I came across a pile of garden magazines in a recent declutter and one in particular brought back uncomfortable memories. In the 1980s I was working fulltime, but also trying my hand as a freelance writer. In 1988 my husband Rob and I bought our first freestanding
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Sam Hood was a well known commercial photographer in Sydney for many years. During WWII he would take photographs of service personnel, which were naturally very popular with friends and relatives. In November 1941 H.M.A.S. Sydney was lost in an encounter with the German ship Kormoran. All
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Afternoon tea was such a common social event when I was growing up in rural Tasmania. In my family coffee only made an appearance in the 1960s as ‘instant’ granules. I have been ‘decluttering’ and have come across so many bone china cup/saucer and plate sets. Those
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When I was a child growing up in Tasmania (1950s) there was a small green bowl sitting on the mantlepiece above our wood burning kitchen stove. It is human nature that an empty container becomes a receptacle for small objects, and our green bowl was no different.
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When you finally decide to do some major de-cluttering, it’s often not the cost of an item that makes you decide to keep it rather than cull it. This humble little wooden apple corer must be well over 100 years old. It belonged to my mother Myra,
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In a letter to the nature page of The Weekly Times in 1934, a little girl began by mentioning Splash, a most unusual pet. Dear Charles Barrett – I am writing to tell you about Splash the platypus which belongs to my uncle, Mr Robert Eadie of
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An updated story of Winston, a victim of war. In the midst of WWII, British P.M. Winston Churchill, decided he would like to own a live platypus! 😨 As the threat of Japanese invasion increased, Australia was anxious to maintain Britain’s support. Prime Minister John Curtin (pictured
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20 year old Henry Serpell was the accountant at the Boxhill branch of the E.S. & A. bank. Serpell slept on the premises, and on May 17 1904 he was woken by three men; one was holding a flashlight and another was aiming a revolver at his
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There are numerous secret bars in central Sydney. The wonderful Barber Shop Bar in York Street has elements of a hidden Chicago speakeasy and a Victorian gin palace.😍 To enter, patrons walk though a working barber shop, then sneak up the stairs to the bar. Hard to
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The very name of this hidden place warms the heart of a weary Baby Boomer in town for a few days….Grandma’s Bar. 😍 It’s located in the basement at number 275 Clarence Street. There is no street signage….just look for the guitar shop next door. This place
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