By Lindsay McLeod. Queenstown, SA, Australia The three of us split stock in the warehouse, one on the forklift, two on the floor. It can be complicated and it's physically demanding. We're used to it but it gets boring, so we come up with games to break up the day. We play the ALPHABET BAND… Continue reading ACCA DACCA
Collective Works
My Story
By Marie Phillips. Birmingham, England My story spans 85 years and has surprised me, when thinking back, that there have been some significant moments. My earliest memories are the happy six week school holidays spent under canvas on a farm near Porthmadog in North Wales with my very Welsh Mum, her sister, and my cousin.… Continue reading My Story
Portals into Memory
By Robert Skewes. Craigmore, South Australia, Australia I opened the small sideboard door. There it was again. That elusive odour. That lingering hint of peppermint still there after … how long? Forty, fifty … No, it must now be close to sixty years. That remnant scent of my grandmother’s tar black and white peppermint lollies… Continue reading Portals into Memory
Water Terror!
By Beverley Barden. Goulburn, NSW, Australia “Hey, Nan," came the terrified-sounding voice of my grandson, "I didn’t know snakes could swim, but a big tiger snake just swam across the dam near me while I was fishing!” He was quite shaken by his sighting! “I’ve never seen one swimming myself, Bailey, but my grandmother, Mattie,… Continue reading Water Terror!
Bogmen
By Neil Brosnan. Listowel, Ireland Click the arrow below to hear Neil reading this piece. On that Easter Monday I travelled with Dad on Paddy Gleeson’s creamery lorry from our Listowel home to his native Lyreacrompane. It was 1960, I was six, and finally old enough to go to the bog. It was Dad’s family’s… Continue reading Bogmen
Next Time, Run Away!
By Kevin O'Sullivan. Port Macquarie, NSW Anwar said he was descended from Abdullah Muhammed Shah ll, the twenty-sixth Sultan of Perak. Of all the things he told me, it’s one I’m inclined to believe. That and the fact that he was HIV positive, which doesn’t, by the way, render you a more decent or pleasanter… Continue reading Next Time, Run Away!
Thank You, ‘Boss’
By Peter Godfrey. Moonee Ponds, VIC That you are here —that life exists and identity,That the powerful play goes on,and you may contribute a verse. Walt Whitman Dear Naomi — O Captain! My Captain, I am writing a ‘thank you’ series. It’s a small collection of letters with a memoir touch and tone to each… Continue reading Thank You, ‘Boss’
Thank You, ‘Miss’
By Peter Godfrey. Moonee Ponds, VIC When you are old and greyand full of sleep, and nodding by the fire,take down this book, and slowly read,and dream of the soft look your eyes had once,and of their shadows deep.How many loved your momentsof glad grace, and loved your beautywith love false or true, but one… Continue reading Thank You, ‘Miss’
Missed Miscarriage
By Pauline Pannell. Fremantle WA "I’m sorry, I can’t find the heartbeat.” I am so high on motherhood that I don’t process the ultrasound technician’s words. "Well, it must be there somewhere." "I’m sorry." "I don’t understand." I look at my husband’s face. There are tears rolling down his face. He is not an emotional… Continue reading Missed Miscarriage
Retirement
By Sally Giles. Wynn Vale, SA Click the below arrow to hear Sally Giles read this essay. I have found, as I am retired, that the things which bring me the most pleasure and happiness are the simple, easy things. I love my small garden, I have gradually changed the plants that were struggling due… Continue reading Retirement
The Day My Number Came Up
By Brian John Pollock. Brighton, VIC From the moment my birthdate was drawn out of the Army conscription barrel in 1965, my life changed direction. In June 1966, I was in a bus with fellow conscripts heading for recruit training at Puckapunyal army base in Victoria. Recruit training was reasonably uneventful once you got used… Continue reading The Day My Number Came Up
Making Do
By Merlene Fawdry. Ararat, VIC I come from a long line of women who knew how to make do, beginning with my convict double great grandmothers, who came to this country in ragged clothes and tattered bonnets, with only the skill of survival and the ability to spot an opportunity to begin their new life.… Continue reading Making Do
Eccentric Neighbours
By Lindsey-Jane Doley. Adelaide, SA Names have been changed in this true story, though I’m not sure why I’ve bothered, as most of the old Hawthorndene neighbours are probably well and truly dead by now. Back in the 1950s, Hawthorndene, in the Adelaide Hills, was not the built up suburb it is today, but more like… Continue reading Eccentric Neighbours
Memoir
By Lyn McGrath. Darlington, SA My late father was born in 1902. He was 41 years old when I was born, 80 years ago. A product of his generation, he was intelligent, but poorly educated, racist and bigoted. But he could also be thoughtful, generous, and sensitive. He worked long and hard through the depression years… Continue reading Memoir
45
By Sally Giles. Wynn Vale, SA As I looked at the triangle of fabric, I measured its angle and it was 45 degrees. All the angles which should be 45 degrees must be exactly 45 degrees or they will not sew together correctly. Small mistakes amplify as you go along sewing a quilt. I absolutely… Continue reading 45
My Hands
By Bev Walsh. Melbourne, VIC. You can listen to the author read her story by clicking the below arrow. Covered rivers of blood course from my wrists, spread like tributaries over the wide expanse of hand and dive underground when they reach my fingers. Wrinkled skin and irregular dark brown spots add further insult; a… Continue reading My Hands
A Time for Chloe
By Teena Raffa-Mulligan. Rockingham, WA No more pets. We both agreed. We’d shared our home with a procession of cats and dogs over decades and all but one lived to old age. It’s too hard to say goodbye, we said. We get too attached. It’s a responsibility. Besides, they can live a long time. Who… Continue reading A Time for Chloe
The Sad Tale of Sebastian Becker
By Jenny Zimmerman. Woodend, VIC Listen to the author read this story by clicking the below arrow: My mother was a social worker and she told us stories about foster children. They were difficult. They were also very sad. They took chips and lollies to school instead of healthy lunches. I couldn't imagine not having… Continue reading The Sad Tale of Sebastian Becker
Grandma’s Gift
By Sally Giles. Wynn Vale, SA My Grandma gave me a small watercolour painting framed with a wooden frame and glass. The painting is a tranquil river scene and on the back it says ‘a quiet spot near Loxton’. Grandma told me the woman who painted it met and fell in love with an Australian… Continue reading Grandma’s Gift
Mothers
By Steve Allen. Aldinga, SA the stadium lights held this momentthousands in the stands shoulder to shoulder they being sons and daughters mothers one by one stepped from the tunnelthat led out onto the field of their livesthis now hallowed ground echoed with passionate cheersknitted scarves raised above every head taken from old school jumpers… Continue reading Mothers
The Little Corner Shops
By Lindsey-Jane Doley. Adelaide, SA Want to know more about the author of this story? Click the above arrow to hear her reveal what inspires her to write. A long time ago, before supermarkets or up-market delicatessens, we had the corner shop. In South Australia these were sprinkled across the hills and suburbs, often on… Continue reading The Little Corner Shops
Happy First Mother’s Day to Olivia, My Granddaughter
By Lella Cariddi. Ivanhoe, VIC 25 April 2023 A splendid autumn morning. The weather forecaster announces that today the temperature will reach 25 degrees. My friend Jill and I are invited to a long lunch at the home of mutual friends, Julie and Con. Jill offers to pick me up by 10am. So much to… Continue reading Happy First Mother’s Day to Olivia, My Granddaughter
The Holiday
By Sue Scott. Aberfoyle Park, SA The sound of the back door being closed with a bang was the beginning of an exciting new world for our family. Dad announced, “The holiday starts now”. On that day in 1960, I had no idea what lay before us. In preparation for our adventure, we were all… Continue reading The Holiday
One Sacred Day
By Margaret McCaffrey. Melbourne, VIC Thirty-four years after my father’s death, I drove one frosty morning in 2010 to Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. It’s a pyramid-shaped building keeping guard, sphinx-like, over the city. There, I joined the shivering, silent crowd huddled around the eternal flame for the pre-dawn service, as the bugle strains of The… Continue reading One Sacred Day
ANZAC Day Reflections
By Nancy Sortini. Adelaide, SA I was taught from when I was a young girl to observe ANZAC Day. I was the youngest of three girls. On the 25th of April, we would go to the local railway station, as we lived in the Adelaide Hills, and head for town. Once there, we would settle… Continue reading ANZAC Day Reflections