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'Community'

22/5/2022

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A community that has been part of my life is the Tennis Playing one.  I initially joined this as a ten year old in Ireland. The family lived near the village en tout cas(in all conditions) tennis courts and my brothers and I started playing there, often accompanied by the Murphy girls who were co-tenants of Bansha Castle. On our return to Australia I played occasionally, but when the family moved to Camberwell I joined the local tennis club.  There I played both competitive and social tennis. It was where I met my husband.  We remained active members there until 1971 when we travelled to Ireland, remaining there for eighteen months. On our return to Australia, we played the occasional game but a growing family and work commitments put tennis on the backburner.
 
On our move to Benalla in 1978 I tried again to fit social tennis into my life, but with school runs, working with the animals we had and a part-time job time just seemed to fly.  So, once again, tennis was put aside. After our move to Broadford in late 1983 I tried again to fit tennis into my life, but apart from filling in occasionally with a ladies midweek team and playing socially with my children, I seemed to be fighting a losing battle.  Eventually I retired .
 
However, when we moved to the Bellarine Peninsula in 2012, I rediscovered my love of the game when I joined The Veterans at Point Lonsdale . There I played twice a week. On our return to Benalla I started playing in the Saturday afternoon competition with The Gardens Club. This came to a screaming  halt (literally) when I tore my calf muscle whilst playing at Swanpool. The rehabilitation involved physiotherapy and exercise over a period of two months. I realised I had lost confidence in my ability to play competition and was about to give up the game completely, when I heard of the Wednesday Morning Ladies. Intrigued I went along.  Six years later, I am an entrenched member

We are usually described as the Hit and Giggle lot by outsiders, as there is generally lots of laughter and we do NOT play for sheep stations. Overall, it is a social get together where we play several games, drink tea and catch up on the news, both local and worldwide. We play all year round and if the weather is wet we'll have a cup of tea, solve the world's problems and return to our homes. Winter does not hinder us and although we start and finish early in the summer, the game goes on. Birthdays are celebrated with cake and a cuppa. New grandchildren are proudly announced and their progress through life followed via photos and videos. Of course there are the sad times when a death or illness affects any member of the group, but support is on hand. There is a total lack of “Bitchiness”, which is very refreshing in a group of women, and the group always welcome new members. I joined this community when I returned to Benalla in an attempt to meet people and I have found more than I expected. Even when I grow too feeble to wield a tennis racquet, I know that I'll be welcome to join them when they have their cuppa, never mind the Christmas lunch.​

Thus, from the en tout cas courts in a village in Co.Tipperary to the rural town of Benalla, the tennis community has been a delightful part of my life.


Marg McCrohan
May 2022
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'Long Lost Friend'

22/5/2022

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I first met Cathy Spence when I started Year 9 at Presentation Convent Windsor in 1958. We both lived in St. Kilda prior to my becoming a boarder at the convent when my parents went to Papua New Guinea for two years. A group of us spent our remaining school years together until we went our separate ways in pursuit of different careers. Cathy became a passionate primary school teacher and I a biochemist. We had one interest above all else which maintained our friendship and that was being passionate supporters of St. Kilda football team in the then VFL. Thus, we remained in contact through our tertiary education and our work lives up until marriages, children, travel and life took over.  Apart from the occasional contact at school reunions, we eventually lost touch completely.
 
However, while attending the Australian Open with some colleagues from work in the 1990s, we met up again. While eating lunch, a woman approached me and said she recognised me by my laugh!  So, we reconnected. With both of us still working and living in different parts of the state, we were still not meeting face to face, but kept in touch via phone calls, emails and Christmas letters. The one part of our lives that had not changed was our continued support of the Saints.

Cathy and her husband always took off to Northern Australia over the winter months. They enjoyed the warmer weather, whereas we enjoyed the four seasons. Also, as my parents were living in Ireland, our travel plans usually included an overseas trip every two years, once our children had fled the nest. We had great plans to catch up properly once we retired as we were sure we would have SO much free time. However, as most people know, life in retirement turned out to be busier than ever and so arrangements made were changed by one or other of us as family demands always come first.


Eventually we decided that 2020 was to be our year and, as the school we had both attended was closing down, we pencilled in various dates throughout the year for various reunions. Of course, as you all know, The Pandemic arrived and one by one these activities were cancelled. A similar pattern reoccurred in 2021.  As I write this, we have still not had a face to face meeting. We continue to stay in touch via phone calls and emails. I realise she is the one friend I made at school with whom I have regular contact. All my other friends are from work situations, sporting or community groups.​

Maybe this year we will make it!  Wouldn't it be nice if we could see our football team win  the Grand Final before our final curtain.


Marg McCrohan
May 2022
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