​"In, over, through and off'...it's almost seventy years ago and my loved grandmother is sitting at my side, patiently encouraging me to repeat this as I follow her instructions after I showed interest in learning to knit .  "In, over, through and off". 

Each time I stay at my grandparent's house I'm encouraged to pick up my knitting.  I progress from mastering 'plain' to learning 'pearl', to casting on and off.  Then on to casting on an even number and knitting 'one plain, one pearl' to form 'rib'; followed by casting on an odd number of stitches and knitting one plain one pearl. The result, my favourite, moss stitch!  

My grandmother teaches me to follow patterns, to increase, decrease and more. I make my first rib stitched beanie, with a pom pom. I loved making pom-poms!  A circular piece of paper with a hole in the middle forming a tool around which wool was wound, the process completed, a wonderful pom pom!  Scarves, then over time jumpers and cardigans follow, with Nanna's servicemen's knitting books providing patterns using four needles to make gloves or socks. What confidence was gained in persevering to achieve the milestone of turning the heel of a sock!

These were times of post war shortages, times when clothes were still made of wool and cotton, when tariffs protected the Australian clothing and textile industries.  It would be some decades before the mass production of acrylic fibres and the mass production of cheap knitted clothing.

We would sit by the little fire in my grandparents' sitting room after dinner, listening to the 3DB News, my grandmother knitting woollen jumpers with cowel necks for my grandfather and uncle, or knitwear in various shapes and sizes for her grandchildren which were destined to became hand me downs as we grew out of them.  
  
Ever resourceful, my grandmother often used left over wools to make striped jumpers of which we always seemed to have at least one.

By learning to knit I learnt that if I persevered, eventually there would be a result which would almost always be useful, pleasing, perhaps even something to be proud of.  I learned about 'patterns'; to problem solve when I dropped a stitch; to ponder about  how reversing a process slightly could lead to a different result, to try different ways to solve problems.  I learned about textiles, about different 'ply's', about the impact of changing needle sizes; and more.  Knitting even helped me to learn about atoms -  I could imagine atoms making up wool, which could then be used in different ways to construct a physical entity.  But the biggest lesson was the preparedness to take up a project, select patterns, wools, colours, then persevere to complete a product I'd be pleased with.

Over time I also learnt to crochet - equally fascinating to do, but different.  I'd  grown up familiar with Afghan squares on bedspreads made by my grandmother joined together then affixed to a sturdy floral poplln material.  In 1977, having returned from overseas and bought a little house in Daylesford, I had very little money to spare.  However, wool could be put away at the local drapery store to buy on an as needs basis, so I began to make an afghan square rug based on the colours of polyanthus flowers with black borders and edging.  Over time it grew to become a large double bedspread, quite a joy to behold!

Not so long ago, I spent some time restoring the edging on this bedspread, which is now almost fifty years old. It epitomizes to me the results of  perseverance.  I think of it when I doggedly persevere to add the Newsletter reports to the group pages on the web site each month.  I go into 'Afghan Square' making mode when doing this and always enjoying seeing the reports of group activities and the stories written by As Time Goes By and Family Research group members build up over time. 

Adding the newsletter reports and the stories each month is a labour of love which requires perseverance. Sometimes I think about succession planning and ask myself ...'would anyone else be prepared to persevere to do this if I couldn't do it?'  

I have my doubts, but then again, perhaps someone might be able to persevere, if they'd learnt to knit and crochet! 


Bev Lee
​May 2023

So many aspects of our childhood shape us.  I’ve steered away from writing about anything particularly ‘deep and meaningful’, instead reflecting on the way in which taking ballet classes may have shaped me, only to find this was actually quite deep and meaningful in its own way! 
  
I took ballet classes in one form or another from 6 to 22 years of age.  My parents could really only afford for us to have one dedicated hobby as children – mine was a focused attention on ballet with a taste of netball.  We didn’t have a car; neither mum nor dad drove; so activities had to be within walking or cycling distance.

Some of the outcomes of taking ballet classes which shaped me were unexpected.   Going to ballet led to me learning something about Masonic Lodges at a very young age!  The ballet classes I attended were held in the ‘Order of the Buffalo Masonic Lodge’ at the Buff’s Hall in Clayton.  I remember dancing with buffalo heads and masonic memorabilia looking down at me from the walls as I worked through ballet exams from preliminary to Grade 5.

How often do we hear about the value of being part of team.  At ballet I learnt a lot about ‘team work’. I remember working incredibly hard with my dancing friends in Swan Lake’s ‘Four Cygnets’, to synchronize our movements which had to be exact.
 
Through ballet I learnt a smattering of French - ‘devlope’; ‘coupe chassis’; 'grande battement', ‘port de bras’ and more!   I learnt about the major ballets and to love classical music.  Because each exam had a folk dance element , I learnt dances such as the Tarantella; even some flamenco dancing and had exposure to castanets.  When I lived in Spain, I haunted Spanish flamenco bars!  Another element involved learning minuets and other English court dances which I later enjoyed watching in historical dramas such as Henry VIII and Pride and Prejudice.

There was exposure to the theatre industry - costume and costume design, including practice in helping my mother sew sequins on tutus and other costumes.  Lighting, stage management, make-up and front of house were involved.  I also enjoyed working with younger children and choreographing ballet with my friends  to beautiful music including Limelight and Ravel’s Bolero
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Through ballet I learnt about examination pressure at an early age !  While we didn’t have ‘exams’ in primary school, at ballet we had exams which involved dancing in front of a trio of Royal Academy accredited examiners and answering oral questionning.  The exams involved getting feedback; being graded from pass to honourable mention to honours; being awarded medals and even failing and repeating.  I can remember the fear and anxiety involved before entering the examiners room, and the feeling of relief that it was all over.  Whatever I think about exams – and I’m so glad we don’t have exams or marking in U3A – surviving ballet exams did increase my resilience when facing exams at school and university.
 
And I can remember other aspects of succeeding and failing – realizing that I would not get the part I’d longed for in the concert as I wasn’t really the best dancer in the class. 

In later adolescence I began to work towards the ‘Elementary’ RAD exam. Sadly I wasn’t suited physically to continue classical dance training; with overdeveloped arches and well developed breasts making it difficult to do ‘point work’, or dance on my toes.   So I guess another area of being shaped by childhood ballet classes was learning to cope when I effectively was forced to retire from something which I really enjoyed doing.  Perhaps the realization of changes caused by physical changes helped me to accept retirement in other capacities throughout my life – even now?  Food for thought.
 
My love of dance also taught me that there are benefits in seeking out alternatives.  At Monash University I joined the Modern Dance club which involved learning Martha Graham’s dance movements which were very expressive and did not involve dancing ‘on my  toes’ – dancing in bare feet was a welcome thrill.  We danced in an innovative ballet ‘Once’, choreographed by Jack Manuel,  a work choreographed for contemporary music in which various sized metal pipes were 'played' while an opera singer sang an improvised, non language based, aria in the background.  Not long after  the Light Opera club needed dancers for their performance of ‘Kiss me Kate’, a musical based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’.  I found myself dancing on stage to Cole Porter’s ‘Another opening, another show', with its final line, ‘Let’s go on with the show’. 

My choice of career as a high school teacher seemed to some quite odd as I was a relatively reserved child.  However my ballet training had given me the capacity to ‘take a leap of faith’ that I could manage and a capacity to ‘go on with the show’, whatever happened!  It also taught me to learn and remember routines – and that following a routine would lead to a result.  

An added bonus - in my first year of teaching at Heywood High School in the Western District, I was asked to choreograph the school’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Patience’. 

So a love of classical music, contemporary music; the music of Cole Porter and Gilbert and Sullivan; came into my life because I had once attended ballet classes!

Over time I stopped dancing – though I always loved dancing at parties with lovers and good friends. I wish I’d kept dancing – now my knees make this virtually impossible.  I envy other U3A members who are still able to follow their passion for dance in various ways.  Even line dancing would be a challenge for me.

Now in my third age, I sometimes wonder whether the physical challenges of some exercises and choreography may have affected my knees.  When I go to the podiatrist I certainly know that dancing on point affected my toes! 

In the early months of belonging to U3A I found myself in the Music Appreciation class at U3A.  Attending W4 on the wrong day, the group invited me to stay.  I’m still attending.  It’s all because of attending ballet classes.   I find myself recognising the music even though I can’t always name it, and find myself imagining the type of choreography which would suit the music.
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And, just as when I danced,  when I listen to music in Music Appreciation, I find myself losing myself in the moment.  Something which  was wonderful to experience when attending ballet classes, and is wonderful to experience now—in this very room!