One of my elderly aunts passed away last Sunday after a short illness. I have very fond childhood memories of many holidays spent with her, my uncle and my cousins in Warrnambool, Victoria.

I remember one Christmas, when I was about ten, my cousin received a tape recorder and we spent the rest of the day hiding in inconspicuous places taping all the goings ons. It was quite hilarious listening to the frivolity round the table. Some of the eating noises coming from the adults were quite disgusting, with belches and burps and conversations carrying on with obviously full mouths. We were in fits of laughter listening to it all.

My dear aunty, bless her soul wondered what we were laughing about and we really didn’t want to tell her, so she took the recorder and listened for herself. We got in sooooo much trouble for “spying” on the adults and were suitably chastised for being “silly little girls”. I still remember the chuckle in her voice as she told the other adults what we had been up to.

Some of the most memorable times were the weddings. I was one of the youngest in the extended family and was lucky enough to be able to go to most of my older cousins marriages. I can barely remember the ceremonies, but the highlight was the reception, always held at a place called Pigalle and I always believed that it was named because everyone went there and made a pig of themselves at the wedding feast. Why else would you call a reception venue “Pig Alley”? I guess that’s a little kid’s logic for you!! Read the rest of this entry »

The date just hit me. October 19th. It was Dad’s birthday. He would have been 81 today if that cruellest of all diseases, cancer, had not taken him at the age of fifty five. That was 25 years ago last May. So long, but not long at all. I was only nineteen. From the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed away was only six or seven weeks. Read the rest of this entry »