jars each week for my relish & they buy my puddings etc.

Jean talked with us during this break saying she was going on a family holiday for five weeks in July & is trying to decide whether to retire before she goes or come back after those weeks away, perhaps feeling refreshed & continuing on until the 8th Dec.

We all left it for Jean to decide, but we are hoping she will leave it until December as, right now, it seems a bit too sudden. I kept my mouth closed during the conversation as I can sometimes tend be selfish, but this is the same Jean who organised for all the class to come to my home for an afternoon tea party when it looked like I wouldn’t get back to dancing.

It is the same Jean who encouraged me in saying she had an aunt who did line dancing until she was ninety six with the aid of her walking stick. This is Jean who asked me to the Multicultural Church Service. This is the Jean who, when I asked her, found a market for me to go to where she lives, which happened only last week.

It is also the Jean who lost her husband last year. After a life time of teaching, we all feel that she just wants to spend her time with her family now. Having written that it makes me feel better & I have been fortunate in knowing Jean & having her in my life.

I am just hoping the expiry date will be the 8th Dec.  I also hope that Philip is here for his birthday to give me his arm as he so often has done. I don’t think I have the get up & go to attend a different line dancing class, but I guess I will need to jump that hurdle when it comes.

In the meantime, thanks to Jean, I have to forget about puddings, dancing & all that as next weekend I have two markets to think about: one on /saturday & the next on Sunday. I had better change my boot scootin’ footwear for some others as I have a few batches of relish to make, bottle & price by the end of the week.

Whatever, life is good & with all the frustrations of life I am very fortunate & very blessed.

Heaps of hugs & love dear friend. Dawn X O X O.

Dear Ann,

A few years ago I had the privilege of attending a concert held in a huge hall where the star performer was Wayne Rogers. I had not heard of him prior to the concert, but when I did I was enamoured by his performance, as were the other hundreds of people who attended.

Wayne is a hairdresser, singer & drag queen. He is well known in Newcastle & Sydney & has performed on television in a show called ‘The Voice’ where he received a lot of accolades from both the judges & the audience.

The outfits he wears are his own creations & they were not short of stunning. He also has a pair of beautiful legs that most women would die for! In addition to this he is a most popular person in his business also on & off the stage.

Just recently Cheryl was in touch to say we had the opportunity of visiting Wayne & his partner James in the privacy of their own home where we could see all through the house, enjoy some entertainment & end the afternoon with High Tea. All this for a mere $80, but only twenty guests could attend. Certainly Sandra, Cheryl & I were very keen as we had seen some photos of the home in the local paper.

So last Saturday the three of us arrived before the rest of the guests & the first thing we did was take a photo of the home itself, which was a very old building built in the nineteen twenties & older than I was! We had been told that Wayne had redecorated the home completely by himself & of course we were all eager to see what the interior was like.

Dawn & Wayne Rogers at the greeting.

We all assembled outside the home, as we had been requested not to knock on the door. We gathered at the foot of the steps ready & waiting. We could hear something buzzing from inside the door & I suggested to my friends that they were doing a last vacuum of the floor!

Cheryl was more astute, stating that Wayne was no doubt putting finishing touches to his hairdo. I think she might have been right. The front door opened & wow! Wayne appeared with a fantastic hairdo (wig or not) & a beautiful very slim fitting cream lace dress just to the knees. Over this was a two tiered fur trimmed cape. He also stockings & also 3″ high heeled shoes.

He was holding a tray filled with champagne, orange juice with a strawberry, which followed with James holding the door open plus a camera. We were all invited to step up & make ourselves comfortable on the patio while being served with pre high tea nibblies & drinks.

What a lovely dramatic beginning on a sunny winter’s day that we all thoroughly enjoyed, as the conversation was quite informal & very friendly with all of us.

After two champagnes I had the courage to go over to where Wayne was chatting to some ladies with camera in hand to ask if it was permissible for photos to be taken. He smiled & said of course, go right ahead. So I said “in that case would you have your photo taken with me please?”

He did & my shoulder tucked into this tall slim person’s underarm. I felt a bit like Riley must have felt when with Dave. It wasn’t the only photo he had taken with me either because he really liked me & fell for me hard. I will tell you about that later.

I took heaps of photos inside the house as there was so much to photograph. All the beautiful memorabilia Wayne & James had collected, which was so tastefully placed. There was just so much that made that house a real home, with photos of the boys together also with parents. You could feel the love they had put into the place.

Main Bedroom showing the cornice detail

All the old fashioned cornice in each room had been artistically painted by Wayne himself & was a beautiful addition to the decor. I couldn’t explain to you all that was there, but the light fittings were absolutely magnificent. We loved every thoughtful detail the home held.

I could only liken it to one other home that I have seen which was similar, which belongs to your son, Les. That is a little different being full of film & movie memorabilia, which was the industry in which Les was engaged, but it also has stories to tell & is as amazing as Wayne & James’ home.

The elaborate toilet.

We were all invited to go look through the whole house being told particularly not to miss going to the toilet adjacent to the laundry!

When we saw the toilet we could only gasp at the artistic add-ons that made it a toilet like no other any of us had ever seen, without it being ostentatious! We then moved to every room in the house. It was truly like a life sized doll’s house, with two small sets of steps up to the top, then down to the bottom with all the living rooms in between.

We started off with the two bedrooms downstairs & it wasn’t just the decor, but the selected colours that made it stand out so much. I could not help myself, but every room deserved photos!

Upstairs, one room was a third bedroom that contained a real neat & special cot that a friend had given them with a toy monkey nestled inside. It seemed to be a part of the decor.

The other upstairs room contained a large number of Wayne’s outfits on display, but I feel sure there were more hidden in the closets!

After the tour upstairs we went down again, where there was another flight of stairs taking us to the entertainment section. Furry chairs decorated with wide pink ribbon awaited us & there were only twenty seats!

Wayne makes his entrance.

When we were all seated the door to the stairs was closed, James set the music going, the door opened & there appeared a beautiful lady with long blonde curly hair hanging around the eyes, a gorgeous blue sequinned lace fitting gown.

Wayne is no more than size 10 bordering on size 8 & is very tall with or without high heeled shoes, which he was wearing. Over his arm he had a very large darker blue boa that matched his eye makeup perfectly!

Of course there were a few additions like blue rings on his fingers & very large ones, which – me being me & loving jewelry – I thought were the finishing touches to a superb look. In all of this glory, when the door opened to admit his entrance, the steps to the auditorium glittered with multi coloured lights. We welcomed him with loud applause.

James had also turned the spot light on (which ruined all my photos as I am not at all professional), but it didn’t matter as Wayne just stood before us & talked & sang. He just spoke naturally tellling us how shy he was when he left school. He went to work in one of our major super markets in the fruit & veg section for two months. At that time he was so shy he didn’t talk to anyone in the place durmg that time.

I can believe that as he still has that shyness about him. He doesn’t carry the worldliness that might be expected. He told us how he wanted to be a hairdresser from the time he could remember. As a little boy would borrow his sister’s doll that had long hair & he would fiddle with it while his sister cried out “Mum he’s got my doll again!”

He also told us how he had to make a decision to continue a career as a singer & drag queen & how he was encouraged by professional people to continue. His audience is so glad he did.

In between chatting he sang some beautiful songs for us & that’s where his shyness went from him. He loves Shirley Bassey songs & indeed I think he loves Shirley Bassey as well as her songs. He sang a couple for us & also had two ladies get up with him while he encouraged us all to participate in ‘All that Jazz which was really great.

Chatting and entertaining.

In between telling us a little of his life he spoke of another very famous British born drag queen, Danny La Rue & what that man did for charity. I think too, that Wayne also will be remembered for the same thing.

My son, David, has told me his very favourite song of all time is ‘My Way.’ When Wayne sang that for us his voice was tremendous. There would have been more than one with tears at the back of their eyes. Wayne wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his singing & no wonder he is sought after for his expertise in more than one field.

Having enjoyed the show we then went upstairs for High Tea, which the dictionary says is where everyone sits around a table & eats a cooked dish, bread & butter & drink tea. Well we did all sit around three tables in the living area, but it was a little different to what the dictionary says.

I remember Max & I having High Tea in some very posh retail store in London: Harrods was the name. It was something to experience. No hot dish, but the little bite sized sandwiches & delicate cakes were to stay in one’s memory.

So it was at this High Tea with Wayne. High Teas always have three decker cake plates holding these delicacies & the ‘to die for’ sandwiches (no crusts at High Teas) simply disappeared within a few minutes while we were served tea (or coffee)!

Wayne had come upstairs wearing his gorgeous blue dress with the whole works, so I asked again if he would have his photo taken with me “cause I knew he liked me & would oblige,” Cheryl asked him to squat down beside where I was sitting & as he did so his high heel slipped on the floor & he fell over backwards!

Dawn and Wayne at High Tea.

We all laughed, including Wayne & we had our photo taken again. I told you he fell for me hard & I did tell everyone he didn’t have to let them all know just how hard!

That was how our afternoon came to a close. Before we left Wayne made a little speech indicating great thoughtfulness for other people in what he said which endorses my original impression of him being am extremely nice person, happy with his life & thankful for doing it as he said: “My Way.”

Hope you have enjoyed reading about Wayne & my thoughts & love go with you always. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

When I first came to Newcastle as a Tupperware Distributor in the nineteen sixties one of my first thoughts was to get myself a good hairdresser. After a little time I was introduced to Val, a hairdresser who had a salon in a suburb close to where we were living at that time.  Her home was also within a couple of kilometres to our home.

Val took me on board & I had a standing hair dressing appointment with her at her salon at 10 a.m. every Friday. This ensured that my hair was looking nice for the weekend, as it was a usual practice for Max & I to dress up (in those days in a long gown for females) & go out to dinner at a nice restaurant every Friday evening.

Val was a few years younger than me, but we gelled together very well & respected each other immensely. She was very good to me & on more than one occasion came to my home to do my hair after I had been in hospital.

It was also nice that David would have no one else cut his hair in his teen years other than Val’s daughter Cheryl. The association almost became a family affair.

Val was more than accommodating. Like when Tupperware had an important function for us to attend in another State, she would make her self available at odd times – sometimes even as early as 7 a.m. – to give me a hair do. This ensured that I could leave to catch the plane in the morning & arrive at the other end with my hair immaculate. Also I am woman & it made me feel good! I valued this extra service on many occasions.

Val & I became quite close over a couple of decades. When she sold her hairdressing salon to carry on with a few privileged patrons in her home, I was fortunate enough to be one of those. I valued Val’s hairdressing expertise as I also valued her friendship.

Then when Max passed away & I moved house to Lakelands, Val decided it was too far for me to travel for a hairdo & suggested I get someone closer to my home. This meant looking for a new hairdresser within a reasonable vicinity.

Fortunately for me, my long time friend Pat was a resident here most of her married life & suggested Felicity who did hair dressing in conjunction with her friend, Trudy at a suburb next to where I live. If Felicity is away, Trudy takes over her customers & vice versa. It has been a very good arrangement.

My standing appointment is now at 10 a.m Thursday morning, & I go with my hair shampooed. If I am ten minutes early, & Felicity is not busy, I am often out & on the way home before my appointed time. Felicity is the fastest & most proficient hairdresser I have ever known.

Recently I wanted to try out an old fashioned hair net for my hair to use at night & asked if they happened to stock this outmoded item. The reply was “No, but maybe Bella hairdressers had one.”

I was told to go straight along the street & Bella was situated opposite the local hotel. Not knowing exactly where the hotel was I drove along a couple of streets & pulled over to park & get my bearings.

I was looking around when a very ordinary youngish man asked if he could help me. I said I was looking for a hairdresser. He pointed straight across the road to a hairdresser! Then before I could say anything he took my arm & practically ran me across the road. I had to tell him I could no longer run!

By the time we were across the street & the one car, a street away, avoided hitting us! Then he left me & I couldn’t help but remember the nice young man in Burbank who offered his arm to me at an intersection years ago.

My saviour this time had delivered me safely & left just as fast as he had taken me across the road, but I managed to thank him for his kindness & asked God to Bless him.

I finally found ‘Bella’ a little further on & got my hair net. I even bought two for $3 to make the trip worthwhile! I then drove home.

It is my practice to drive in through the garage, which I did. I left the door open as I intended to go out again. I was only inside for a few minutes when I realised I had a visitor walking beside me.

Dawn’s little tiger visitor

It was a sort of brown & orange striped cat which I had seen a few weeks ago walking through my bushes in the garden &, he or she, looked like a little tiger. This time he was not so furtive & walked past me into my living area having a good look around.

I talked to him as you would when you don’t have many visitors & kept calling him ‘Puss’ while I showed him out the front door. He was loath to leave & when on the other side howled to come in again.

I didn’t want him to make himself too much at home as we are not permitted pets in our villas, so I put a drink of milk out the front for him. He seemed to appreciate this & even though he was wearing a collar I opened up a small tin of fish for him as well. He was a bit dubious about that but I just sat in my little wooden rocking chair & kept talking to him.

Doesn’t this remind you of a poor little old lady with love to spare?

Puss ate his meal & then kindly posed for me to take his photo. Having been encouraged to this extent I went over to stroke hi,m but he was having none of it! He watched my hand, smelt it deciding that he had had enough. He almost treated me with disdain as he put his head in the sir & strolled away. I haven’t seen him since!

Now this might seem a nothing kind of a letter to you Ann, but perhaps like me, as you have aged you realise that these little incidental things in life are life itself. There is not much in an aged person’s life that makes it exciting.

I have learnt that it is the every day things which we once took so much for granted that makes our life today. So that young man intervening & my little visitor made my life a little bit different today & I wanted to share it with you.

I hope you know that my letters to you have always been special to me knowing that you enjoyed them so much & writing to you still gives me a purpose in life sharing with you the every day little things that happen to me.

Ann if you don’t already know it I want to make sure that you know that you were a very special person to me & through my son’s understanding made it possible for that special bond to continue. And yes, like you, I wish I had known you twenty years before we met.

The last time I saw you is indelible in my heart & mind. I had said goodbye on you out on your balcony & as we embraced you said “You know I won’t be here when you come back.”

I did know, I hugged you & said goodbye. I took a few steps & felt compelled to come back & hug you again. I am glad I did. I loved our times in Richard’s hair salon. I loved our ‘ovaltines’ & I loved you as two friends love each other.

God love you too, Thanks for being such a special person to me & we will meet again. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

It is the custom for me to meet with the ex-Tupperware warehouse staff members every year. As we get older our numbers are dwindling as some have already left this planet for the gold paved streets in heaven, so we are starting to meet twice a year.

I look forward to these meetings headed by Dianne who organises where we will go & when. That’s after she has conferred with us all, so that we are all able to make it on the same day.

On thinking about the group that comprises Jenny, Margaret, Dianne, Janelle, Donnah & myself, it comes home as to how many of our packing staff have passed away. There is only Jenny left of that section as the others were all secretaries.

I often think of the packing staff as when we became distributors & inherited them back in the nineteen sixties. We found the Distributorship much smaller in numbers than Max & I had been told. We had to tell most of them that they were not needed as the number of dealers & managers were so small.

As a matter of fact the existing four Managers only had four working girls in each Unit. We didn’t need three packers to sell what they sold in a week.

However, we grew rather quickly with some new blood to lead the girls to success. We soon had to eat humble pie & ask if they would all come back again!

And when we built the Distributorship from sixteen working Dealers & Mangers to six hundred within the next two to three years we had to get a few more workers. This was no trouble to us as the packers already working had friends who applied themselves to the work load brilliantly, so it’s no wonder they all became such good friends.

Max & I never had any trouble whatsoever from the staff as each one of them applied themselves to the job so efficiently that they could pack hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of dozens & dozens of different Tupperware items in a week. When we became the first Distributors to sell over a million dollars worth of Tupperware in a week, these girls could still pack it & get it out to everyone in time even if they worked some hours overtime.

The remaining Tupperware warehouse staff with Dawn.

They became known as the most efficient packers throughout Tupperware Australia. Very successful Distributors would visit our warehouse to see how they did it. The leader of this team was Isobel who was one we sacked & quickly hired back again.

She is very much missed from our gathering as she passed on just a few short years ago. So you can see why we were justly proud of our staff.

And indeed the secretaries knew their job too. Margaret was a whiz at helping me in compiling the weekly bulletin, among other duties she had. I relied on her a great deal.

Margaret is now the oldest in our group. I think I follow next as a year younger than Margaret. Jenny comes next & as for those young secretaries who kept tally of all the sums for us, they seem just sooo young to us oldies.

Dianne is a young grandma. Janelle was smart – she never married – while Donnah has a grown up family & a daughter to be married next year.

When I saw her she was as brown as a blackberry, with a smooth even tan from laying in the sun on a holiday beach this year. That’s how young she is. She doesn’t look old enough to have a daughter about to be married.

As for Janelle, she has led a good life without marriage & always looks as if she has stepped out of a band box. I always remember when David was young confiding in me that Janelle was the only young person he knew who didn’t smoke pot! That is an achievement!

They were all smart girls & also diligent workers. It’s no wonder Max could go off & play the pokies at the club sometimes & leave them to it!

Looking back on the years in the business they were good years. Tupperware was so good to us. Our Staff were also good to us & in return we worked hard to be successful, not only for ourselves but also for them as our success kept them all in work.

So you can imagine why I love to spend time with this truly loyal group of girls who shared a life with us, knew our children as we knew theirs. Not many businesses could say what I can say: “we were always in Tupperware one big happy family!”

So in April the six of us met at the General Roberts Hotel, which was packed because the service & the food is so good. I certainly enjoyed mine & didn’t hesitate when I saw pulled pork on the menu!

The waiter, actually the Manager, was very new in the job & certainly performed A1. He was witty, quick & very friendly & didn’t mind when the whole restaurant emptied & just the six of us remained! We decided a tip was in order specially for him seeing as we met at noon & departed at 5 p.m.!

After that  I just went straight up to David’s place to partake of his Roast Chicken dinner!

Hope you are enjoying walking on those streets of gold & I send my love always. Dawn X O X O

Dear Ann,

I missed Prime Timers in April all because of my freezer, which had developed a split in the rubber which sealed it. I rang the appropriate people a couple of weeks before, who said they would let me know when the replacement seal arrived as they has to order it.

So in April I was all ready to drive off to the get together at Prime Timers when the repairer man rang me early in the morning to say he would be delivering the necessary item between 11 a.m & 1 p.m. The meeting officially starts at 10 a.m. I asked him was it possible to come later in the day & he curtly said ‘NO’ so that put a stop to my organised plan.

Would you believe he arrived right on time, walked in with the replacement, took one look at the fridge & stated “the fridge door has dropped, you need a new fridge & freezer & I have just saved you $110 towards it”.

With that he walked out with the replacement rubber & left. I didn’t actually bless him for saving the dollars! I had missed the meeting that I enjoy so much & I was not by any means ready to buy a new fridge/freezer! I wondered what his employers would say when he reported back to them along with the replacement!

The outcome of this was that when David came down the following Saturday he said he could fix the rubber with some silicon. I fixed the offending dropped fridge door by ramming a thickish wadding of paper at the top of the door, so that when it closed it kept out all the air. Problem all fixed with no expense & it just left me irked that I had missed my meeting.

The ladies in their full-on tap routine.

However, the May get together soon arrived, as time does go by quickly. I was at the venue ready for my coffee & biscuit while chatting to my friends until the meeting commenced. And I had relish for the trade table, despite selling out the previous Saturday.

I was informed that because of my gift for the table I didn’t have to pay the entry fee that pays for lunch. I hadn’t known that rule existed until then. As I take relish every month & have done so for years I mentally tallied up how many $6 entry fees they owe me!

I am joking. I love what the Salvos do for the community & the world & have contributed in small ways to help them to this end.

This coming weekend is their annual door knock appeal & on tele this evening they mentioned it saying anyone interested in door knocking or spending a couple of hours at a shopping centre would be welcome. I have half a mind to offer for the local shopping centre. People would be happy to give when it’s a lady nearing ninety collecting!

We do love the dancers who come to entertain us & this month I felt they really excelled themselves. They are basically tap dancers, which brings back memories of my tap dancing days that I loved as a child.  Their repertoire was all new & very enjoyable.

The ladies in their blackbird costumes.

New costumes were also in vogue & considering these ladies are not celebrating their youth they do an excellent job. They danced to some good old tunes: I just want to be with you; To Sir with Love; It’ll be the day when you make my cry‘; & All That Jazz. For each of these (& others) they changed costumes giving a great variation.

The soloist with the amazing voice.

Cheryl took plenty of photos for me as she has more ‘get up & go’ than I have & doesn’t mind being the conspicuous official photographer. I am a bit shy! My very favourite dance was done to Bye Bye Blackbird.

I thought their costumes to be very applicable. They had flowing black tops featuring a very soft pattern, black pants, long red gloves & a red hat with a black feather, in my book they looked really great.

To give the ladies time to change their costumes, a young lady in a gorgeous gown of silver & black sang for us & had a truly lovely voice. Makes you wonder how many people who have beautiful voices are never recognised but I suppose they can’t all go on stage & be a star.

I don’t know the name of the lass who sang, but she did a great job of entertaining us with some well known lyrics while she swayed in her lovely dress. Sometimes we couldn’t helping joining in & sometimes she encouraged us to join in, but all in all we had a very enjoyable morning at our Prime Timers gathering & hope to see the dancers back in some future date soon.

My love to you dear friend. Dawn X O X O