My memoirs

I am currently undertaking a course in Memoir Writing through the University of the Third Age, Southport. U3A is a place where us "oldies" can get together and learn new stuff.   " The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community - those in their third 'age' of life. The 'third age' is defined by a time in your life (not necessarily chronological) where you have the opportunity to undertake learning for its own sake ". Our course is run by Ian Davenport and is designed so that we learn from each other, in a community, to write the stories that count  in our lives. We write on a different topic each week or fortnight and take turns to read and give feedbackto each other. The stories should be about 1000 words, or two A4 pages and the aim is to engage our readers by writing "stories that light up"... So strap yourself in and prepare to re...

There are some in our family (and some of our friends!) who think our life is one long holiday. And yes, it is true that we travel a lot; our philosophy has become “do it while we can” as we know too many friends, and family, for whom “holiday” is too hard or impossible and we want to  make the most of the opportunities we have. It appears to us that there is a finite window of opportunity for travel and nobody knows how long that time is. So, for as long as we can, you will find us on the road, or on the water, or in the air… The first most memorable holiday I had involved a year of travelling around Australia. In 1995, Roger and I bought a Jayco Swan camper trailer and a 4WD. The kids were 8 and 6, so we took them out of school, rented out the house, and headed off on the road.  Having never camped before, this was quite an adventurous thing to do, but we felt very excited as we drove along the highway heading for places previously unseen by us. We explored every state and c...

  Shakespeare understood how central music was to life and love. Whether good or bad, happy or sad, it is always there to be appreciated. I grew up in a house where music was part of the fabric of daily life. The radio or record player was constantly playing—popular songs or classical favourites—and we often broke into song ourselves: football anthems, happy birthdays, or simply because we were together and felt like singing. My grandparents always sang in the car as we drove to their house in the Brisbane Ranges:  The Quartermaster’s Store ,  She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain , and (my favourite)  If You Knew Suzy . Mum and Dad loved the big musicals, and as soon as the records were available, they bought them.  The King and I ,  The Sound of Music ,  Oklahoma!  and  South Pacific  became the soundtrack of our home. At family parties, songs around the piano or pianola were essential, and the  Hallelujah Chorus  inevitably m...