Short story blog
This story is a tribute to the late Elizabeth Annie (“Betty”) Anderson, of Rockhampton. Betty died on 25 February 2020, aged 100 years 6 months. I met Betty when I was a child. She was a long-standing family friend. My mother Evelyn and Betty had known each other since their late teens. My husband, Tony, […] Read more…
The year 1871 began on a sorrowful note. Holiday festivities came to an abrupt end when it became known on Monday 2 January that His Excellency, Colonel Blackall, Governor of Queensland, had died. With this news a universal gloom settled on the entire population of the fledgling colony. Colonel Samuel Wensley Blackall had been in […] Read more…
During a visit to the Mount Morgan Cemetery in 2017 I came across the grave of EMMETT BEAUMONT McSWEENEY, an infant who died in 1921. At the time I was looking for the grave of my aunt THYRA GRACE BEAUMONT, also an infant, who died in 1920 and who was also buried there (read A […] Read more…
Willis. It’s not his given name. It’s a name Wei-Chih Lin chose for himself. At University, his English teacher wanted all students to have an English name. Wei-Chih searched the internet and a book of English names for one beginning with “W” because his Chinese name begins with “W”. He found “William”, which means “strong, […] Read more…
On Thursday my husband and I attended a funeral. It was the funeral of Brian Edwin Sara, friend, much-loved brother in the Lord and member of St Andrew’s Anglican Church South Brisbane. The church was packed, as family members, parishioners, friends and representatives of the scouting movement and Brian’s tenpin bowling club gathered to honour […] Read more…
Yesterday afternoon Tony and I were privileged to attend Alwyn and Fay Neuendorf’s 60th wedding anniversary celebration. Alwyn and Fay were married at Balimo in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea on October 4, 1956. The afternoon’s proceedings included introduction of family and special guests, afternoon tea, slideshow, special greetings, cutting the cake, hymn-singing, […] Read more…
I met Ben when he was 92 years old. I never had the pleasure of meeting Elsie. My husband Tony met Ben and his wife Elsie four years earlier, when Ben was 88 and Elsie 97. It was soon after Tony was appointed by St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Rockhampton as Assistant to the Minister. Ben […] Read more…
Earlier this year I resolved to find and reconnect with Alwyn and Fay Neuendorf. This is how I went about it. On 16 March 2016, I posted the following message and photograph on my Love in a little black diary Facebook page: “My dear followers, especially those of you who live in PNG. Do you […] Read more…
Mohamed loves to cook. Last year, he offered to cook Lamb Biryani (a traditional Indian mixed rice dish) for my husband and me. We invited him to prepare it at our home, in our kitchen, so we could observe the process and share the meal with him afterwards. He agreed, and we invited three of […] Read more…
My husband Tony and I arrived by train at Cottbus (Chósésbuz) at 12.40 pm on Tuesday 5 January. The outside temperature was -7 degrees Celcius and it was snowing. The sky was grey and visibility low in the dull light. Everywhere we looked the landscape was covered by a thick white blanket of snow. Tiny splashes […] Read more…
Most of us value friendship. True friendship, that is. Throughout life, most of us will have only a few really close friends, especially “forever” friends. Do you agree? What makes a friendship last? Is it true that “Threads of friendship never break”? After you’ve read my story about “Judy Same”, I invite you to share […] Read more…
