Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, It's all about me, Photos

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

cees fun photo challengeCee’s Fun Foto Challenge:
Black and White Photos

BELOW: My baby brother making mud pies.
mudpies

I took these photos way back in December 1970 and March 1971 with a Box Brownie camera. (I turned 16 in February.) I probably didn’t know enough to keep the sun out of the lens, but these are still a precious photos. I loved this house. It had a huge garden, with great swathes of Agapanthus, and lots of trees to climb. My parents carapkrented an old farmhouse at Carapook, near the top of the Muntham Hill between Coleraine and Casterton, Victoria. This was my last home with my parents and siblings: I moved to Mount Gambier the very next year, for training as a State Enrolled Nurse, then married.

In South Australia we learned to give injections, this wasn’t part of the duties in Victoria, but I think that was the only difference. I’ll do a page about my training one day, but don’t hold your breath! In those days, all the training was provided by the hospital staff, including the lectures and exams.carapook hills 1970
carapook sheep 1970LEFT: Looking across the valley behind the house. The long dark lines are cypress tree plantations, planted as windbreaks to protect the sheep from the weather.

RIGHT: The sheep were shorn not long before, as they aren’t very woolly.

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Bite Size Memoir

Bite Size Memoir 5: Camping

I’m still catching up on the prompts for Lisa’s Bite Sized memoirs.  For compilations of other stories with this theme, click on the elephant under the post.

So Camping is the prompt for this week’s Bite Size Memoir – I’m thinking ‘outdoor recreational activity’

My love of camping comes from Dad: always happiest by water – fishing, drinking, reading – whilst one of us kids watched the rods.

My first memory of camping was living in a tent; most likely we were ‘between’ homes. I think it was at Victor Harbour, South Australia: sand dunes, the ocean, and other children to play with. I don’t know my age. I must have been extremely young. You can judge from what happened.

My calls of nature were usually conducted in the sand dunes. I was amazed one day, whilst taking care of business. I yanked up my panties, rushed along to the tent and burst in, shouting.

“Mum! I did a pee and a poo at the same time!”

These words initiated the first of two smackings I ever received from my father. We had visitors in the tent, and dad was embarrassed by my outburst.

Dad at Blackfellows Caves, South Australia – fooling around with a gummy shark.  January 1971. My last camping trip with my father and two of my brothers. I kissed a boy for the first time on this trip.

BITE SIZE MEMOIR

As to smacking, there are only two incidents where I remember being chastised by smacking on the bottom by Dad. He might have used his belt, I do not recall.  I would receive the odd biff under the ear, now and then. Earning such a biff, for example, during helping dad in his blacksmithing, when letting the forge fire get too cool because I was busy reading a western, instead of turning the blower handle at the right speed.

Swearing was a no-no, in dad’s hearing, too. If he was too far away to smack you under the ear, you would get the piercing blue eyed look. In a way, that was far worse.

Gee, I’m talking about my dad a lot. One of my new blogging friends has recently lost her father, and I think this has made me think of mine a bit more. He was a bit of a bastard, really, but I loved him. He died before his 50th birthday. Basically, he drank himself to death.

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Bite Size Memoir, Other Stuff

Bite Size Memoirs: No 2, 3 and 4.

I’ve joined in Lisa’s Memoir challenge late, but want to catch up with the completed prompts from the past. Lisa is on a break, so that will give me that chance.   Memoir must be no more than 150 words. I could also choose to do 10 x remember statements.

If you would like the see the posts others have posted, just click on the elephant below each post,. It will take you to a compilation.

Bite Size Memoir No.2 “Jinks and Japes”

I’m a spoil sport when it comes to pranks. No doubt, I was mean to my younger sister and four brothers and played tricks on them; as you do.

Mr Ex told me of his favourite prank. He and his friends would place a wallet or handbag on the side of the road, then hide. As a vehicle was pulling up, they’d yank the wallet out of sight using the attached fishing line. Then, they’d stay hidden until the puzzled driver departed.

One day, my flustered daughter came running inside. She owned up that she’d just been caught doing the same thing!

Last year, I saw a wallet upended on the road. I stopped, but not until I’d looked around for the fishing line. There wasn’t enough cover to hide anyone. The wallet belonged to an old bloke nearby, having fallen from the top of a taxi exiting his street.
BITE SIZE MEMOIR

Bite Size Memoir No.3 “Magic and Fairy Tales”

Mum brought magic alive for us. She encouraged us to believe.

At one home, we had a magic date tree that bore fruit only at night. At another, we would plant a penny in the dirt, marking the spot with a stick. It would turn into two bob overnight. Everyone knew about the tooth-fairy, but this one was our special fairy.

We feared the hobgoblins and hobyahs, and watched out for trolls. Mum fed us ghost stories. When older, we would sit in the dark, around the open fireplace, and scare ourselves silly.

I’ll always remember the time Mum did see a ghost. She came rushing into her bedroom – I was sleeping in the old cot while Dad was away – and told me she’d seen Nana’s feet doing her signature twiddling thing in front of the fire. Nana had given the promised sign. I was sworn to secrecy.
BITE SIZE MEMOIR

Bite Size Memoir No.4 “Sports Day”

As a child, I wasn’t a very physical person. I struggled with physical education at school. I’d prefer reading a book. The only game I was remotely interested in was softball in third grade. As long as I got to the first base, I did well. I could run, fast.

I reached my peak in Grade 6, at George Street State School, Hamilton. I was taller than almost everyone else so I could run faster, jump higher and longer. I was a star.

I came back to reality in High School when I resumed my place near the back of the pack. Mum would happily write me a note once a month to get out of sport. It didn’t get me out of donning the dreaded bottle green tunic and bloomers. Uggghhhhh! How I hated that sports uniform.

Sport’s days were hot and boring. Swim sports? I won’t go there.

BITE SIZE MEMOIR

 

Outside of my 150 words, I want to point out that, as an adult, I did play lawn bowls, basketball and netball – even a game of competition tennis once when the team was desperate!

That was fun! I hope you enjoyed my bite sized memoirs as much as I did writing them.

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