Chrysanthemums are the traditional flower for Mother’s Day in Australia. They are also the birth flower for November, which was coincidentally my mother’s birth month. There appear to be many different meanings for chrysanthemums. Some say they symbolize optimism and joy, although some believe the yellow chrysanthemum is meant to
This is a picture of my paternal grandmother. She married my grandfather on 20 November 1912. She was 31, my grandfather was 36. By early twentieth century standards, and for a first marriage, they were older than the norm. My grandparents had at least five children between 1913 and 1919.
According to Bram Stoker, garlic works a charm when warding off vampires. I am not sure what my grandfather thought about vampires, but he certainly believed in the power of garlic. My grandfather, pictured, learnt homeopathy and iridology in his middle age. He and his family had sought refuge in
On 17 December 1837, the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia, burst into flame. Almost as soon as the last embers ceased to burn, Tsar Nicholas I started to plan the rebuilding of this remarkable structure, hoping the new palace would wipe the memory of this disaster from the minds
“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea… whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” John F Kennedy The ocean has played a part in the lives of both sides of my family. In
“Story is the song line of a person’s life. We need to sing it and we need someone to hear the singing. Story told. Story heard. Story written. Story read creates the web of life in words.” Christina Baldwin As a child and even as a teenager, I remember asking