Today I’ve decided to write about New Zealand’s humble kiwi. Which one you might ask. I imagine Americans recognise only one kiwi, the delicious green or gold fruit. But we do have a couple more which are so much more common to us. New Zealand’s national bird is the kiwi. And for every New Zealander when travelling overseas, we use and are all known as kiwis. Let’s get rid of the humble kiwi fruit. Despite its name, this fruit is … Continue reading
My special day is ANZAC Day. Is has a huge significance for me. Today’s dawn service was the most unusual I have ever attended. I stood alone, as I always like to do, but far more “alone” than usual. With social distancing in force, kiwis were encouraged to commemorate by gathering at their front gates. Therefore taking the place of the services normally held throughout the country. For my special day, I crossed the road and stood near a neighbour. … Continue reading
A visit to the War Memorial Museum in Auckland was long overdue when I ventured there last week. It has been years since I last visited. Within moments I regretted this. What an amazing place full of interesting items. It would have been easy to spend a whole day or even longer there, but the visit was limited to only hours. My visit coincided with the exhibition “Voyage to Aotearoa: Tupaia and the Endeavour”. Most of the afternoon was spent … Continue reading
Finding Photos of Women in the RNZN Finishing the text portion of this book of memories made me feel like I had achieved a real pinnacle. Finally we – the RNZN Women’s Association – could feel we had a little of our history recorded. Enhancing the record by finding photos of women in the RNZN was the last step before publication. But this proved much more difficult than I anticipated. I had a small variety of images which I thought … Continue reading
Women’s Service WRNZNS To RNZN 1942-2017 There is a wealth of history to be recorded of women’s service in the New Zealand navy. I have neglected my romance writing to enable us to capture some of that history in a book of memories. From July 1942 until today in 2017 thousands of woman have taken the pledge to serve King (Queen) and country. With contributions from some of these women, the Royal New Zealand Naval Women’s Association is publishing a … Continue reading
Venturing Into Non-Fiction With Women’s Memories My comfort zone has been sorely tested over the last few months as I ventured into the field of non-fiction writing. I’ve prepared a book on women’s memories from their service time in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Romance writing and everything connected to it has been neglected. This website, my blog, my social media outlets, they all took a back seat. The project took more time and energy than I expected. Some years … Continue reading
Our New Beginning At Colac Bay Obviously our lives changed at the end of 1955. I was 2 years old, Kevin 7 and Janet had just turned 9. Mum had three little kids, and a bunch of sheep and hens to deal with. Thankfully she had an enormous support network of Dad’s family rallying around her. “I continued to look after the sheep but found I needed a lot of help from the neighbours. When someone asked me if I’d … Continue reading
Life In The Forties Life in the forties in New Zealand was still governed by ration books and shortages in many areas even after the war ended. The fifth series of ration books was issued 15th October 1945, just two weeks before my parents married. This exert is from an article entitled “Growing up in NZ” (http://www.nzine.co.nz/features/guinz25-50_part15.html) and fitted so well with some comments my mother had written. Each person was allowed 26 coupons for clothing every six months, with … Continue reading
My First Visit To Colac Bay I was almost six when we shifted from Mataura to Colac Bay. It will always be “home”. I loved growing up in such a quiet, picturesque area. I explored and experienced a carefree childhood. I don’t remember visits to Colac Bay until our new house was being built during the summer of 1959/60. But Mum’s journal suggests we made numerous visits. “When Anne was ten months old I decided I would like a holiday … Continue reading
Further Musings Of Merville’s Life It’s going to feel strange copying Mum’s writing now that she has left us, but I undertook to share her words way back when I asked her to write them. My intention was always to write a book about her. Whether I ever succeed in doing that or not, I feel I am honouring Merville’s life now by continuing her story here at least until the end of her musings. I’m hoping with the help … Continue reading