Posts about both sides of my family
In this picture my maternal grandfather, Pavel Voronov (Paul Woronoff), is 13 years old. He is a naval cadet in Russia. Years later he would be an officer on Tsar Nicholas II’s imperial yacht, Standart and the love interest of Grand Duchess Olga, eldest daughter of the Tsar. I know
With the 100th anniversary of the death of the Romanovs approaching next month, my thoughts have been more and more on the Russian side of my family; my mother’s family. My grandmother’s family were Russian aristocrats. As a young lady, she became a Maid of Honour to the Empress Alexandra
We are all stories. Our stories are woven from the stories of our parents, our grandparents and so on through our ancestral trail. Some of our stories are more complex than others, their narratives ducking and weaving across and around war and trauma and flight. Some of our stories are
So far, I’ve had a lovely Mother’s Day. A phone call from my son who lives on the other side of the country, lunch with my eldest son, his fiancée and my two grandsons and I’m looking forward to going to the movies with my youngest son this evening. It
Last year, around Anzac Day, I discovered this article written by Minna Muhlen. As I read it I felt such relief, relief at finding someone else in Australia who is potentially struggling with the same emotions as I am. I debated with myself for quite a while, should I contact
Today is Easter Sunday. Although, if I were still following the Orthodox Easter traditions, it would be Palm Sunday. I was born on Palm Sunday, so many years ago, and it was actually Palm Sunday for both the Orthodox and Western churches. My mother was strictly religious. We fasted for