WHISPERS from WARWICKSHIRE

I am not sure if this will work but I've often mentioned the little anecdotes Phil has related about people he knew, or had heard about, back in Warwickshire so I will try to either remember them or ask him to tell me more of them.  They are only short but some of them truly are worth passing on and I hope you will also get a chuckle out of them.

This story was told to Phil by his dad:

Back in 1925 (4 years before Phil was born), there was this farmer, a Mr Oliver Kibble, who decided to buy himself a motor car.  Off he went into Coventry and purchased a brand new Daimler. He drove home from Coventry to his farm without mishap and after admiring the car he decided it should be parked in the barn to keep it safe from the weather etc.

Phil's dad (who we think had gone into Coventry with Mr Kibble) told the story as follows:  Mr Kibble got in the car, started it up and headed for the barn, the doors of which were wide open.  I doubt it was ever discovered exactly what happened but some reason Mr K seemed to forget where the brake was and was heard to be yelling "Whoa, you bugger, whoa!" as he drove the car straight through the barn and out through the double doors at the other end.  Fortunately Daimler cars were well built and little damage was done but, unlike horses, they obviously don't respond to being told to "whoa".

TELLING IT ON TUESDAY (Part 21) 1965-1966

I told in Part 20 I had played quite a lot of 10 pin bowling, of holidays we'd had on Rottnest Island, how Steven had begun school (quite nervously) and mentioned things on the home front were anything but rosy.  This is going to be quite a long story with no photographs so if you don't get through it I will understand.  It's not a pretty story but, as promised, I intend to tell it as it was and I hope people will understand what finally happened.

Unfortunately nothing seemed to please Aub any more and he really did seem to only live for himself and was, in fact, a person who took advantage of others' good nature a wee but too much for my liking.  I remember one night wanting to pay a visit to Uncle Bert and Auntie Min but Aub's reaction was that he had nothing to see them about so why bother.  Now there is no way that I have ever been perfect and quite possibly have more faults than many other people but I've always thought there should be give and take all round regardless of who is who.  I must admit I was grossly disappointed at the way my husband had turned out.  Had I changed him perhaps and yet I couldn't see how.  Maybe he was just too young to have married at 21 and have two children by the time he was 25.   I have no idea but change he did.

It was at about this time I first met Phil who, as you know has been my husband since 1967.  One Sunday, the firm where he and Aub worked held a works picnic up at Yanchep National Park, a very beautiful place north of Perth.  We had taken Aub's mother with us this day and I was very ashamed at the way she had to witness her son's antics. He virtually ignored us and spent much of his time with others and in particular the sister of one of his workmates, a young woman much younger than him, and in full view of where we were.   His mum and I were sitting chatting in the car (I think Karen and Steven may have been playing nearby and I was hoping they weren't aware of where their father was) when this man came to the window and introduced himself as Phil, one of the men who worked in the office of Webster Motors where Aub worked as a sort of handyman doing structural work or making furniture as required.  Phil said he wasn't all that interested in being part of the main party and had brought his golf clubs with him as there was, and still is, a course up at Yanchep.  We spoke for a few minutes and off he went to play golf.

When it was time for us to go home Aub was so drunk that I had to drive and half way home had to stop the car so he could get out and be sick.  As you can imagine both his mum and I were both disgusted with him and I mentioned to her, as I was dropping her at her place, that I was worried about what to do with him when we arrived home.  Her response "Just leave him the car and if he gets cold then too bad.  He doesn't deserve to have you worry about him.  You and the kiddies go in and he'll get in when he eventually wakes up."  This is exactly what I did and later that evening I found him sitting on our back lawn feeling very sorry for himself.  Right at that time I felt not one ounce of sympathy for him.  As said before he seldom had a drink but once he'd got in with the fellows that went fishing and shooting he also began enjoying a drink a little too often for his own good.

I didn't see Phil again for quite a while except when he would pop in with meat that he'd bought at the butcher in Midland.  Aub used to buy meat from this butcher for our labrador, Jenny, and if he wasn't going to Midland that day he'd ask Phil to go fetch it for him.  Phil lived about a kilometre along Walcott Street from where our home was so it was reasonably convenient for him to do this for Aub.  Then we began to see more of Phil but not at my choosing.  I remember once we had promised to take my mum up to the hills to visit an elderly gentleman who had been a neighbour (with his brother) when mum and dad farmed down at Narrikup.  Mum had helped this chap get government help as he was legally blind and to say thank you he had asked us up to his home to have afternoon tea.  Aub had a better offer from his mates who were off shooting that weekend so he asked Phil if he would take us instead.  I was quite embarrassed by this but Phil was quite willing and we actually had a very pleasant afternoon, possibly more pleasant than had we gone with Aub who would have only taken us under sufferance.  The old chap had a very nice little cottage and an orchard and we all enjoyed wandering around among the trees and came home with some lovely fresh fruit.

Aub on a couple of other occasions would ask Phil to pop in on weekend when he (Aub) was going to be away either fishing or shooting which I felt rather unusual.  Was Aub trying to set something up here we wondered.  Anyway if Phil did come around he and I would quite often have a game of chess, not that I was every any good a the game but it passed the time.  On one occasion Phil asked me and the two children to go to his flat for a cooked dinner so we walked down there and it was a most enjoyable roast dinner which was much appreciated.

One day Aub told me he had bought me a car.  It had cost him all of  £10 and it was a 1936 Ford tourer.  The kids and I had a lot of fun in that little car and I remember one day when we had been to visit my friend Val in Wembley and we were returning home.  I was raining and all of a sudden Karen said the car was on fire.  I always had the children sit in the back seat as I felt it safer for them to do so.  I immediately pulled to the side of the road and realised what had happened.  We had gone through a puddle and the car having wooden floorboards with wee gaps between them allowed steam to come through from the hot exhaust pipe which of course looked just like smoke.  We had a good old laugh about it t the time and have often had a chuckle about it over the years.

Another time, also on the way home, I was pulled over by the police in Vincent Street just near Dr Wheeler's place.  The police checked the car over and told me I should get new number plates (nothing wrong with them but they were of the old type) and also the headlights needed something or other done to them (I did tell the coppers I didn't drive at night but that didn't hold water with them and they just smiled and said to get them changed anyway).  Then one of the policemen said he'd take the car around the block and the kiddies could stay in the back. They were back within a few minutes with the policeman looking quite bemused.  You see that car had mechanical brakes which never let you down and he hadn't realised so when he slammed on the brakes to test the brakes the children ended up on the floor and I was thankful they had been in the back.  Karen told me afterwards that the policeman had got a fright and said a RUDE word when the car stopped so suddenly.   I had the couple of little things fixed and took the car to be checked.  They put it over the pits and passed it as roadworthy so I was set again complete with new number plates.

On another occasion, when Aub was once again away somewhere, the children and I decided to go to the drive-in movies in Morley to see Cliff Richard in "Summer Holiday".  My car, like tourers in those days, had side curtains instead of windows.  On this particular night it came on to rain and I'd only put one of the side curtains in the car and it was the wrong one.  The light rain was coming from the left side of the car so Karen and I had to somehow get the right hand side curtain to fit in on the left side.  We eventually managed to do it and were then able to continue enjoying the movie. That car was very economical to run and I think it actually used more oil and water then petrol.

One day Aub came home and said there was a part-time job going where he worked if I wanted it.  It would fit in with school hours and now I had the little car I had transport so I accepted. I am not sure now but I think it was 3 days each week with the hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  It was quite a long trip to Midland but the little old car never let me down.  My main task was typing and I can't say I enjoyed it all that much but stuck it out as the extra cash was quite handy to have as we still always seemed to be behind the eight ball money-wise.  Strangely enough I don't think I saw Phil more than once or twice, if that, while I worked there as his office was across the street.

I still think at times that Aub was trying to work the oracle in some way as one night be brought up Phil's name for no reason.  We had been talking about something entirely different (it may have been the night he didn't want  us to visit his uncle and aunt) and I think I accused him of using people up.  I was actually thinking of how he would go out in Uncle Bert's boat but wouldn't bother paying him a casual visit at his home.  I know I then said how he used Phil up by having him fetching the meat for Jenny and asking him to take us out occasionally.   Aub flared up then and accused me of having an affair with Phil and nothing could have been further from the truth although I enoyed Phil's company.  I know Phil was too much of a gentleman to have every propositioned me and Aub's accusation was ridiculous to the extreme.  I was astonished but off Aub went to Phil's place but when the got there he was told by a neighbour that Phil had popped up to the Knutsford Arms to have a drink.   From what I could make out Aub then drove to the Knutsford, got Phil out of the bar and flung this accusation at him.  "You'd better come back with me and we'll have this out" was apparently what he said to Phil.  They arrived back at our place with Phil's neighbour in tow as well.  Phil and I of course told Aub he was talking out the back of his neck, or words to that effect as I doubt if Phil and I had ever even shaken hands.  I admired the stance Phil took that night but was somewhat surprised by his words.  He said to Aub "I like your wife very much but to me she is your wife.  If she wasn't then it may be a different story but while she is then that is it as far as I am concerned." 

There was no improvement in our life from then although at one stage Aub suggested we build a house.  I couldn't see how we would manage to do so as we had still had no money to speak of but he said he knew a chap that was selling some land cheaply and we could perhaps do a deal of some kind.  I asked where this land was and Aub told me it was somewhere 'up in the hills'.  It turned out to be a very isolated place and I could imagine living there when Aub would be off on one his jaunts and not being able to see anyone for possibly weeks or months on end and didn't even know if there was a school in that area.  I said a vehement no to this suggestion which of course didn't go down well.  I think I felt our marriage was going so badly that the idea of building and moving would be the last straw for both of us.  He would design the house and everything would be as he wanted it and no arguments no matter what ideas I may have.  I just knew it wasn't the thing to do at that time.

I know that Karen was still very unhappy and one night she and I went for a walk and she told me she wished the two of us could go away and leave her dad.  I asked her about her brother and she said he could stay with his dad.  There was nothing wrong with that suggestion from a lass of 11 who had always  being blamed for anything Steven did wrong and seemingly not being able to do anything right herself.   It saddened me to see how unhappy Karen was and gave me food for thought but I could never desert my son.  I have never blamed Karen for feeling the way she did about her brother and yet when they were younger they had played together very well.  I feel it was Aub's fault that the two siblings finally drifted apart and this saddened me and has done ever since.

One night things finally came to a head.  The children were asleep upstairs and I was doing some ironing downstairs.  Aub came up from the shed and started in on me about some probably quite trivial thing and went on and on about it.  I suddenly saw red and I knew if he didn't stop I'd quite likely throw the iron at him.  I knew this would be a stupid thing to so I just walked out.  Right out of the house and didn't look back.   Was I thinking straight?  I walked out and left my children behind!!  I spent the next couple of hours just walking and walking and if fate does take a hand in one's life perhaps it truly did this particular night.  It is something I often look back on and wonder about.  I was right up the other end of Walcott Street still walking blindly along when a car pulled up.  Who should it be other than Phil.  He had been to the movies in Perth to see Doctor Zhivago and was on his way home.  He insisted I get in the car and he would take me home.  I flatly refused to go back and all the coaxing in the world didn't make me change my mind.  We drove around for hours and finally ended up down in Mandurah.  Phil finally asked me what was I going to do and I decided to worry poor old mum again.   Phil drove me there and I explained to mum what I'd done and that there was no way I was going back.  She understood and I think she must have telephoned Aub and asked him to bring the children to her place.  At that particular time I was not thinking very clearly but just knew I had to have my two kiddies with me no matter what.   The only thing I knew was that Aub and I had come to the end of the road and this time there was no going back. 

Aub and I ended up sitting down to talk about the situation and his suggestion was that I could have Karen but he would keep Steven and have his mother look after him while he (Aub) was at work.  I of course said I wouldn't give him up and it worked out that I needn't have worried as Aub's mum refused point blank to look after Steven.  Once again the three of us settled down at Mum's home and managed as well as we could.   I of course didn't go back to my job at Midland nor did I keep my little car.  When I went around to collect our clothes and other items Aub told me I had to sign the car over to him.   When I asked why as it had only cost him £10 his reply was that if I wanted my handbag (I'd left it behind when I walked out that night) which I think contained about £50 (all the money I had) then I would sign the car over to him.  So, once again I was without wheels.  I had no choice as I needed to have some money for us to live on and child endowment back then was not very much at all.

One day when I had walked down to the Rosemount Bowl I met Phil who was at the laundromat nearby doing his laundry.  He asked me if he could 'phone me so I gave him mum's number.  Mum didn't think it quite right that I should be in contact with another man but didn't stop us talking.  Phil asked me if I'd like to go the pictures so mum said she'd mind the children but I could see she wasn't happy about me being alone with Phil, not even in a picture theatre.  I felt like I was 15 again and not 34 but that was my mum.  I guess she was only being protective and was also concerned about Karen and Steven.  Karen was quite delighted at us having left her father but Steven, being a boy, I doubt had even realised that things at home hadn't been as good as it could have been.  He didn't seem to miss his dad at all and yet I tried to make sure Aub saw his children as often as possible

I did apply for a couple of office jobs but unfortunately with mum also working I couldn't work the hours required but with the little money I'd saved, and the child endowment, I was able to manage reasonably well with mum's help.

Here we were once again sharing mum's hospitality but with the children now being much older than the first time we stayed with mum, Karen was 11 and Steven 9, it was a little more cramped and I was at a loss to know exactly what to do.  Fate once again took a hand in our life and what exactly happened will be told in part 22.

I hope the above doesn't sound too sordid but I said I would tell it as it was and I've tried to do exactly that.  Please don't get me wrong.  I am sure I was very much to blame for the break up of our marriage but it would have gone on like that forever if I'd not made the break and quite seriously, that night I walked out I did feel like murder and I hated that feeling as I am a pacifist by nature and abhor violence.  That just gives some idea at how bad things had become.

SATURDAY'S WILD CATS

The BENGAL TIGER is a mammal and carnivore with an average life span in the wild of 8 to 10 years.  Its size, head and body, can range from 5 to 6 feet (1.5-1.8m); tail 2 to 3 feet (0.6-0.9m).  It can weigh from 240 to 500 lbs (109-227 kg).  This is the range of the Bengal tiger.  It is an endangered species.

Tigers are the largest members of the cat family and are renowned for their power and strength.  There were eight subspecies at one time, but three became extinct during the 20th century.  Over the past 100 years, hunting and forest destruction have reduced tiger populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to perhaps fewer than 2,500.  Tigers are hunted as trophies, and also for body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine.  All five remaining tiger species are endangered. and many protection programmes are in place.

Bengal tigers live in India and are sometimes called Indian tigers.  They are the most common tiger and number about half of all wild tigers.  Over many centuries they have become an important part of Indian tradition and lore.  Tigers live along and aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away.  They are powerful nocturnal hunters that travel many miles to find buffalo, deer, wild pigs, and other large mammals.  Tigers use their distinctive coats as camouflage (no two have exactly the same stripes).  They lie in wait and creep close enough to attack their victims with a quick spring and a fatal pounce.  A hungry tiger can eat as much as 60 pounds (27 kilograms) in one night, though they usually eat less.

Despite their fearsome reputation, most tigers avoid humans; however, a few do become dangerous maneaters.  These animals are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in an area where their traditional prey has vanished.

Females give birth to litters of two to six cubs, which they raise with little or no help from the male.  Cubs cannot hunt until they are 18 months old and remain with their mothers for two to three years, when they disperse to find their own territory.

The above information was found on the National Geographic website.  The photographs were free.

FRIDAY FROLICS

This is the final lot of animal pics.  It's strange how animals can always make you smile even if at times humans can't. What would we do without them?   Did we see those two goats before perhaps?

Take the smiles with you into the weekend and have an enjoyable one.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS

Lots of thinking been going on of late about so many things but at last everything seems to be falling into place.  Looking back on the past week has come up with many good things so smiles all round right now.

1.  Phil had a tooth break a couple of months back and went to the dental clinic earlier this month for a checkup.  He now has an appointment on 5 June so that is "right" for him.  We are so fortunate in not having to pay for dental care as it is subsidised by our state government and the balance is paid by HBF (our private health insurer).

2.  I recently had a tooth come off my top plate and fortunately was able to see a dentist at the clinic same day as Phil.  I now have appointment for 10 June when hopefully they can fix that missing tooth or reline my bottom plate for me or something.  I have strong hair, bones and nails but my teeth were chalky and just didn't last the distance by many, many years.  It will be a 'right' it they can do something to make my mouth more comfortable in future.  Teeth seem to cause trouble for some people from when they begin to 'come through' as a baby and even still do after they've gone.

3.  Phil had a liver scan following his chest x-ray but all is well so whatever the 'spot' was is nothing to worry about so another 'right' for us there.

4.  We are still getting lots of rain and that is a big 'right' for all of us over here but boy are the weeds loving it.  Showing their appreciation all over the garden and our 'man' didn't turn up last week with his whipper snipper so the garden is well and truly green but not the green we really want although the lawn is growing again so I guess we can't complain. Heard on the news last night that Perth has had more than its average autumn rainfall so far which is great.  It will be officially winter here next Sunday, 1st June, with slightly higher than normal temperatures forecast, both minimum and maximum, which will be interesting.  I prefer colder weather but others don't so at least that news should make them happy.

5.  Darling daughter tells me she has lost even more weight which is a big 'right' for her and for us as we always love to see her doing well.

6.  A visit to Jenny (physio) this week really helped my left shoulder and ribs on that side so a lot of the ache has gone from that area which is a relief.  It hurt like crazy (tears in eyes this time) but as they say 'no pain, no gain' and in this case that was very true.  Lots more work to be done on other areas but gently does it and I definitely will try to move more, hurt or not hurt.  I must do it.  I really must.

7.  As I told you yesterday, I really enjoyed our afternoon out and that 'right' had me feeling great for the rest of the day and has followed me into today so still smiling.  Simple pleasures are always good.

8.  The clock is still gently ticking this morning so now I have to try and get the key to turn so I can wind it up when it stops.  It has even given a little 'chime' occasionally but that probably also needs winding up.  When I first tried the hands wouldn't move but they are turning now after some gentle persuasion.  Seems a tiny thing but, in my life, something like that is quite momentous and very 'right'.  More smiles there too.

9.  .....and at last.   The new carpet will be laid on 4th June!!!  That is the 'right' we've been waiting for and now it is actually going to happen.  Phil managed to get some boxes so now we have to pack up our books and other items and on 3rd June move out the small furniture to be ready for the men who I am told will be here between 10am and noon which is a good time for us.

As you can see it has been a much better week all round and I am determined not to get 'down' again like I did recently.    I hope your week has treated you well

WEDNESDAY WANDERINGS

Not a significant 'wandering' compared with many in past years, but today Phil and I travelled down to Rockingham (about a 40 minute drive) to meet my late friend Judy's son Richard for lunch.  This may not sound like very much but, apart from about 3 or 4 visits to family this year, this was my first outing of the year.  "Gee", I thought to myself "that is truly pathetic!", and I guess it is but when all your close friends are gone or live too far away to pop in for a cuppa and it's not all that much fun 'going for a drive' these days, you have trouble in thinking where to go.

Anyway we met at the old Rockingham pub and all three of us enjoyed a delicious meal.  Phil had grilled baramundi, chips and salad with a red wine, Richard had a dish of Thai Prawns (with chilli) and a light beer and I had good old BANGERS AND MASH!!!   Three non greasy sausages, creamy mashed potato with an onion sauce and a vegetables.   A really filling meal and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  (Just soup and toast for tea tonight).  I also had a gin squash which is a drink I'd not had for years but it didn't quite taste as I remembered so perhaps something else next time.

We sat and chatted about this and that for about an hour after we'd finished eaten (I had taken with me some genealogical work to do with Richard's family which we also discussed) and then decided we'd walk down to the 'front' and have a coffee.

We were amazed at how many shops were closed (perhaps they close in the winter months) but found a coffee shop and sat at one of the outside tables as the sun was brightly shining then and was quite warm.    This is of course 'old' Rockingham right on the ocean, and not the huge Rockingham Shopping Centre several kilometres south of there.

Half an hour later a light shower came over so we had to get under cover and walk back to the cars.  It was probably not more than a 5 minute walk for an able bodied person but, even using my walker it was far enough for me.  I really should try to walk more and now the weather has cooled down I intend to do so even if it is only for 5 minutes.  They say if you don't use it then you lose it and I'm hoping I've not completely lost it already.

Before leaving for the drive home Richard showed us through the camper van he recently bought. It is a large converted Post Office van and is beautifully fitted out and he is currently using it as his home which he says saves him about $300/week in rent.  As a single man it makes a lot of sense.

When we got home I noticed Phil had left the RP7 on the front table so I fetched the old mantel clock and asked him to spray the workings for me.  I took the clock inside and for about half an hour I kept the pendulum swinging back and forth, restarting it when it stopped, until eventually it is working on its own.  I've had this clock that belonged to mum since 1985 and it has never gone but now it's actually ticking.  I am not sure how long it will go for, but I feel it is such an achievement and maybe I will be able to find a clockmaker who can fix it up completely.  It's been a dream to have this clock restored so perhaps now I will be able to do just that.  More about that at a later date but the outing the clock have made my day for me.

I have a feeling we may be off to Rockingham quite a few more times during the winter/spring weather before it get too hot again.   I just feel so refreshed after being out for the afternoon, quite revitalised in fact.

TELLING IT ON TUESDAY (Part 20) 1963-1965)

When I concluded part 19a I admitted things at home weren't not all that cheery on the home front, with me feeling a real lack of confidence and my daughter decidedly unhappy with the treatment she was receiving from her father.  Today it is more or less about life in general but I guess that's the way life goes most of the time so perhaps just a tad boring.   Sorry if it is but here goes:

It was February, 1963 when Steven began his primary schooling at North Perth Primary School where his sister was now in Grade 3.  The children were still being driven to school in the taxi my mother hired each morning to go to her CAB office and with Steven being so terribly shy, poor mum had at times to gently pry his hands from the rail in the back of the cab as he feared getting out and confronting other children. He was doing quite well at school and from what is known he was never bullied at all.  I think it was just the thought of that walk through the gate of the school and not perhaps knowing just who would be there.  Once he was with his friends he seemed to be quite OK.

Karen on the other hand, so my mum told me, would walk up the school path quite regally acknowledging her friends as she passed.  Karen always looked so nice and, even though she perhaps wasn't the extrovert she appeared to be, she carried herself very well which gave the impression of her being in complete control of herself and her surroundings.  This is a photo of Karen with her Grade 3 fellow students at North Perth Primary School.  Karen is second from the left in the front row and is wearing that dress of which she was so fond.  My thanks to Karen for emailing me this photo when requested.  I would prefer to have shown it larger but it would then take up too much space but you can enlarge it by clicking on it if you wish to do so.  It is well worth doing so as it is a really lovely photo of the children taken way back in 1963 and incidentally the lady on the far right at the back is the junior school Headmistress, Miss Thackerah, who was also the Grade 3 teacher.

I was quite surprised when I received the copy of the photo at just how many of the girls I remembered as being Karen's friends.   A number of the children were from migrant families whose parents had not been in Australia very many years.  Phil commented, when looking at the photo, that there seemed to be far more girls than boys in the photo.  I must ask Karen about that when I see her as I can only count 7 boys in the group.

When Steven was in Grade 1 he was of course minus a few front teeth as is often the case with kiddies of that age.  In the back garden at Walcott Street in June, 1963 when he was 6 years 9 months:

Murders terrify the city of Perth.  From 1959 through to 1963 there were a series of violent crimes, eight of which resulted in deaths.  At this time people seldom locked their back doors nor did they bother locking their cars and would actually leave the keys in them.   All these crimes were committed by one man....Eric Cooke who was eventually hanged at Fremantle Prison on 26th October, 1964.  It is known he would 'borrow' a person's car and return it without the owner being aware that it had gone, unless there was actual damage to said car.  Cooke was sometimes involved in hit-and-runs driving someone else' car but would still return the car despite the damage. 

At this time people would also often sleep on their front verandahs in hot weather and I remember one afternoon hearing on the radio that people should discontinue this practice because of the danger of a man going to houses randomly and shooting the person who came to their front door. When I heard this I sent Karen around the corner where a family who lived in Venn Street had six children some of whom did sleep on their front verandah.  I hated the thought of something happening to any one of them.   These events made everyone very nervous and it was with relief that we learned that Eric Cooke had been taken into custody.  He confessed to several crimes, including eight murders and fourteen attempted murders.  He also confessed to more than 250 burglaries and had a phenomenal memory of the items he had stolen including the number and denominations of the coins he had stolen.  This was a very black time in Perth's history and one that not only shocked but, in many ways, also stole our innocence, if that is the right way to put it. I think we certainly changed our ways after that episode.  Previously, Perth had been rather a peaceful place where we had all felt safe.

Karen and Steven continued to do well at school and I became involved in making items for the school fete.  The head mistress of the lower school, Miss Thackerah, did not believe in a Parent's and Citizen's committee C but preferred to call a few mums together once a year and plan events for the school fete each year.  I remember sewing quite a few items and also knitting and quite enjoyed being involved in doing so.

The Rosemount Theatre where I used to go to the Saturday night pictures with mum and dad when I was 15 - 16 closed and became a 10 pin bowling alley, one of the first in Perth.  It was owned by a Mr Guerin who was often at the bowl when we played there.  It only had 8 lanes because of the limited width of the building; it was run by a young woman called Vera and the mechanical side was managed by Fred.    I enquired about playing and was told they were beginning a ladies league on Tuesday mornings with five ladies to at team, a total of 40 players in the league.   I met a mother and daughter (both their names were Norma) who wanted to join a team, so we needed two other people to make up the number.  I asked Aub's Auntie Min (who played lawn bowls in the summer months) if she would like to play and she agreed and brought with her a bowling friend whose name I regret to say I've forgotten.  None of us had played 10 pin bowls before but we hit it off personally and were never critical of each other's games.    I have several 10 pin bowling trophies but it's the only 'sport' I ever excelled at although, through the years, I did play tennis and badminton and of course lots of yachting when a teenager.  Those trophies are now in a box somewhere in a cupboard but I was very proud of them at the time and I guess I still am.

As a family we had several holidays on Rottnest Island.  Twice we shared a house with Aub's Uncle Bert and Auntie Min, and on one occasion when we were holidaying there at Easter and extending our holiday by a couple of weeks, Karen and Steven attended the little school on the island.  I think they began at about 8  a.m. and finished at about 2 p.m. so the children could still enjoy their holiday with their family.  It was on one holiday that Karen learned to ride a bike (you could hire them on the island or take your own on the ferry when you crossed from the mainland).   This is Auntie Min and me on Rottnest Island in 1962 and yes, I just may be holding a cigarette in my right hand:

On another Rottnest holiday I had to fly back to Perth as it was the 10 pin bowling final on the Tuesday.  I flew to Perth on a MacRobertson Miller DC3 the pilot of which happened to be a personal friend of Aub's family and during the short flight the hostess asked me to go up to the cockpit.  I felt quite important, as you can imagine, and it was quite an adventure seeing what our coast looked like 'from the front seat'.

Arrived at the airport, caught a taxi to the Rosemount Bowl, joined my teammates and we all played so well that we won the final and were very thrilled with ourselves and were later presented with our trophies.   I had arranged for my youngest niece, Wendy, to fly back with me to Rottnest Island so that night she stayed with me and we flew to the island the following morning.

I have been madly searching for photos of:  1.  Karen riding that bike on Rottnest and 2. of Wendy and me walking from the plane when we arrived on the island.  I suddenly realised that Aub had not long before bought himself a movie camera so most photos from then on are on Super 8 film which I do not have. I will go through the photos I have and may be do a part b to show them at a later date.

From here on life gets a little complicated so after I've sorted it out into some kind or chronological order I will begin Part 21.  No more of the glamour of my teenage years but just life as it happens.