The coming of the Festive Season was celebrated in November, with reminiscing on ‘Christmas past’ and a spread of Christmas fare, from cherries and other summer fruits to shortbread, mince tarts, ginger biscuits, chocolates, cakes, was enjoyed during the break.
November’s topic, ‘Triggers’, provided rich pickings, with the televison program ‘Escape to the Country’ evoking memories of Heather Hartland’s childhood in Wales. The song ‘I want to be Bobby’s Girl’ reminded Graeme of his childhood barber, ‘Mac’, while a recent direction to ‘Duck’ reminded him of his maternal grandfather exclaiming ‘Duck’ to his grandchildren when driving under a bridge in his Vanguard sedan . A visit to FCJ Convent reminded Ray of an incident involving Sister Brendan leading to “Poetic Justice (serve her right!)”, while Cup Day reminded him of having serious car accident many years ago after spending a happy day at the Cup with friends. Neville wrote of triggers which recall engaging memories of each of his sons, with ‘The Simpsons’ featuring more than one once.
A comment when reading a review of two books on the Vietnam War reminded Graham of purchasing an ‘au dai’ dress for his future wife when he was on a peace keeping mission to Ho Chi Minh city in 1970. The article also triggered memories of the unanticipated impact of a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Museum on Phillip Island many years later.
Bev described how listening to a radio interview recently led her to reflect on the impact of the deaths of the Balibo 5 in East Timor in 1975 on people from her past. On a lighter note, Carmyl shared a delightful story full of memories triggered by a visit from ‘Sharon nee Wilson’, born two days before Carmyl’s son Stephen in Merbein in 1968. “It was 52 years since I’d had the pleasure of again sharing lunch with Sharon neeʹ Wilson.” Heather Wallace shared an engaging story about the way in which ‘hearing whistling’ always reminds of her father, and ‘smelling cigar smoke ‘of her maternal grandfather.
For the alternative topic, ‘One Moment This Year’ - Marg wrote about finding the death certificate and whereabouts of the grave of her great grandfather, Percy Watkinson, who died in Paris in 1907; while Bev Morton wrote about ‘A Chance Encounter’ with a woman passing by and unexpected sharing of happy memories spent growing up in Black Rock near the Half Moon Bay in Melbourne.
In her catch up story, ‘The Sky's the Limit’, Bev Morton expanded the notion of the sky to the universe, while Barry’s catch up story ‘This (Flexible) Life’ provided a rich overview of the flexibility (and resilience) demonstrated as he negotiated his working life.
It will soon be 2023! The topic list for next year will be available on Enrolment Day, 11 January from 9.30-11.30 am, with the first class in our new timeslot (the Third Monday) on February 20th from 2 to 4pm. Enjoy a relaxing holiday break!
Beverley Lee
November’s topic, ‘Triggers’, provided rich pickings, with the televison program ‘Escape to the Country’ evoking memories of Heather Hartland’s childhood in Wales. The song ‘I want to be Bobby’s Girl’ reminded Graeme of his childhood barber, ‘Mac’, while a recent direction to ‘Duck’ reminded him of his maternal grandfather exclaiming ‘Duck’ to his grandchildren when driving under a bridge in his Vanguard sedan . A visit to FCJ Convent reminded Ray of an incident involving Sister Brendan leading to “Poetic Justice (serve her right!)”, while Cup Day reminded him of having serious car accident many years ago after spending a happy day at the Cup with friends. Neville wrote of triggers which recall engaging memories of each of his sons, with ‘The Simpsons’ featuring more than one once.
A comment when reading a review of two books on the Vietnam War reminded Graham of purchasing an ‘au dai’ dress for his future wife when he was on a peace keeping mission to Ho Chi Minh city in 1970. The article also triggered memories of the unanticipated impact of a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Museum on Phillip Island many years later.
Bev described how listening to a radio interview recently led her to reflect on the impact of the deaths of the Balibo 5 in East Timor in 1975 on people from her past. On a lighter note, Carmyl shared a delightful story full of memories triggered by a visit from ‘Sharon nee Wilson’, born two days before Carmyl’s son Stephen in Merbein in 1968. “It was 52 years since I’d had the pleasure of again sharing lunch with Sharon neeʹ Wilson.” Heather Wallace shared an engaging story about the way in which ‘hearing whistling’ always reminds of her father, and ‘smelling cigar smoke ‘of her maternal grandfather.
For the alternative topic, ‘One Moment This Year’ - Marg wrote about finding the death certificate and whereabouts of the grave of her great grandfather, Percy Watkinson, who died in Paris in 1907; while Bev Morton wrote about ‘A Chance Encounter’ with a woman passing by and unexpected sharing of happy memories spent growing up in Black Rock near the Half Moon Bay in Melbourne.
In her catch up story, ‘The Sky's the Limit’, Bev Morton expanded the notion of the sky to the universe, while Barry’s catch up story ‘This (Flexible) Life’ provided a rich overview of the flexibility (and resilience) demonstrated as he negotiated his working life.
It will soon be 2023! The topic list for next year will be available on Enrolment Day, 11 January from 9.30-11.30 am, with the first class in our new timeslot (the Third Monday) on February 20th from 2 to 4pm. Enjoy a relaxing holiday break!
Beverley Lee
