The rough leather case was a faded brown. Worn at the corners and with a metal zipper. The
zipper itself suggested years of continuous use. With a single tooth missing the fastening was
more or less redundant as the pull refused to budge past the gap in its mechanism.

The size of the case was the first clue as to its use, the exact size of an old fashioned writing pad.  Once open it revealed a pocket, presumably for postage stamps, a loop to house a pen and a strip of leather sewn so that a writing pad could be hung through the strap allowing the writer to use the case as a writing surface.

Grandma Hall’s writing case came into my possession when she moved from our family home intoa nursing home. At the time I was an avid writer of letters, either to my Nana or to my pen friends.  It seemed logical that I would inherit it rather than see it thrown into the rubbish. However, my connection to the case was tenuous to say the least. I had not been close to Grandma Hall and there was no transfer of emotion with the case, simply an acknowledgement that its form and purpose would be useful.

As youth gave way to adulthood, the case itself became redundant. The creation of self adhesive postage stamps meant that they had to be stored separately, since we seemed to only possess these on a roll rather than a flat sheet. Home computers further made the case less than useful since my letter writing no longer happened with the case balanced on my lap.

The case would disappear for long periods of time, resurfacing every now and then to surprise me with its contents. Long forgotten letters would reveal themselves to me when I opened the
battered zipper. Had I penned a reply?

The last time I found the writing case was shortly after our move to Benalla. Unpacking a box,
there it lay waiting to reveal its contents to me. I knew what the case contained, and was in no
hurry to revisit the three documents. The last letter from my Nana, the order of service for her
funeral. A last letter from someone I’d rather not remember.

With trembling fingers I unfold the pages. Once read, I refold each one and return them to the
case. Wiping away a tear. Time for reflection before I put the case away.

Is it a trick of the mind that I forget where it is right now? Once found and now lost once more.

Michele Aitken
​November 2021

We all find lots of things during our lives.  Perhaps the thing that had the most impact on my life was finding my future career.

I found the start at the beginning of my second year at university.  There it was!  The unit in my Maths subject that started me on my career path.  On my Statement of Academic Record it reads “Comp Var Pot”.  Or at least I think this was the one.  It was a long time ago, so I cannot be sure of the abbreviation, but it looks like the closest.  None of the others look like they could be the one.  It was one of the five units in my Applied Mathematics IIB subject.  It was more likely to be Applied Mathematics rather than Pure Mathematics.

Pure Mathematics was much more theoretical.  It included things like Lattice Theory and Topology.  Groups and Rings just would not describe the unit that led me to my future career.
This unit was much more an applied type of Maths.  It certainly was not things like Differential Equations or Dynamic Celestial Mechanics.  So, it must have been Comp Var Pot.  A pity I no longer have the curriculum details for 1968 as this would confirm the full name of the unit.

1968 was the first year this unit was offered at the university.  It was designed to help with the more complex problem solutions in mathematical applications.  But it gave me the idea for my future career.  Prior to this the only thought I had was to go into teaching Maths.  Fortunately, I found this other option as I now know that teaching children is not for me.

So here I am, retired after being one of the early people taking up work in the computer industry.

I started as a trainee computer programmer.  Over the years I worked in just about every aspect of Information Technology.  In one small organisation (only four people), I covered the computer operator role when the computer operator was on leave.  I worked in updating the computer operating systems in a couple of organisations.  In later years I was involved in project management, quality control of new applications, senior team management; basically, whatever was required in the various organisations where I worked.

Over the years I have seen the many developments in the industry.  We started with our programs on paper tape, then cards and eventually came on-line programming.  The size of the computers has changed.  As they became physically smaller, the capacity became larger.  But perhaps the biggest change I have seen is the demographic of people working in the industry.  I was one of seven starting work that year – three males and four females.  Yes, females in the majority.  That is not what we see today.  Perhaps it is because in the early days, there was no such thing as childcare and maternity leave.  When we started families, we left work.  This left men in the majority.  For some reason the perception then became it was a male only industry!

Joy Shirley
October/November 2021

I have made many discoveries during my lifetime but the one that has been of lasting importance was “The World of Books”.  
 
I can't remember when I found this new world, but with both parents being voracious readers and a home where books were treasured, maybe I imbibed it with my mother's milk.   I can't remember when I first realised I could read and didn't have to wait for a person to read to me, but know I would have been overjoyed. From then till now that joy has remained.
 
Books are a source of information, relaxation and a fillip to the imagination. The feeling of expectation when one opens a book for the first time and reads the opening chapter is a constant. Now I experience that even if I have read the book previously but, owing to my failing memory I don't recognise it. It may seem familiar but as I can't remember the ending, I continue.  My biggest problem is my refusal to give up on a book.  I continue to hope that the writing or the story line will improve and so time that could be spent on reading a different book is wasted.
 
Books to me are not just stories or information but are of themselves things to be treasured. The feel of the cover, whether leather bound or paperback, is part of the appeal.  This also applies to the smell, whether brand new or old.  I do have a Kindle, but that is reserved for when we travel. When we went camping, I had a miner's lamp which enabled me to read when there was no power.
 
Then we come to the contents and there are many different genres.
 
Travel books take you places where you have never ventured and often ignite the desire to venture off the beaten track. Our trip to the Kimberley, Central Australia and Darwin was the result of reading about explorers and the original pioneers. I always wondered at the courage of those initial settlers.  Having visited the area, I was in awe of not only the original settlers but those living there presently.
 
My favourite fiction genre is Crime and Mystery. I certainly would never make a good detective as I rarely work out the villain prior to the end – in fact I nearly always fall for the “red herring”. This genre does make me use my brain, even if I fail as I usually do
 
Stories by refugees and about refugees are another source of inspiration as they make me aware of how lucky I am to be Australian born. They also make me aware of the terrible living conditions people endure in other parts of the world and the need for compassion and generosity towards those seeking asylum.
 
And then there are books about politics, Climate Change and economics.  Ross Garnaut's book
Superpower gave me hope for the future but as yet our politicians have either failed to read it or else failed to act.
 
This discovery of Books has made my life easier as education benefits from the ability to read. Also, life during this Pandemic allowed more reading which certainly made Lock Downs more bearable.
 
Overall, the discovery of books has had a long lasting and positive effect on my life.

Margaret McCrohan
November 2021