This month's icebreaker on collections, especially  home libraries*, resulted in the sharing of original ideas for physical, electronic and memory libraries. A library of ‘dad jokes’, was one that could be especially useful for the grand-fathers amongst us. Yet no library would be comparable to Delfina’s.

'Catch up' tales related to 'Time Travelling' and 'Travel' followed. A revisit to his old classroom of fifty years ago, led Neville to recount a nostalgic tale of one of his favourite teachers, ‘Nick Cave’s dad’. David delightfully detailed a walk through Japan with his two sons, offering salutary advice to always check your boots for comfort prior to embarkation. Neville disturbingly, led us into the labyrinth of his post-retirement dreams/nightmares.

On this months theme 'My Brilliant Career', Carmyl shared with us excerpts from an irregular column she wrote for the local newspaper under the pseudonym of Mrs Hinchcliffe, who argued and bargained with God, in anticipation of the merged Uniting Church. Meanwhile James introduced us to the 1% club as he tracked his illustrious career from military aviation to his unexpected success as a sales representative. Max reminisced with stories of his Big Blue Bin and Bev surprised us all in sharing her brief career as a film producer and editor. (Such hidden talent, although her online production and editing of our contributions, suggested this was an area of historic depth). 

Looking through a different lens, Ray chronicled a short, less than brilliant career as an insurance salesman early in his working life which led to a change of direction and public recognition as a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.  Delfina entertained us exposing her short career as Secretary of the Italian Chamber of Commerce. Without typing or other basic secretarial skills, she was surely employed on the basis of her wit and charm.   On the other hand Heather H. exposed her ‘brilliant’ career trekking from Veterinarian nurse to HR Manager and Phil shared his pleasure in deciding not become a truckie, like his dad, to start his career as an electroplate apprenticeship and which circled back to truck driving.

​Our final theme was 'Rebellion' and John entertained us with a story of a foreign rebellion on U.S. soil at Camp Ockanickon. John’s not insignificant role in this rebellion was reflected in an Aussie flag flying proudly beneath the British and US flags. And Barry reminded us of the importance of righteous rebellion against injustice and inequity.

Topics for July 15, a very early third Monday this time, are: 

‘My Gap Year’  Write about a time when you took, or circumstances meant that you took, time out from your ‘regular’ life or veered off an intended path for a year or so.  What happened?  What did you learn from doing so? (Member’s Choice Topic – Bev Morton 2022)

‘My ( …. )’  As we go through life the beginnings and endings of 'life stages' can be marked with events. Looking back over your life, think about an event, the stage it marked, and the results, hopefully fruits of this transition.  (If you have been in the class for some time, pick a life stage which you haven’t written about before).

 
​Graham Jensen

​*Reflections on Home Libraries (and other collections)

There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.  “If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few:  when you want to feel better, then you go to the ‘medicine closet’ and choose a book.  Not a random one, but the right book for that moment.  That’s why you should always have a nutrition choice!  “Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it.  They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good.  Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity”.

Optional Writing Task  Write  about a collection you have which includes being able to choose ‘the right …. for that moment’  When did you start the collection, how did it grow? Give an example of some examples of when you have chosen from it for the moment….What decisions do you or have you faced about its future? 

Next months topics - July 15

‘My Gap Year’
Write about a time when you took, or circumstances meant that you took, time out from your ‘regular’ life or veered off an intended path for a year or so.  What happened?  What did you learn from doing so?
(Member’s Choice Topic – Bev Morton 2022) - u3abenalla.weebly.com/beverleys-page/my-gap-year
​
‘My ( …. )’
As we go through life the beginnings and endings of 'life stages' can be marked with events. Looking back over your life, think about an event, the stage it marked, and the results, hopefully fruits of this transition.  (If you have been in the class for some time, pick a life stage which you haven’t written about before).

​Our May icebreaker evoked lots of memories, evident in a particularly noisy room while memories of ‘My First Job’ were shared in pairs!
 
Carmyl reviewed a rare book ‘Education of a Princess - a memoir by Marie, Grand Duchess of Russia’ (1931), describing being impressed by “the honesty of the account of a life which had very few satisfying episodes… to be able to write this book fifteen years after escaping Russia was a fine achievement”.
 
A program of catch-up stories preceded ‘intermission’, including ‘Her Story’, Phil’s delightful memories of his mother, Betty … “hard working, a figure of strength, a beautiful singer, and the best Mum of all.” On last month’s ‘My (Best, Worst, other) Holiday’, Barry’s ‘My (Best Steak) Holiday Memory’ and
 
Phil’s reflections on a ‘Mystery Tour’ involving the elusive ‘Baz’ both contained comedic elements. Neville’s ‘Easter’ story captured the life stage of 20-ish young man returning from Melbourne to the family farm each Easter keen to party, play music and have fun, and a father’s capacity to prick his conscience about spending more time at home and helping with the milking! On the topic ‘Discrimination’, James bravely shared his reflections on discrimination he faced as a New Zealander seeking work in Australian 43 years ago and the ways he found to work around and attempt to overcome it over time.
 
After ‘intermission’, May’s topic ‘Time Travelling’, brought forth engaging, thought-provoking stories. Graham, Carmyl and John ‘looked behind them to see the future in their footprints’, while Barry, Heather and Delfina ‘travelled through time to find a younger version of themselves and share a life lesson or lessons they have learned’
 
For the alternate topic ‘Memories Treasure Chest’, Ray shared fond memories of a life time as a bowler in which he participated in competitions and often won premierships, while James recalled as a boy collecting birds eggs, coins, badges relating to attainments in cubs, scouts and life-saving, with more badges added later as he rose through the ranks from air cadet to receiving his own pair of wings as a young pilot. He ended…“Now I collect wine every week for pleasure…… Has to be a Red, mainly Shiraz!!”

Next month’s topics - Inspired by the books of Miles Franklin and recommended for continuing class members ‘My Brilliant Career’ or ‘My Career Went Bung’; and for newer class members, ‘Rebellion’. Details are included below**, in the course handout and will be sent out in a reminder email during the month.
 
Each month, ‘life’s rich tapestry’ resonates in our stories. A thread of comments and anecdotes in a number of stories this month caused pause for reflection on our experiences of the gendered nature of the world we inherited and gender related issues we have observed across the many decades in which we have lived and worked and brought up families.
 
Thank you to class members for your preparedness to share your stories. It is such a joy to read them when they arrive in my email or letter box each month, and to observe the encouragement and support you give one another during our sessions.
 
Bev Lee

**Topics for June -

For continuing class members, the theme is - ‘My Brilliant Career’ and/or ‘My Career Went Bung’ (Miles Franklin)

Miles Franklin’s ‘My Brilliant Career’ and its thoughtful sequel. ‘My Career Went Bung’ closely mirror events in her life. 

Reflecting back on your life, flesh out the story of (one of) your brilliant career(s), sharing with us the highs, the lows, the struggles, it’s meaning to you, and more, OR

Reflect back on a time when your ‘My Career Went Bung’. Set the scene by sharing with us the nature of your career before it ‘went bung’, what appeared to have happened, why, what it meant to you, and whether perhaps other doors opened up to you as a result.

​For new/newer students, a topic to get your teeth into…. ‘Rebellion’

An act of rebellion!  Have you ever challenged authority, defied expectations or fought for your beliefs? Choose a single, defining act of rebellion in your life & tell us about it

Of course, you can choose from either the ’continuing’ or ’new’ member topics!
​
if you have been busy or had writer’s block, you can always present a catch-up story you haven’t shared yet; share a 'members' choice’ story, or simply pass and enjoy the stories shared by others.  Long-term members, it’s fine to share a story you enjoyed writing in the past on one of these topics, while for those who have written about one of these topics as part of an autobiography or story collection, it’s fine to share this, tweaking the story to ‘fit’ the topic if necessary.