Stories this month began with ‘Someone who shaped me’. Carmyl wrote ‘…I’ll never forget the Pleasant Street Methodist Guide Company and our ‘Cap’(short for Captain)’, the “quietly spoken Miss Edna Perry”, who rode her bike to Guides and “always had an interesting program prepared which would include the guide promise, a game or two, singing some fun songs and some badge work”.
Carmyl’s story and a vintage ‘Bob a Job’ poster led to much discussion about groups belonged to as children and adolescents.
In a different vein, Barry described how making an unexpectedly strong response to being humiliated by a football coach in his youth has shaped his responses to similar situations throughout his life.
In a poignant story, ‘Jesus Weeps’, Delfina described how a young nun’s warning when she was 6 years old that “Jesus weeps when you throw away good food” has remained with her throughout her life.
‘Relationship’ stories included Ray’s reflections on people across his life, commencing with Ron O’Connor who he shared a desk with in sub-intermediate – “We were generally known as ‘Oke’ and ‘Os’, (O’Connor and O’Shannessy)”. James’ story of meeting, then life with, his loved partner Karin for 46 years, was particularly moving, ending ‘Best relationship I have ever had!’
John drew upon his relationship over time with his parents, describing a happy childhood growing up on a farm, then tragedy and the need to support his parents in his early 20’s when his sister, then first cousin and later his brother, passed away.
Phil’s story added further insights to our understanding of his relationship with his parents after coming to Australia in 1967 as ‘Ten Pound Poms’, while Bev revisited an amusing story featuring relationships between neighbours, ‘Our Back Yard’.
Lou read his gripping sequel to ‘My First Job’, where his desperate search for a job as a homeless 15-year-old in Marrickville led to a job making the lids for ‘Thunder Boxes’! In ‘A Sense of Place’, James reflected on the factors leading to his strong feeling of connection to Yundool, where he has lived for the past few years.
Neville’s story this month ‘First Memories’ evoked childhood memories in others, including the eerie experience of being hospitalised as a young child; while Max’s story ‘The Bushfire Fencers’, shared memories of volunteering with a locally organized bushfire fencing team working on properties affected by the bushfires of February 2008.
For those who would like to join us as a ‘taster’ on October 21 from 2 to 4 pm, next month’s 500 Words story topics are - ‘Steep Learning Curve’. Write about a time in your life when you were on a steep learning curve. Perhaps your life suddenly took a different direction with an unexpected change of job, or other circumstances. How did it feel when you were taking the plunge… did you feel you were ‘thrown in at the deep end’. How did you cope? Did you ’wing it’, ‘fly by the seat of your pants, or were you strategic? Did resilience play a role? How do you feel about the experience on reflection? OR ‘U-Turn’ or ‘Turning Point’ or ‘Starting Over’ – A chance to write about a sudden change of direction, a turning point in your life, a time when you ‘started over’, when life took you back to square one – however large or small!
Newsflash –The Benalla Festival’s Writing Competition is back. The topic ‘Hidden Gems‘ (details to come). Feel free to substitute this for an upcoming topic and to enter the competition!
Bev Lee
Carmyl’s story and a vintage ‘Bob a Job’ poster led to much discussion about groups belonged to as children and adolescents.
In a different vein, Barry described how making an unexpectedly strong response to being humiliated by a football coach in his youth has shaped his responses to similar situations throughout his life.
In a poignant story, ‘Jesus Weeps’, Delfina described how a young nun’s warning when she was 6 years old that “Jesus weeps when you throw away good food” has remained with her throughout her life.
‘Relationship’ stories included Ray’s reflections on people across his life, commencing with Ron O’Connor who he shared a desk with in sub-intermediate – “We were generally known as ‘Oke’ and ‘Os’, (O’Connor and O’Shannessy)”. James’ story of meeting, then life with, his loved partner Karin for 46 years, was particularly moving, ending ‘Best relationship I have ever had!’
John drew upon his relationship over time with his parents, describing a happy childhood growing up on a farm, then tragedy and the need to support his parents in his early 20’s when his sister, then first cousin and later his brother, passed away.
Phil’s story added further insights to our understanding of his relationship with his parents after coming to Australia in 1967 as ‘Ten Pound Poms’, while Bev revisited an amusing story featuring relationships between neighbours, ‘Our Back Yard’.
Lou read his gripping sequel to ‘My First Job’, where his desperate search for a job as a homeless 15-year-old in Marrickville led to a job making the lids for ‘Thunder Boxes’! In ‘A Sense of Place’, James reflected on the factors leading to his strong feeling of connection to Yundool, where he has lived for the past few years.
Neville’s story this month ‘First Memories’ evoked childhood memories in others, including the eerie experience of being hospitalised as a young child; while Max’s story ‘The Bushfire Fencers’, shared memories of volunteering with a locally organized bushfire fencing team working on properties affected by the bushfires of February 2008.
For those who would like to join us as a ‘taster’ on October 21 from 2 to 4 pm, next month’s 500 Words story topics are - ‘Steep Learning Curve’. Write about a time in your life when you were on a steep learning curve. Perhaps your life suddenly took a different direction with an unexpected change of job, or other circumstances. How did it feel when you were taking the plunge… did you feel you were ‘thrown in at the deep end’. How did you cope? Did you ’wing it’, ‘fly by the seat of your pants, or were you strategic? Did resilience play a role? How do you feel about the experience on reflection? OR ‘U-Turn’ or ‘Turning Point’ or ‘Starting Over’ – A chance to write about a sudden change of direction, a turning point in your life, a time when you ‘started over’, when life took you back to square one – however large or small!
Newsflash –The Benalla Festival’s Writing Competition is back. The topic ‘Hidden Gems‘ (details to come). Feel free to substitute this for an upcoming topic and to enter the competition!
Bev Lee
