Creative Ageing in Australia
By Lindsey-Jane, 70. Adelaide, SA Christmas for most people in Adelaide begins with our famous Christmas pageant, which is one of the best of its kind in the world and the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. It's been a huge hit for the Adelaide population since 1933, so they've had lots of practice at making… Continue reading Merry Christmas, Summer Christmas
By Sally, 64. Wynn Vale, SA When I was about forty years of age, I met a woman named Barbara. She was about twenty years older than me — so, was about sixty when we met. We remained friends for many years. I was a person who made the occasional friend. I didn’t make immediate… Continue reading Friends
By Adrian Crawford, 67. Mt Barker, SA Click the arrow above to hear Adrian read his "Adventures to Australia". My name is Adrian Crawford and I live in Adelaide, South Australia. I’ve been a storyteller since I was six years old, though it took me to my twenties to truly discover that. I am a… Continue reading Adrian’s Adventures to Australia
By Sue, 69. Aberfoyle Park, SA Don't you often think to yourself 'when I rule the world...' as some aspect of today's living drives you to despair? Welcome to my despot fantasy, where it's not a matter of 'if' but THINGS WILL CHANGE. Remember, in my fantasy, I am dictator now — an omnipotent presence. Rules… Continue reading When I Rule the World
By Lindsey-Jane, 70. Adelaide, SA Back in the fifties, many people were home sewers. Department stores and drapers' shops were chock full of rolls of beautiful fabrics in a vast array of colours and designs. One of the best sewers was my Nanna. Ever since I was old enough to remember, she'd made dresses for me… Continue reading Remembering the Fifties: Needles and Pins
By Andrew Piper, 75. Woodcroft, SA My story recounts memories of Semaphore and environs of the mid-seventies and a character I knew well who lived on the Semaphore Esplanade. Let's just call her Ester for the purposes of our story. I have flighty memories of people and places of that time, and my impressions of… Continue reading Seventies Semaphore: A Memoir
By Steve, 65. Aldinga, SA black charcoal sketches on my flat screen tv skeleton trees,broken buildings,rubble everywhereon another channel,pageant queenswant world peaceback to reality,to the contrast of barren streetshumbled citizens in any warmclothing they can findnow,it's all about how to survivesolemnly they leavethe place they've called homeoppression,has been drawn on my tvI turn it off, andgo to… Continue reading Charcoal Sketches
By Josephine, 80. Beachport, SA Marrying at seventeen didn’t seem to me as though it should cause much eyebrow raising and speculation! This was back in 1957. Many young brides were accidentally pregnant, and many young men had a more responsible attitude to fatherhood than it seems they do today. Bryan and I were not… Continue reading Marrying at Seventeen
By Nancy, 80. Adelaide, SA TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic abuse. If you or someone you know need to seek assistance, here are some resources: In an emergency, please call 000. White Ribbon - click this link for support line phone numbers in each state 1 800 RESPECT - 1800 737 732 *** A chilly winter’s afternoon.… Continue reading The End
By Steve, 65. Aldinga, SA lessons learntonly slightly burntso much to learnso little timegrowth sometimes a bitter pillas we struggle up an unknown hilltufts of grass,trees with embedded rootscan help us on our wayevery hill is differentfor every child of mother earthsurvival is our instinctit rarely lets us down andwhen you've reached your plateauit is… Continue reading Lessons
By Anne-Marie, 78. Henley Beach, SA My journey to Australia was a drawn-out odyssey. I first left France to work in Africa. In Zambia, I taught English as a second language in a boarding school near the source of the Zambezi River, where my son was born. During a holiday I travelled south to the border… Continue reading The Smoke That Thunders
By Briony, 63. Adelaide, SA If you were to position my brother Jerome on the autism spectrum, he would be in the mesosphere! Now, before you judge me on the title of this piece, my family are proud of Jerome’s weirdness. There was nothing bland or mediocre about him and the rest of us are… Continue reading My Weirdo Brother Jerome
By Lindsey-Jane, 70. Adelaide, SA These are just a few of the snacks and meals that we enjoyed as children in the 1950s. Today, some have been adapted to be more health-conscious for future generations, and others have simply vanished, which is a bit sad. As a child growing up in Australia in the 1950s,… Continue reading Bread and Dripping, Mushrooms, and Fresh Blackberries
By David, 84. Hackney, SA I was born in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, not far from the French coast. In 1939, dad accepted a call to a church in Ilford, a suburb of London, because he believed the Germans would invade the Channel Islands once the war started. He was right. The German occupation… Continue reading Journey Through World War II
By Sue, 68. Aberfoyle Park, SA Hello, Miranda. Knew you'd be in sooner or later for your makeover. It was only last week at the tearooms you were praising me on the wonderful job I did on your friend Lydia. By the way, isn't the coffee and cake there to die for? Can't go there too often… Continue reading Body and Soul
By Nancy, 80. Adelaide, SA I have always had a rather unhealthy dislike of dogs. I was a cat lover. Dogs I feared and loathed. I found them dirty, smelly, and prone to nip one's ankle. I never understood dog owners' obsessions with their animals. I viewed most dog people as not quite normal when… Continue reading Smudge
By Sue, 68. Aberfoyle Park, SA “This is delicious,” Marge mumbled between mouthfuls of double chocolate muffin. Every Tuesday after she and her friend Fay had finished their hour-long exercise class, they treated themselves to a coffee and muffin of the week from the cafe's specials board. “So convenient,” said Fay, “that the retirement village… Continue reading Romeo — Where Art Thou?
By Lucie Kolmer, 1916 — 2010. Adelaide, SA. Rest in peace. In April 1934, my parents, my young brother, and I left Germany on the liner Koblenz and sailed for China. I celebrated my 18th birthday onboard the ship. My brother died of kidney failure in Shanghai where we initially lived. We left Shanghai in… Continue reading Coming to Australia
By Lesley-Anne, 67. Christie Downs, SA It was the winter of 1963. The snow and the fog were like nothing I had ever seen. When I say fog, I mean the dense, impenetrable type where you can't see more than a few inches in front of you. There was nothing wispy or ethereal about this… Continue reading Fog Bound
By Lindsey-Jane, 70. Adelaide, SA I told you this chapter would be coming soon, didn't I? Well, it’s all about visiting the dentist in the '50s. There were many delightful aspects of living in the '50s, but a visit to the dentist in that era was definitely not one of them. The six-monthly dental visit… Continue reading The Dreaded Dentist
By Nancy, 80. Adelaide, SA From the Editor: Trigger warning. The following series contains very candid, detailed, brave, and well-written accounts of what it is like to live with clinical depression. Though over the usual 1000-word limit, I have decided to publish the works in their entirety. If you or someone you know live with… Continue reading The ‘Dark Pit’
By Nancy, 79. Adelaide, SA The year was 1957. I was a mere seventeen years of age. A position had presented itself as a governess on a remote cattle station northeast of Alice Springs. I had applied and was accepted to supervise two young children, one a boy of ten and a girl of eight.… Continue reading A Memoir
By Berry, 69. Mawson Lakes, SA It sat alone on the pavement for three days.Marked brown wood, curved back, cracked sagging vinyl seat.My anxiety rose each time I saw it through the window or open doorAnger marked my face.Resentment curved my back.Hurt and insult sagged my soulWhen did mutual respect change to frustration and thoughtlessness?It… Continue reading The Chair
By Lindsey-Jane, 70. Adelaide, SA Way back in the '50s, we had FJ Holden cars, doctors who paid house calls, and postmen who actually delivered twice a day (and what's more, blew a whistle to announce their arrival!) Remember these things? Do you also remember women wearing hats and gloves to church or even to go… Continue reading Bodgies, Widgies, Steam Trains, and Stiff Petticoats
By Denese, 74. Adelaide, SA Cathy disliked reunions intensely. Under sufferance she’d gone to the art school reunion last year and was astonished that the only practicing artists making money from their work were those who'd shown absolutely no talent whatsoever during their four years of tuition. But a school reunion? Ughh! The thought made… Continue reading A Survivor of ’84