Hello. Here is the first article from my trip to Lille, in northern France. Pauline Conolly helped me, but not very much. Dr Bob Conolly took the photographs. I hope you like our work. Editor Des. xxx IN THE BEGINNING In
Read more →
Australians have always been enthusiastic travelers. Sadly, ‘grey nomad’ caravanners and thousands of cruise passengers are now experiencing very difficult times. I was reflecting on this, and the fact that travel is not always pleasant. The word derives from the medieval Latin – trepalium; ‘an instrument of
Read more →
Hello, I’m Editor Des. I spend most my life buried away in the boring old Blue Mountains…and I don’t even eat gum leaves! However, Pauline Conolly, (she’s my guardian and employer) took me on a little tour of Sydney recently. We only went for a couple of
Read more →
The spectre of climate change and periods of prolonged drought have created an upsurge of interest in the growing of Australian native plants. However, we have been slow to embrace them. I suspect this would surprise and disappoint women pioneers such as Elizabeth Macarthur, who began
Read more →
MEMORIES FROM OLD COOKBOOKS We all become a bit nostalgic around Christmas time, especially when it comes to food. One of my favourite photos is of my mother Myra making Kiss Biscuits with her grandchildren back in the 1980s. Katey and Graeme now have children of their
Read more →
FLORAL MEMENTOES OF WAR The Gallipoli Rose (Cistus salvifolius) was the Australian War Memorial’s first commemorative plant. It grew on the bloody battlefields of Gallipoli. The sight of the flowers lifted the spirits of the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), who brought home the seeds.
Read more →
ICE BLOCKS, TEN CENTS A POP! On April Fools’ Day 1978 Australian electronics entrepreneur Dick Smith arranged for a giant, fake iceberg to be towed into Sydney Harbour. In a co-ordinated campaign, 300 of his employees then rang various radio and television stations, saying ‘What on earth
Read more →
Shopping for clothes. 😨 Oh dear, I may be viewed as a disgrace to womanhood, but I detest it. It’s not that I don’t like to look nice, but it’s so time consuming and irritating. The older I get the more I try to avoid the whole
Read more →
IN THE BEGINNING – ERNIE APPLE TREE SENIOR In 1953 my parents moved to the Tasmanian farm I grew up on. It was four miles from the coastal town of Ulverstone In the back garden (out on sight in the photo) was an old apple tree. Unfortunately
Read more →
My partner Rob and I are making our way home from Sydney to the Blue Mountains by rail; a two hour journey. As the train begins to climb, an American lady sitting behind us asks someone a question across the aisle; ‘Excuse me, will I know when
Read more →