I Was There  - links to some ABC Open contributions on this topic
 
Have you experienced a significant news, historical or cultural event first hand? Share your personal piece of history in 500 words.

We began our late March session with a warm up activity ‘Two truths and one lie’, with each person stating one truth about their life and one lie.  Strangely, everyone guessed correctly that Bev had not won an Iron Woman event in her youth! 

Ray O’Shannessy then gave a most informative presentation on his experience of writing and self-publishing a book about his family history.  We all felt it was one of the best self-publications we had seen of its kind.  Ray gave us lots of helpful advice should we wish to do this ourselves. 
 
The theme for March, ‘Stock and Land’, proved very evocative.  Stories were shared of dairy farming, including a story about a mother who had a particular way with a cow her children found difficult to milk, and a child’s misadventure turning on the taps in a separator room;  ‘The Spud Diggers’, a story of potato farming in the Trentham area; the struggle to live of a ‘red’ heifer born the day after Julia Gillard became Prime Minister, aptly called Julia; stories of horses, including Carole’s much loved horse ‘Mr Nicksar’; Godfrey’s experiences in judging fleeces at country shows; the steep learning curve at shearing time by ‘oldies’ running a farm for their son, and more. 
 
Our café catch up at the Northo was well attended with the sharing of stories and writing ideas.  Towards the end of our time together Maxine’s little granddaughter shared a beautiful story about the things she likes to do with her brother.