tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28264204670245890262024-03-14T20:04:40.987+10:30SunderwarpTales of an Australian childhood and popular culture in the 60s and 70sMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-72188642108006123442017-07-28T20:38:00.000+09:302017-07-28T21:13:18.471+09:30THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Who
better to honour in a blog about 1970s childhood,
than the boy who lived it with me - my brother Grant. In the weeks
leading up to his untimely death, when pain played hardball, we
took our time machine to the ‘70s, finding calm in happy memories. </span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNezqeiYxicPa9E6I8WyW3haFpVc64mqOBERwz83McwWQf7SwIV9rAPhyphenhyphenUeBzhLdJEn0k_WuNhiXjSLK80H0bDSPacT8rLhqFol0X0fAdSR57YAMcDZ2aiQyVHHjDmVCrJ7miawkNW4O2/s1600/Train+Lofty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1440" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNezqeiYxicPa9E6I8WyW3haFpVc64mqOBERwz83McwWQf7SwIV9rAPhyphenhyphenUeBzhLdJEn0k_WuNhiXjSLK80H0bDSPacT8rLhqFol0X0fAdSR57YAMcDZ2aiQyVHHjDmVCrJ7miawkNW4O2/s400/Train+Lofty.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mount Lofty Station (Stirling), Adelaide Hills</span></b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<b></b>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grant was a lifelong rail enthusiast, with a broad knowledge of the world’s
locomotives and a talent for the mechanics of model railways. As a child, his only struggle with the hobby was
building landscapes for his model engines to chug through. Today you can buy every conceivable notion
from a franchise chain, but in the 1970s, you had to be creative. </span></span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Together we made matchstick buildings, cardboard rivers (painted blue and sprinkled with glitter) and papier-mache mountains. Our
landscapes were clad in brown paper – the ‘earth’ – daubed here and there with green
paint 'grass.' Ah, brown paper ... everyone had a roll
in their homes then. Now nobody does. <br />
<br />
His favourite film was, of course, The Railway Children (1970)</span></span></span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlSbD0lPRiQLiIoM5VJ8Wz9YX7_lz__jFGhwgxv3zqzr5e2AodMpYy2jEqorE_io-Q2pLTt-W1onmLNwERv9eFyDFTVZCfk2KTOkEAdTZljGMwBXXhVy-vAbsV3E05P0h_jBqez9TBzOz/s1600/railway+children+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="920" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlSbD0lPRiQLiIoM5VJ8Wz9YX7_lz__jFGhwgxv3zqzr5e2AodMpYy2jEqorE_io-Q2pLTt-W1onmLNwERv9eFyDFTVZCfk2KTOkEAdTZljGMwBXXhVy-vAbsV3E05P0h_jBqez9TBzOz/s400/railway+children+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Every boy had a crush on Jenny Agutter</i></span></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">The old Hornby catalogues are gold! Long
before websites, before there was cheap offshore bulk printing, one had to
purchase a product catalogue. With
suitable reverence, boys in many countries pored over Hornby’s annual releases,
carefully choosing new engines, carriages or tracks, making sure the gauge was
right, perhaps adding a signal box or level-crossing to the wishlist. If they’d done really well at school, or Dad
was a railfan too, they might even score a station and platform! </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iMNbO69hI7RSL0f3qqkPxr4upqSHKFGJMQtUWfq64mWHg2uGG88jdVbUto-q7GDI4X3_o1_MMx_chipekrnlgGzq5jGIvDzrzE9StH8zkLcNREwIQ_QdPTSTOxmeXwfSb82oVSBedUQg/s1600/train+catalogues.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iMNbO69hI7RSL0f3qqkPxr4upqSHKFGJMQtUWfq64mWHg2uGG88jdVbUto-q7GDI4X3_o1_MMx_chipekrnlgGzq5jGIvDzrzE9StH8zkLcNREwIQ_QdPTSTOxmeXwfSb82oVSBedUQg/s400/train+catalogues.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> </b></i></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A funky year for Hornby with the green paisley eh.<br /> And how about the cravat on Dad?! Or perhaps it's a toyshop uncle *ahem*</i></span></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">As the years wore on, his enthusiasm for all-things-rail never waned. He travelled far to view favourite or
historical trains, become ‘that person’ taking photos from odd vantage points,
and built a far more sophisticated home railway. </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YSymJOZmESpOTJIDprPD6prxi-seELKR83Dl8uW7RNtQ8pr947gLiTeHmPB_5gjFFBXrxYmgcmC4hgB3cDaploIdZh36c7loyrJb547R04BOhNLO7KHsHhaYjo1XljVjglp9Xt-pAP_b/s1600/Train+Grant+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YSymJOZmESpOTJIDprPD6prxi-seELKR83Dl8uW7RNtQ8pr947gLiTeHmPB_5gjFFBXrxYmgcmC4hgB3cDaploIdZh36c7loyrJb547R04BOhNLO7KHsHhaYjo1XljVjglp9Xt-pAP_b/s400/Train+Grant+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few months ago, as he neared the terminal, Grant was reassured to know I was
prepared to curate his core collection.
He never did have a son, and Girl Gunzels (railfans) are almost unheard
of. I guess he knew I’d respect the
retro vibe of not just the rolling stock, but the hobby itself. </span></span>
<br />
<br />In the real world, there are six significant railway stations where we may one
day scatter Grant’s ashes. At the
moment, the urn is in a box with his RS613 Steam Freight Set, whose package
proclaims “With Smoke!” which I know he’d find wryly amusing. </span></span></b><br />
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<cite class="_Rm"><br /></cite>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-15081237995298124232016-02-28T16:15:00.000+10:302016-05-11T09:45:42.871+09:30Magic Movie Moments<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Movies had longer cinema runs in the 1960s and 70s, then took years to make it to the small screen, so t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">heatre or drive-in outings were a special
treat. Before v</span></span>ideo recorders or DVDs, let alone Netflix and i-view, you had one shot at seeing a film, and
might not see it again for a long time. <br />
<br />
As such, we watched not only new releases, but films made decades
earlier, that were ‘new’ to us.<br />
<br />
This list is not of my favourite movies; rather, it honours magic MOMENTS in those films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Rememer, I was a child, so the movies aren't heavy-duty, nor is the list exhaustive. Moments I'm quick to recall include:</span><br /><br />
<br />LASSIE COME HOME. Clever collie. Separated from beloved companion. Hardship. Reunion. Lassie movies recycled the same formula, and we never tired of it. Watch the clip from about 1:20 onwards.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2VkpNsOM4o">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2VkpNsOM4o</a></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alfred Hitchcock had a deft touch in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, but The Moment is definitely when Jimmy Stewart is hunting
for his kidnapped son and **spoiler alert** the boy whistles Que Sera Sera in
response to Doris Day’s performance<br />
<br />
THE LITTLE COLONEL. Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson are a joy to watch in this glorious, clever and - for
it’s time - beautifully color-blind sequence<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtHvetGnOdM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtHvetGnOdM</a><br />
<br />
DUMBO. "Baby Mine." Especially the bit where Mama Elephant puts
her trunk through the cage bars …<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>achingly sad. I still tear up watching it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPQuEB6u6v8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPQuEB6u6v8</a></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK is a remarkable example of soundtrack elevating a film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Based heavily on pan-pipes, the music danced between sylvan and simple,
to haunting, to chilling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In following
the plot, the same riff became more ominous as the film progressed,
climactically during the pivotal scene on the rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an odd and somewhat unsatisfying
story, yet the music ensured the mood could be evoked at the
mere peep of a pan-pipe, years later. <br /><br />THE SOUND OF MUSIC would surely be included in any list of this era - for Edelweiss, for the
Lonely Goatherd, for the moment the Captain realizes he loves Maria, and of course, the audience’s collective anger during the scene in the graveyard where nasty
Junior Nazi Rolfe betrays the Von Trapps.<br />
<br />
Julie Andrews gets another mention in MARY POPPINS for a scene that perhaps
sailed over the heads of many children (including me) at the time: Feed The
Birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Banks children, who were
being raised to worship finance, the song about a kind bag lady was a sweet
reminder of the importance of charity.</span></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br /> </span></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bob Hope’s
superb comedy-drama performance in THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS had two big highlights. The Friars Club table-top <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">dance </span>routine with Jimmy Cagney is easily my favourite tap sequence of all time, and then a
beautifully underplayed, moving scene that takes place after Foy's wife dies,
when he realizes he’s not worthy of the misplaced acclaim he's received as a father.<br /><br />
Finally I remember watching SUNSHINE in 1974 with my best friend, when we were both <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>likely far too young for the subject
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Denver singing “Sunshine on
my Shoulder” as the main character dies reduced my friend to floods of tears for a while after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember it as much for the subject matter – so removed from the light
stuff we were used to – and because of my friend’s visceral reaction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worried there was something wrong with me
that I didn’t feel it as deeply as she did.<br />
<br />I'd welcome any suggested additions to this list - anything significant film 'moments' you remember if you were young during the 60s and 70s. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-73957950714458272802015-12-27T17:33:00.001+10:302015-12-27T17:43:16.392+10:30Big Books in my Little Life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">In the <i>Little
House</i> series of books, Laura Ingalls Wilder told captivating stories of the
hardships and triumphs of American settler life in the late 1800s, based on her
family’s time in Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Minnesota. The storytelling style was different to anything ten-year-old me had ever
read. Loving the character and voice of
Laura, I vowed if I ever had a daughter, she’d be named Laura.*<br />
<br />
From 1974, the stories gained a worldwide stage via the hit TV series <i>Little House on the Prairie</i>. Yet
most Australians have never read the books.
Until the 1980s, our childhood literary fare was heavily
British-influenced. Our schools,
however, had to meet a homegrown quota; thus we were force-fed the best and worst
of Australian literature.<br /> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mXBVQUUJGGwDSWPsvgdCefuUDOuzyhvWyeERjB9PipT8wztKw81SJu9ZB6x7MlTVD5srMFl5UxCQgriCVh-GM0I27kXB-3uczRCSqwf9Ff9yU_avtMhMUR4cLuiGG1fGclMah50NkrBl/s1600/little+house+prairie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mXBVQUUJGGwDSWPsvgdCefuUDOuzyhvWyeERjB9PipT8wztKw81SJu9ZB6x7MlTVD5srMFl5UxCQgriCVh-GM0I27kXB-3uczRCSqwf9Ff9yU_avtMhMUR4cLuiGG1fGclMah50NkrBl/s1600/little+house+prairie.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">British kid-lit was a wholesome genre.
Just to re-affirm my worship of Enid Blyton, favourites were:<br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><br />The Famous Five.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><i>The Naughtiest Girl</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Mallory Towers<br />The Five Find-Outers<br />The Faraway Tree Trilogy</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">
I didn’t like <i>The Secret Seven</i>. Controversially** I didn’t like <i>The Wishing Chair</i>. Other
great Brit fantasy authors were Mary Stewart and Ursula Moray Williams. If the masterpiece <i>Harry Potter</i> series had existed, I’d have been in heaven. <br /><br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtXfbGmtTW3uBBy8ElDSl6MsbMsnOGzM945z8cwxrhhfDcharcdDCgg6Jr-_XYc4setT2hY91NcOOMm6D1nczzdp5ngwyV3a9Z8ME0j8jiPBtApuu8xuPIy9MzhbVyDefaLltZqkJQL14/s1600/enchanted+wood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtXfbGmtTW3uBBy8ElDSl6MsbMsnOGzM945z8cwxrhhfDcharcdDCgg6Jr-_XYc4setT2hY91NcOOMm6D1nczzdp5ngwyV3a9Z8ME0j8jiPBtApuu8xuPIy9MzhbVyDefaLltZqkJQL14/s320/enchanted+wood.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><br />Brainwashed by British accents and magical forests and castles and
boarding schools, I hated my first all-Australian novel, <i>Storm Boy</i> (Colin Thiele). But! – here's the lesson: never discount a popular
author on the strength of one book. Weeks later, I
devoured Thiele’s <i>February Dragon</i> as
quickly as the raging bushfire ripped through its chapters. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">I recoiled at the silly title of our next Aussie ‘required text’ - <i>I Can </i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Jump Puddles</i> (Alan Marshall). Yet
once read, the true poignance of the title is revealed, and its mere mention
will move you. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Then at age ten, despite the best efforts of the education system, I discovered
American junior literature. Hello <i>Trixie Belden! Encyclopedia Brown!</i> Bring on <i>Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time </i>and the wondrous coming-of-age
novel <i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. </i>Most brilliant of all: <i>The Phantom Tollbooth.</i> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">And of course, the <i>Little House</i>
books. <br /><br /> Wilder's simply-expressed wisdom stays
with me. Fans of the books will recall
the devastation of Mary’s blindness; I found this line so affecting:<br />
<i><br />
“Her blue eyes were still beautiful, but they did not know what was before
them, and Mary herself could never look through them again to tell Laura what
she was thinking without saying a word.”<br />
</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"> ________________________________________<br /><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* A kind American friend, aware of the
story behind my youngest daughter’s name, last week sent me a lovely package of
Ingalls souvenirs, direct from Walnut Grove. The memories prompted this post.<br />
<br />
** everyone except me seems to love The Wishing Chair</span><br />
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-36760645862408253132015-08-28T19:18:00.001+09:302015-08-28T19:22:52.784+09:30RUN-RUNAWAY<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br /><br />Even the
happiest children have moments when they loosely plot the idea of Running Away
From Home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my formative years, when
broken homes and true homelessness were (or seemed) less of an issue than
today,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘running away’ was a popular
fantasy, heavily fuelled by childrens’ books and films of the time that made it
seem entirely do-able.<br />
<br />
My best mate Gail and I (both having perfectly nice parents, even if mine were
in the throes of divorce) made grand plans to escape the perceived misery of
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We always scheduled it for a Friday
night, giving us two days on the lam before our school realized we were missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This didn’t account for the fact we, um,
weren’t at boarding school, so our families would surely notice our absence by
Saturday morning. <br />
<br />
Each Friday for the duration of our Running Away phase, we’d say goodbye at the
school gates and awkwardly agree to wait ‘just one more week.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deep down, we knew it would never happen, but
this didn’t stop us making Plans - Plans with a capital P!<br />
<br />
Our Running Away Inventory included practical items (raincoats, gumboots) but
completely overlooked the need for cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’d reach our (yet to be determined) destinations by bus, glossing over
our inability to pay the fares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lunch
was perhaps the most solid part of the Plan: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>meat pies and custard tarts, to be purchased from
delicatessans that our little suburban minds imagined would exist on every
street, riverside and mountain-top in Australia. <br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ct1QqJU0aRPuUpP6PaAiAbwNjkWKclhc0guJKLaj9Jli28AjAavlc9kTViSgXGq9OLpb95I9Ds6r6mAWWI1w0WVBTbTf1nTz8ygmARpRV1F_UdpKVeZsoQnIFL8tFkmSd0BOOfkx4tQ/s1600/greyhound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ct1QqJU0aRPuUpP6PaAiAbwNjkWKclhc0guJKLaj9Jli28AjAavlc9kTViSgXGq9OLpb95I9Ds6r6mAWWI1w0WVBTbTf1nTz8ygmARpRV1F_UdpKVeZsoQnIFL8tFkmSd0BOOfkx4tQ/s400/greyhound.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To cover the unthinkable possibility of starving at breakfast and dinner, we’d
raid our family fridges just before leaving, cramming piles of food into
Tupperware containers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our belief was
that Tupperware always kept food fresh, even unrefrigerated in a travel bag for
weeks at a time *cough* <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><br />
Staring wistfully from the back bench of Greyhound bus (fares mysteriously
paid) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we’d nibble on food leftovers that
would magically stretch, like the loaves and fishes, across our journey to
….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wherever it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not to say we totally lacked
direction: we knew our confident attitude, cute freckles and affinity with
animals would surely secure us work at farms, becoming perhaps the youngest
Jillaroos in Australia.<br />
<br />
I was startled when Gail suddenly added two items to the inventory: “Guns” and
“Ammo.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that I even knew what ‘ammo’
was; neither did Gail, but she assured me we needed both in order to shoot animals
for food. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still worried about carrying
a rifle (especially on a bus) but it did paint a suitably adventurous picture
of us wandering along the road at dusk, casually taking aim at any unfortunate
bunny that crossed our path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just
shot them and threw them on a fire to cook them, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(What did we know of skinning and gutting?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting cross-legged by our cosy campfire,
we’d stuff it with marshmallows and sing a dirge or two as it roasted over the
flames.<br />
<br />
So, with food sorted, what about accommodation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We imagined dossing down under the stars … but were also of the mind
that if we wandered up to any motel, the manager would be moved by our tender
years and automatically offer us free beds for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Our plans were ridiculously ambitious for a couple of 9 year old cashless girls
from Adelaide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, my own secret
deviation from the plan (and I bet Gail had one too) saw us both back home
again by Sunday night, having Taught Everyone A Lesson, without having missed
even a single day of school.</span></div>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-64655692801506760762014-11-10T11:08:00.000+10:302016-02-28T17:20:08.548+10:30Gardens of Guns and Roses<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> There’s a
family living on our block in a tiny home that’s dwarfed by the McMansions around
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In this house lives a family whose lifestyle seems a little trapped in the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The parents have a nice hippie
vibe about them, and their two pre-schoolers are almos</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">t always playing in the
yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By ‘playing’ I mean ru</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">nning,
skip</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">ping, ball games, and</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>games of ‘pretend.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elsewhere in my neighbourhood, children do
exist but are rarely seen playing in their yards or driveways, let alone on a daily basis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The appeal of these two children is how happy and friendly they are – and how
quietly they play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their shout of
“Hello!” as I pass by on my daily walk, is as loud as they get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes me back to the 60s and 70s, when
children seemed capable of playing games that didn’t involve screeching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not against noise per se, but against the
growing trend for screaming as an integral part of physical play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> There are parents who'll argue</span> it’s not
only normal for kids to scream a lot, but somehow necessary.<br />
<br />
Make no mistake, I grew up in a regular suburb filled with regular young families, but it was understood that screams were a sign of genuine distress, not something you did for fun. The only game that elicited screams was Kiss Chasey, and under threat of Boy Germs or Girl Germs, screams
were entirely justified. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdvGCsVeE3Etw0yIejZgtPYuVIV-xAieX7gN-FrajqsacSzhyphenhyphenBPLTgwdrq4qMjZHOiOiVkV78BNuXoKq_X5Aa3LLwqW41v7ZiTn5DJT3kit632eTJrnl3DIl-09KJIuM0mFpwp_tiX8KH/s1600/cops+and+robbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdvGCsVeE3Etw0yIejZgtPYuVIV-xAieX7gN-FrajqsacSzhyphenhyphenBPLTgwdrq4qMjZHOiOiVkV78BNuXoKq_X5Aa3LLwqW41v7ZiTn5DJT3kit632eTJrnl3DIl-09KJIuM0mFpwp_tiX8KH/s1600/cops+and+robbers.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Certainly we ramped the noise levels during games of ‘Cops and Robbers’ or
‘Cowboys and Indians’ but it still fell short of screamy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d shout warnings or instructions, but
screaming was seen as sissy – even for girls!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I wrong in thinking a lot of
screaming these days, is screaming for the sake of it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or a form of expression or release, for kids
who haven’t been taught better ways? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This could easily spin into the much-discussed issue of children using toy weapons and pretending to kill, but I’m not going there. (But if you'd like to, I've provided a link below). <br /><br /> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Suffice to say, the violence of childhood
play in the 1960s and 70s was far tamer, more camp, than what you see today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while the current generation of kids play these games and see
being ‘killed’ as a dealbreaker (“What, everybody’s not a winner?”) we saw a
performance opportunity for an elaborate death.<br /><br />
</span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As for that “70s family” living nearby,
my pastel fantasy is that the children have never touched an iPad, never used a
laptop, rarely watch television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For all
I know, beyond the charming leadlight front door of their modest home, rooms may be
filled with screens and hi-tech gadgetry, but I get the feeling this is a
family with a low-tier internet bundle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
hope those children don’t change too much when they start school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will their old-fashioned enjoyment of life be
appreciated or quashed? Will the other kids laugh at their gentle ways; create peer pressure to move
most of their play indoors?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
When the inevitable happens, I hope they at least continue to use their
imaginations, and perhaps convert some of their viewing, into outdoor play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, some of my finest memories of
being 8 years old involve the enormous honour of the neighbourhood kids casting
me as Dick Tracy (see, it wasn’t all gender stereotypes back then), and spying
on the ‘baddies’ from my vantage point in the low branches of a willow tree, waiting
for Joe Jitsu to contact me on my wristwatch radio. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Six-two and even, over and out!” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Further reading:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289552/Primary-school-bans-Cops-Robbers-harmful-effects-imaginary-weapons-young-minds.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289552/Primary-school-bans-Cops-Robbers-harmful-effects-imaginary-weapons-young-minds.html</a></span></div>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-5883897489152694812014-05-09T11:28:00.002+09:302014-05-09T12:25:12.068+09:30That's What Friends Are For<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m captivated by the Channel 10 series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Puberty Blues</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many reasons -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> most based on nostalgia -</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>but especially because the friendship between
the two main characters reminds me so very much of the friendships of my teen years,
particularly the one formed with my first high school ‘bestie.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hair styles and wardrobe matches are
scarily close: Staggers jeans, snug little "Tommy" (the rock opera) tee shirt, Converse hi-tops and Sportsgirl tote, anyone? </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SD4pXrP1xe0qIdIp-r-y0mF3W3pPmp-C0fJo101Pc6U_LATIOPtXf82jAXN2KpfWYyZC3hme18sGXhSmq3IJDajpmuz8k9PNO5t23x0G6H-UBiy09kgZ3ZGKSv9MjeVU6PzN0bVnrgq-/s1600/pubes+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SD4pXrP1xe0qIdIp-r-y0mF3W3pPmp-C0fJo101Pc6U_LATIOPtXf82jAXN2KpfWYyZC3hme18sGXhSmq3IJDajpmuz8k9PNO5t23x0G6H-UBiy09kgZ3ZGKSv9MjeVU6PzN0bVnrgq-/s1600/pubes+girls.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teen friendship is in a class of its own. ("Puberty Blues" Photo courtesy Network 10)</td></tr>
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Lesley and I began secondary school in the same class, still ‘hanging’ with girls we knew from our previous schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet just a week into Year 8,
following a series of exchanged glances and smiles, we claimed a double
desk for ourselves, and sat together in class for the next three years (not
including the brief teacher-enforced separations familiar to any such twosome).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /><br />
</span>Our homes were several kilometres apart, in opposite directions, so
sometimes when we arrived home, we’d phone each other (back in the days when
nobody had a mobile, let alone Facebook) to continue a chat we began at the
school gates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our mothers muttered in
the background “You were with her all day! Whatever do you find to talk
about?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-KoOq_LPNQw1iDAkChLTx-LB-DeHm_3RXgh22mFSq482ECxegYSaDRWPGV2vS2xTWZwXAy2fwLyO3ZOv8s0XGXM00qxV6F-GoXL37Z8WaVWpSLmjxTgElUPBFX0qU8kLGGtY_KWGHY7u/s1600/notes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-KoOq_LPNQw1iDAkChLTx-LB-DeHm_3RXgh22mFSq482ECxegYSaDRWPGV2vS2xTWZwXAy2fwLyO3ZOv8s0XGXM00qxV6F-GoXL37Z8WaVWpSLmjxTgElUPBFX0qU8kLGGtY_KWGHY7u/s1600/notes.png" height="219" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were our 'text messages,' kiddies.</td></tr>
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It’s intriguing how an earlier generation forgets the depth of a teen girl
friendship – unless perhaps, such attachments weren’t as deep in ‘their
day?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet literature from earlier eras
suggests that teen years friendships <i>are</i> perennially meaningful; their depth seems almost a rite of passage</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In truth, we always had something to talk about: everything and
nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in class, matters that
couldn’t wait until lunchtime, would be dealt with via Secret Notes. </span></div>
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In an all-girls school, friendships were probably less complicated, since there
were no boys to distract or divide us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others may argue the all-female hormonal vibe was gossip fuel in
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A fond memory is the</span> simple pleasure of sitting on the school oval at recess or lunch time,
uniforms tucked into our knickers as we slathered baby oil on our legs and
tried to get a tan happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Side note: The 1970s was pre</span>-sun awareness, a time
when radio stations sent dune buggies to beaches to provide free sprays of
coconut oil for sunbathers. On hot days, they'd helpfully broadcast
half-hourly reminders to ‘turn over’ to ensure you got an even tan.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOT on my turntable. *adds horns*.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our shared love of music also began as a thing of joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, it drove a wedge between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The specific culprit, in my eyes, was 1970s
popstar John Paul Young. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To quote a
lyric from his 1976 hit song <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I Hate The
Music</i> - “the music tore us apart.” <br />
<br />
Lesley liked Donny Osmond; my heart belonged to David Cassidy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was into Sonny & Cher; I preferred
the Jackson Five.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was fine for a
long time, because we both loved Sherbet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By age 15, when I was into Glam Rock, Lesley became obsessed with John
Paul Young - deeply obsessed, for several years to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times, my observations on her fandom were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>undiplomatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wondered how anyone could compare “Squeak” (as JPY was known) to Queen,
T-Rex, The Sweet or Elton John.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4LRwEAa8u6WxPLNSBUUeBGkAjdaWzeKyjtXj_6w5zvOVRiYC14tmmxgxQ14nxVMDeAUjWoWrtnfG6Nvv7wj2aZjvdIhWpmjiTfhZP6Xwn_TpErw5aZBwXRQxwfTi6CmoZl6PKOqgdTzI/s1600/david+cassidy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4LRwEAa8u6WxPLNSBUUeBGkAjdaWzeKyjtXj_6w5zvOVRiYC14tmmxgxQ14nxVMDeAUjWoWrtnfG6Nvv7wj2aZjvdIhWpmjiTfhZP6Xwn_TpErw5aZBwXRQxwfTi6CmoZl6PKOqgdTzI/s1600/david+cassidy.jpg" height="200" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know ... I know ... but I was 13 </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8y8JYsY721SQBmjdH_ohQJYKuqHWU6bsEPzY7NVmAHXd1XAhX5eGoUgQbCa0oxp0yb_fF4H_IHjCBCPlCjOltLP9W_b9ht8bXd8Fnbhj7fy0Bp_63VbSuNin8UPB2tIO_4RibIuHNPq5/s1600/the+sweet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8y8JYsY721SQBmjdH_ohQJYKuqHWU6bsEPzY7NVmAHXd1XAhX5eGoUgQbCa0oxp0yb_fF4H_IHjCBCPlCjOltLP9W_b9ht8bXd8Fnbhj7fy0Bp_63VbSuNin8UPB2tIO_4RibIuHNPq5/s1600/the+sweet.jpg" height="200" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recognise my rage?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Our music
tastes became disparate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of us
cared for the other’s opinion, so of course, began spending more time with
friends who had similar musical leanings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was no explosive moment and we remained on speaking terms, but I
sometimes felt sad that things were never the same, because we had some
wonderful times and a lot of great laughs.<br /> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Perhaps music was simply an allegory for other wants and needs in our lives.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />
Other friendships come and go, and if you’re lucky, you find even stronger ones
as life goes on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet there’s something
about the teen years – perhaps puberty combined with the ‘hothouse’ of the
classroom and schoolyard – that burns those friendships into your memory.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwN8AcRz91qwBjyQ-VuDC9yYvAjAQrKF-hhGGMxZgfdkMVFnFKPiXbrrVTK18qWjfkt47vIfpsi2s5iKJxRvgWPNP-P60nGsDMtViaPzzCU-VIpTsRf9shQx8l4Ky2-MrCtvsTOYmlfFt3/s1600/sherbet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwN8AcRz91qwBjyQ-VuDC9yYvAjAQrKF-hhGGMxZgfdkMVFnFKPiXbrrVTK18qWjfkt47vIfpsi2s5iKJxRvgWPNP-P60nGsDMtViaPzzCU-VIpTsRf9shQx8l4Ky2-MrCtvsTOYmlfFt3/s1600/sherbet.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherbet .. well, "Garth" as I called it. Guys with girl hair</td></tr>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-20830673100374974252013-10-25T17:24:00.000+10:302013-10-25T18:03:36.187+10:30..................... ♫ Misty Water-Coloured Memories ♫ ..................<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Ask me to lose myself in memories of childhood and the
backdrop that springs into place like a theatre prop is the garden of our
family home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My childhood is set mostly
in summer, with brilliant sunshine dappling through large shady trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I listen to the memory, I
hear nothing but birdsong and, if the lawn’s just been mowed, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>perhaps the gentle <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shwp shwp</i> of a sprinkler. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scent of moist, freshly-cut lawn touches
my heart more than the high notes of a fine French perfume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this memory, the blunted blades of grass tickle my bare feet but I
revel in the cooling dampness, as the sun warms my back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
I know it’s <b>morning </b>if there’s the clatter of the metal rubbish bin as my
brother drags it into place to use as the wicket for our game of backyard
cricket. I kneel under the hibiscus
bush, rummaging for a soggy tennis ball (I know, I know, but they were less
likely than 'real' cricket balls to break windows or noses).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I crawl
through to the other side, triumphantly holding the ball aloft as huge orange
flowers drop pollen, like fairy dust, on my tanned shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWRg3m8dqsO96g_7ne-nsLoKbqECB6CF6yMzsHg7-SlDCDFrPv_KyGB5hiP9PD-HcA4DPaw8saKApvjlkRf2EkPacHsdT0KrnCSqO_hu67EH8ZVFkvwXpQg2VRPWWfEITviz2z7dyNJnR/s1600/hibiscus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWRg3m8dqsO96g_7ne-nsLoKbqECB6CF6yMzsHg7-SlDCDFrPv_KyGB5hiP9PD-HcA4DPaw8saKApvjlkRf2EkPacHsdT0KrnCSqO_hu67EH8ZVFkvwXpQg2VRPWWfEITviz2z7dyNJnR/s200/hibiscus.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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I know it’s <b>evening</b> if I’m simply outstretched on the lawn, watching the sky
colour change through the branches of the Virgilia tree, mesmerised as the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pretty pea-flowers mute from pink to grey when
the sun dips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My trusty ‘tranny’ lies
somewhere nearby, playing a commercial for Woodie’s Lemonade, and then a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bit of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>T-Rex or Sherbet … just loud enough for me to
hear, just quiet enough to avoid music judgement from Mum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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In 1970s Australia, big gardens weren’t just the province of
the rich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And everybody had a nice front
yard - all the better to add prestige to our humble homes,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where neighbours vied against each other in
an unspoken war of the (best) roses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oleanders
clustered along paved edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poplar
trees lined the driveways.<br />
<br />
Today, the Poplars are skinny Pencil Pines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
Pencil Pines are about the only tree any new home seems to boast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many suburban children still grow up in a
home with a proper shade tree?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For that
matter, how many have daily access to a real garden, rather than a tiled courtyard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their suburban home might have just a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>couple of square metres of instant lawn at
the front, and even then, it never plays host to a frolicking child and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
I’m a fan of balance and order, but the symmetry of modern gardens leaves me
cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Straight lines of English Box Hedge are
one thing, but a row of Iceberg Roses by the window, or six Agapanthus in a
tiny front yard, does not a garden make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our parents and grandparents would always have a large clear lawned
area, but that was surrounded by a delicious array of (mostly) non-matching
plants that made everyone’s garden -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>no
matter the size – unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
importantly, they had trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many were
shade trees and yes, many were introduced species – but it was colour; it was Nature.</div>
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Backyards of the era generally featured fruit trees – gnarly, ugly beings in the winter,
but a delight of pink blossom at spring-time, and shady, bountiful friends in
the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping chooks (hens)
wasn’t uncommon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My home never had any, but the
memory of the soft <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bok bok bok</i> from
the neighbour’s coop brings instant comfort.<br />
<br />
I fear Generation Y's childhood
recollections will be hard-edged, in beige or grey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likely they’ll feature lots of screens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Screens are quite simply a huge part of
modern life for children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those of
us from the 1960s and 1970s, the TV was a box in just one room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fewer shows were aimed at children, and even
then, rationed out by Mum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phone in the hallway (on its own special
table) was rarely used and most certainly didn’t have a screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Computers didn’t exist for the masses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the ones we saw in science-fiction
movies didn’t have screens, just lots of blinking lights and a suspicious
resemblance to giant tape-decks.<br />
<br />
Back when trees were more common than screens, we had a half-holiday in celebration of trees, called Arbour Day (later renamed Conservation Day, before disappearing right off the calendar, along with proper front gardens and backyard trees).<br />
<span id="goog_988457596"></span><span id="goog_988457597"></span><br />
<span id="goog_988457568"></span><span id="goog_988457569"></span>I reject the idea that trees consume too much water. In any case, a shaded garden needs less water, not more. Deciduous Trees also create summer shade which ever-so-slightly reduces ambient temperature, which should reduce summer cooling costs at some nano-level. Most importantly, trees bring the tranquility of green-ness. Unlike fleeting annuals, or trendy drought-tolerant agaves, trees become old friends.</div>
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When a person dies, people sometimes plant a tree ‘in their memory.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why wait until they die?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish everybody would plant a tree now, for
a lifetime of memories, not posthumous ones.<br />
<br />
Is Nature missing from the lives of ‘modern’ kids?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Are weekend visits to the park a good enough substitute? <br />
<br />
Do you remember the half-holiday of Conservation Day?<br />
<br />
Will staring at all those TV/computer/phone screens eventually cause the
evolution of square eyeballs? <br />
<br />
I'd love to hear your comments.</div>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-7712487340468622362012-11-27T16:59:00.001+10:302013-10-25T17:26:23.989+10:30Can't Stop The Music<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Who remembers learning these songs at school in the </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">1970s?</b><br />
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<ul>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">Blowin’ in the Wind </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">The Marvelous Toy</b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">La Cucaracha </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Ash Grove </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tzena Tzena </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cileto Lindo </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Moon of Silver White </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Flash Jack from Gundagai</b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've been Working on the Railroad </b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Happy Wanderer</b></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />In 1970s Australia, school music programmes included lessons via radio from the national broadcaster (ABC).
The lessons were piped through the PA system to each classroom. The large wooden box speaker above the
blackboard was as much a fixture as the framed portrait of Queen Elizabeth 2<sup>nd</sup>
and the useless ceiling-fan. We’d lean forward,
elbows on the desk, gazing into space or doodling on the songbook as presenters
with quasi-English accents walked us through music basics.<br />
<br />We were taught songs from around the world, including quaint
English ditties, European folks songs, the occasional mysterious "Oriental" number and slightly grandiose Italian songs. "Negro spirituals" were especially common, the lyrics written in a vernacular now likely be considered racist. <br />
<br />
Other songs questionable by today’s standards included those about:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Sick and dying childen (luckily, they could be cured with Shortnin’ Bread)</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Miserable working conditions (Drill, Ye Tarriers)</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Mocking someone as "cock-eyed" (The Drummer and the Cook
- “with her one eye on the pot and the other up the
chimney”</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The lazy, useless wife of a Scotsman (The Wee Cooper of Fife)</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>An old woman who died after swallowing a variety of animals (There Was an Old Lady … )</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A monster being run over by a tram (The
Ombly<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>Gombly)<b><br /></b></span></span></li>
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There was a never-ending song (Chuffa-Luffa Steam Train) and a ridiculously
short song which
I will write here in its entirety:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>
“There was on old crow / Sat upon a clod / </b></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>That’s the end of my song / That’s odd”</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Certainly it gave us a sense of mastery ("Mum, I learned a whole song in 15 seconds!"). Songs sung 'in rounds' were popular, such as </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Row Row Row the Boat</i> and <i>Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.</i>** </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Nonsense songs were included to encourage those who weren't musically inclined. The nonsense reached tremendous and very 1970-ish heights one year when the ABC ran with the theme of space travel, apparently inventing songs especially for the occasion.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">If anybody else remembers trippy tunes about the “astronautical ship” on which Zolt the Third took us to the “Gracious Star of Zap” then by all means
help me relive the horror.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Please do share memories you have about any primary/elementary school music programmes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">** Australian pop group Men at Work worked a distinctive riff from </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> into their anthemic hit </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Land Down Under </i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and made it more enjoyable than I EVER remember it being at school.</span></div>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-33851812332176011972012-09-05T17:37:00.000+09:302012-09-05T18:38:10.308+09:30Mum's The Word<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZPUaXGHxy4KQHBKD8bh_kcf0SLCRtKs33pVqh6LPSK7v14LmmB52j4kn-8BIDqcix6TF6o0PXE-tM_fr9kZBaXANsY0pRxO-yI1l3YuetSNql-hO-YLtd27_9Oz8mHHOVXqzeSkeiuln/s1600/carol+brady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZPUaXGHxy4KQHBKD8bh_kcf0SLCRtKs33pVqh6LPSK7v14LmmB52j4kn-8BIDqcix6TF6o0PXE-tM_fr9kZBaXANsY0pRxO-yI1l3YuetSNql-hO-YLtd27_9Oz8mHHOVXqzeSkeiuln/s320/carol+brady.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No Alice, Mr Brady and I don't like 'backdoor action.' Why do you ask? </td></tr>
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Many children of the 1970s bemoan the fact ‘modern kids’
don’t show enough respect for their parents; that the generation of parents
that followed us is far too beholden to its own children, thus unwilling or
unable to instill discipline as we did. Yet the discipline we show our <i>own </i>children, is in turn a watered-down version of what our parents showed <i>us.</i><br />
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One of the best changes of recent years though, and in stark
contrast to the childhood I remember, is that children are now more openly
loving of their parents. It’s become
cool to declare to the world that you
love your mum; to have a PDA with your Dad.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUiqvfCuLdu15Fu-HniC7LiAt68KG7qUUt8LYyScCAoHvPE6srkakVP8xdxUYK85SJVNSDLuh1sEdqNeJ2PTztaFXfCEzki67anm9uUcgGzUYh1On-B37rslcfRmjXg7KTCSXsF343HC7/s1600/70s+dress+patterns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUiqvfCuLdu15Fu-HniC7LiAt68KG7qUUt8LYyScCAoHvPE6srkakVP8xdxUYK85SJVNSDLuh1sEdqNeJ2PTztaFXfCEzki67anm9uUcgGzUYh1On-B37rslcfRmjXg7KTCSXsF343HC7/s320/70s+dress+patterns.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, mothers and daughters used to wear matching dresses. Really.</td></tr>
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In my neighbourhood in the 1960s and 70s, working mothers were a rare
thing. The stay-at-home mums – an
absolute majority – often regarded working mothers with pity or derision. Even into the 1980s, we still heard women in
non-traditional female roles referred to as ‘lady doctors’ and ‘female pilots’
and ‘policewomen.’ (Having said that,
the term ‘male nurse’ is still in far too common usage!)</div>
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Around half of all mothers in Australia now are working mothers, and since the
1990s, there is sometimes an unpleasant tip in the pop-culture scale that sees
the ‘stay at home’ mother being scorned as somehow too ordinary. Which most are <i>not</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbfk33fItKYD9PH4Z3ksrJ5ZulK43vZZLAC8vr8UJdHxQk7grEJe4mFS7L-YbiL5CgKef7pWW36mTaSOU4RKfJhsM1dDiaf7MPkqFsnw2ShM_JkqAzQkAPeW3b8S9tS9G-Y4Gkx4Znp7P/s1600/Mrs+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbfk33fItKYD9PH4Z3ksrJ5ZulK43vZZLAC8vr8UJdHxQk7grEJe4mFS7L-YbiL5CgKef7pWW36mTaSOU4RKfJhsM1dDiaf7MPkqFsnw2ShM_JkqAzQkAPeW3b8S9tS9G-Y4Gkx4Znp7P/s320/Mrs+C.jpg" width="240" /></a>Mothers of
schoolchildren now come in a larger range of ages. During my childhood, almost all my friends’
mothers were in their 20s or 30s, with not much variation beyond that. Today, first-time mothers range in age from
early teens to late 40s, meaning we see a vast age-range of mothers standing at
the school gate. <br />
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Apart from advances in reproductive technology and women gaining a bigger
foothold in the workforce, social change has also contributed. As anyone who was an Aussie teenager in the
70s knows, a girl who became pregnant while she was still at school, or under
18 and unmarried, had only two options: abortion or adoption. (The latter being the <i>only </i>choice if you were Catholic). Most pregnant young girls
were so deathly afraid to tell their parents, that often it became 'too late' to do anything other
than have the child. There were special
homes for these supposedly ‘wayward girls’ to spend the last months of their
confinement, before giving birth and surrendering their baby. And yes, even in the 70s, families created stories
about the girls ‘visiting relatives interstate’ or ‘spending time in the
country’ in order to hide the fact the girl had ever been pregnant.<br />
<br />
Society has changed so dramatically in this regard that I won’t explore the
myriad reasons or outcomes. I remind myself this is essentially a light-hearted
blog, and instead look to the mums (or more likely, ‘moms’) who were our TV
role models in the 1970s.</div>
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Most were (of course) stay-at-home mums with pleasant, attractive children,
living in impeccably decorated, impossibly tidy houses. Seriously, did you ever once see a pile of
homework on the Brady Bunch kitchen bench?
Marcia’s undies lying on the bedroom floor? Toothpaste smears on the washbasin of a bathroom
that was allegedly shared by six children?
Never! <br />
<br />
To be fair, they had a housekeeper (Alice) who appeared to do everything. Mrs Brady apparently spent her days reading
magazines, talking saucily to Mr Brady (ah the irony, knowing what we know now)
and drinking coffee. Must have been
quite galling to the ‘real’ mothers of the 1970s.</div>
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So if Mrs Brady (Florence Henderson) wasn’t the uber-mum of the 70s, who was? “ Ma
Ingalls” (Karen Grassle) from Little House on the Prairie, was way too goody
two-shoes for my taste, but she got to shag Michael Landon, which, to be honest,
was the only reason I watched the show. (Not that they ever showed them making out, but my pubescent imagination went there anyway). Matriarch of the Partridge Family, Shirley
Partridge (the beautiful Shirley Jones) was very appealing and could drive a
bus (an extremely funky bus at that) but
no mother was more wonderful than Mrs Cunningham (Marion Ross) from Happy
Days. She hit ALL the right notes. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AOCMWh5uR9SQqcUj1wocWw8SMs97m_T-sYl3DCqEgJew7WzcqqVxqGN8W3pRW-RiTJIyjZqsLdv3Eserlb66wW9KCIBtnPwGXAZJiT733qKr3M-FpWs6z9bNIGPYWdeR0d3IBHz1q_a7/s1600/Julia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AOCMWh5uR9SQqcUj1wocWw8SMs97m_T-sYl3DCqEgJew7WzcqqVxqGN8W3pRW-RiTJIyjZqsLdv3Eserlb66wW9KCIBtnPwGXAZJiT733qKr3M-FpWs6z9bNIGPYWdeR0d3IBHz1q_a7/s1600/Julia.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Single </i>mothers featured in 1960s and 70s TV shows were always single because they were WIDOWS of
course (Divorced? Hush now!). Lucille
Ball created her third hit show as a single (working) mother in “Here’s Lucy”
and Doris Day had a titular show, in which she was a widow with a farm, a
career, and looking glamorous through all of it. “Julia” followed a single mother (played by
Diahann Carroll) who not only worked, but was black: a show heralding a
maturity in TV programming. By the 1980s we’d progressed to Claire
Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) on The Cosby Show and the working mother became the
norm, rather than the exception, on most TV shows.</div>
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Please do share your memories of any other 1960s and 70s
mothers we loved (or loathed!)</div>
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<br /></div>
Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-22617326294242706822012-05-15T19:53:00.002+09:302012-07-14T18:58:11.837+09:30Best Supporting Role<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xIf9AS2I1mtExUvPPbCVsSSUTQ2yB6SdYB9DX66bP3eTbmW6F9cmswNiBMqopzWgTv11ANUP_kAX14LJkjAtQ_5QdHY5t_3ZZvMuYwOC8znOrTPTX7nL_chNwZXXaJKHdU0_YtXu4-T_/s1600/bra+genie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xIf9AS2I1mtExUvPPbCVsSSUTQ2yB6SdYB9DX66bP3eTbmW6F9cmswNiBMqopzWgTv11ANUP_kAX14LJkjAtQ_5QdHY5t_3ZZvMuYwOC8znOrTPTX7nL_chNwZXXaJKHdU0_YtXu4-T_/s400/bra+genie.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">I have a theory that if early-design bras had been stretchy, one-size-fits-all things like the current microfibre range (variously named “Ah Bra,” “Genie Bra,” “Magic Bra” etc) then the concept of a brassiere that was adjustable, would be revolutionary. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Retrofitted ads would scream “Finally! A bra with straps you can lengthen or shorten, and catches at the back that allow you to tighten the fit when it gets too stretchy, or loosen when you gain weight!" </span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">It’s a classic case of fixing something that isn't broken. Of believing that because something is new, it’s therefore better. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4fBUO5dOMX8fg7yaEcUf_QktfOkVv09ELsjy7nNvc8XXf0dqoNDV-aUF-FeJL5zQlFknqpmpJfmNHZkmocz1YUzwZIbNDX0eS6FkYeRwaOICjdb_2eGCeTpXhztquOs2X3I5zUnU6WK2/s1600/bra+structures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4fBUO5dOMX8fg7yaEcUf_QktfOkVv09ELsjy7nNvc8XXf0dqoNDV-aUF-FeJL5zQlFknqpmpJfmNHZkmocz1YUzwZIbNDX0eS6FkYeRwaOICjdb_2eGCeTpXhztquOs2X3I5zUnU6WK2/s320/bra+structures.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">However, I wouldn’t mind putting a Genie Bra in a time machine and taking it back to the mid 1970s. I’m sure the smallest microfibre bra would have been far more comfortable, and less threatening, than the structured “Training Bras” covering the budding bosoms of the era.<br /><br />Getting </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">your first bra was not generally something to boast about. At a certain stage, you began wearing a singlet if there was any chance you’d have to undress in front of others, and eventually, depending on (a) your age (b) the comparative size of your friends and (c) whether you played sport or liked to use a trampoline, you accepted it was Bra Time.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br />Girls who developed early often wore clothes that helped disguise their changing figure. Boys, with their tit-sensing hormones, would still sneak up and run a finger down the girl’s spine to feel for the tell-tale bump of a bra fastener. Apparently this was quite thrilling for them *rolls eyes*</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpRmDG5vE-gi8d3iTbJqOTk7PQUdhHBm5AxXOvAysTbp9Xq1njHNHJLwDsBTG_P41KTBXrolcvchvORfkMEQg37_sbcEi3sbXvGPMubcqRoU1pF0ZFGtJcfkZmqX77Fbw5zG_Xl6SEsRP/s1600/bras+lovable+early+60s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpRmDG5vE-gi8d3iTbJqOTk7PQUdhHBm5AxXOvAysTbp9Xq1njHNHJLwDsBTG_P41KTBXrolcvchvORfkMEQg37_sbcEi3sbXvGPMubcqRoU1pF0ZFGtJcfkZmqX77Fbw5zG_Xl6SEsRP/s400/bras+lovable+early+60s.jpg" width="380" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those colours - in the 1960s? - the brazen hussies!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">In Australia, Holeproof Fibs were a Godsend to young teen girls, the closest thing we had to an “Ah Bra” but a lot funkier and even less of a ‘real’ bra. Fibs were soft stretchy bras, sans adjustable bits, with matching knickers, and came in neon colors and 70s patterns that included bold-colored paisleys. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Before Fibs, bra colour choices ranged pretty much from white to beige to skintone. On a good day, you might see pale pink or pale blue. Black bras were for bad girls and lacey red ones were for prostitutes, we all knew that.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Naturally the makers of ‘real’ bras tut-tutted and assured our mothers that these bras did not offer support and would lead to Stretch Marks and a Saggy Bustline.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn3d8fjZ7rF8PDQnX5jNCfckYFEw-tOikNpLYA-G127Pk3yy5wtxJWADvcu1CAkcnwdO24ghM-H7dbXhDNQoI_0YVF54z7FUKW9-sgLyuYcc_b33o8mYd7QLdSaTzIzT57qPOlRkqR5E8/s1600/bra+sizes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn3d8fjZ7rF8PDQnX5jNCfckYFEw-tOikNpLYA-G127Pk3yy5wtxJWADvcu1CAkcnwdO24ghM-H7dbXhDNQoI_0YVF54z7FUKW9-sgLyuYcc_b33o8mYd7QLdSaTzIzT57qPOlRkqR5E8/s1600/bra+sizes.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Which leads us to the specialist fitter at any large department store, where we endured a stranger (often a former nurse) with cold hands wrapping us with a tape measure, then bringing a selection of suitable brassieres which she would stretch, pull and twang around our shoulders and back, sometimes even doing a little ‘cupping’ in order to get the Right Fit. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">It was tough for our mothers too, trying to feign interest in what the fitter had to say, yet knowing we were mortified to have her focusing so closely on our 32AAA chest. They’d both speak as if you weren’t even there, as if your bust was some rogue to be tamed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As our teen years progressed, we could shop for our own bras, but even then, it
seemed the moment you set foot in the lingerie department, somebody would
spring up from behind the Berlei </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">display and insist your were Professionally Fitted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I miss many fashions of the 70s, but the
undergarments? NOT a bit.</span><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-18417570571137584982012-05-09T17:06:00.003+09:302012-05-09T17:09:56.855+09:30All hands on .... deck?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEoPtGRYOsFVWRDXqDIS7ELrnuG_qMfb6HFfkzvMWbPcpqbew4CjSribp5PhPlzJ0iO84I50P8H2AXGcBtZeklzi4aG76hZXbzRLIlRziaUrGyeKv8SwViE0TNx3QxYvAT8lstS5jevz/s1600/Love+Boat+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEoPtGRYOsFVWRDXqDIS7ELrnuG_qMfb6HFfkzvMWbPcpqbew4CjSribp5PhPlzJ0iO84I50P8H2AXGcBtZeklzi4aG76hZXbzRLIlRziaUrGyeKv8SwViE0TNx3QxYvAT8lstS5jevz/s400/Love+Boat+2.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<br />
The Love Boat sailed Television Land from 1977 to 1986, at
which time I found it far-fetched and cheesey.
Lately it’s been screening on ‘retro’ channels, and although it’s truly
over-ripe now, I feel a certain
affection for it. There’s a nostalgic
enjoyment/horror in revisiting the fashions and hairstyles of the
era, and it’s quite fun seeing almost every American TV face of the era appearing
as a guest star sooner or later.<br />
<br />
But watching it in 2012, with extra ‘real life’ tucked under my belt, I can’t
help but notice the following:<br />
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7xth2BO2HH_J7P9SCEQEsToxbSdAibDPW-vWAdEMae8voi7r5wwnSogVG_ejKRAQ6FMU4P3EnUczK_BPuiNWQN3bmHDdMmMfF2JbZh4eJu4IUYI3prFOBI2iF62Rnwssj8OBnMcAiEt0/s1600/stubing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7xth2BO2HH_J7P9SCEQEsToxbSdAibDPW-vWAdEMae8voi7r5wwnSogVG_ejKRAQ6FMU4P3EnUczK_BPuiNWQN3bmHDdMmMfF2JbZh4eJu4IUYI3prFOBI2iF62Rnwssj8OBnMcAiEt0/s320/stubing.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Can you stop her writing this crap?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Did the boat steer itself? Captain
Stubing seemed to spend his entire day walking up and down the cabin corridors
or stalking passengers on the deck and by the pool. Wasn’t that Julie’s job? With all the time he spent gazing into the eyes of rich beautiful widows and
unhappily married women, was the boat a Costa Concordia waiting to happen? I could just picture him getting into the
first available lifeboat with his Louis Vitton luggage, Florence Henderson and a souvenir pinjada.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Julie’s excitement levels were pretty smacky - maybe her room was too near fumes from the engine. Speaking of which, her cabin was so
NOT the cramped, only-fits-one space that ship staff are allotted.<br />
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAWm_H-EN0cuglTVIDFF_k5k700TKeRaQLX2u1qet5tnHa-YP2FhN3ITKIIpA4XXwKEwX2izPvbf4aJ9JS0uzV883iuCHBZJnlTSjbmfCGXQhLfBmqHyzWSH228SxPmqftOGwDrhofL1i/s1600/Lauren+tewes+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAWm_H-EN0cuglTVIDFF_k5k700TKeRaQLX2u1qet5tnHa-YP2FhN3ITKIIpA4XXwKEwX2izPvbf4aJ9JS0uzV883iuCHBZJnlTSjbmfCGXQhLfBmqHyzWSH228SxPmqftOGwDrhofL1i/s320/Lauren+tewes+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie (Lauren Tewes) THEN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XkHo5_Tzqr76YmfolrTjgTb85D5g3f1qC_u21ZSIepPtFZOyX67Lf9UXs5fqUQlkIkTtk_bg0DGAMs95vXx91Apua9M33ztHQ3mvq-bAvdlAFJrAQXS3V66FYK6nY2pCQ3fUfeQAMfQp/s1600/lauren+tewes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XkHo5_Tzqr76YmfolrTjgTb85D5g3f1qC_u21ZSIepPtFZOyX67Lf9UXs5fqUQlkIkTtk_bg0DGAMs95vXx91Apua9M33ztHQ3mvq-bAvdlAFJrAQXS3V66FYK6nY2pCQ3fUfeQAMfQp/s320/lauren+tewes.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie (Lauren Tewes) NOW</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The ocean was never rough and nobody ever got seasick. Probably that was a was a good thing if you were a
woman, ‘cause the ship Doctor (imaginatively known as Doc) would try to cure
that by saying something inappropriately personal and maybe even trying for a
pash. Doc was a CREEP.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvo5oOIf2r_y-0BPZoxSkerF09-UD-ggDHPriWzW3yWP3l2mCpNAVD2XbIfH9vYJfBOt26W2I6KuZ6WchxK_uURWpgDLW5SZOcdO2p4WHo54ltRzo5nNj9TY0wpyjwxqsG9ojjO_aPNlo/s1600/ted.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvo5oOIf2r_y-0BPZoxSkerF09-UD-ggDHPriWzW3yWP3l2mCpNAVD2XbIfH9vYJfBOt26W2I6KuZ6WchxK_uURWpgDLW5SZOcdO2p4WHo54ltRzo5nNj9TY0wpyjwxqsG9ojjO_aPNlo/s320/ted.JPG" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tedster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing hasn’t changed since I first watched the show, and
in my more recent viewings: Ted McGinley
is a FINE looking man <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></div>
</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-83835972171861035542012-05-06T21:04:00.000+09:302014-03-05T11:33:26.348+10:30Mia Culpa<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jWiz765vO8I1KqFIPk3wGVhkfoxzuIYjQIDvM8Oek9PaDZfefkIFp917GlSOMrhhms1w14McY_PPh4T1TQ9CTpZSTjZY3wFRXdOlQ1EAT3kMAZkqWEv64Y9iUAwwTq0YP-LxOI2Xdp2T/s1600/mia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jWiz765vO8I1KqFIPk3wGVhkfoxzuIYjQIDvM8Oek9PaDZfefkIFp917GlSOMrhhms1w14McY_PPh4T1TQ9CTpZSTjZY3wFRXdOlQ1EAT3kMAZkqWEv64Y9iUAwwTq0YP-LxOI2Xdp2T/s320/mia.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mia Culpa-Farrow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">If I’d been old enough to understand how curses work, I
would have cursed Mia Farrow and the super-short hairstyle that women </span>the world over would copy, well into the 1970s.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
At six years old, I lacked the words (and physical strength) to challenge my
mother as she allowed the hairdresser to chop off my long curls. I remember staring into the salon mirror, too
proud to cry, but my face like thunder, as the stylist thinned what hair was
left, into that voguish waif cut.<br />
<br />
At home, I sat at my dressing table,
telling Barbie, Sindy and Chrissy (the doll whose hair could grow just by
pressing a button in her back) how upset I was, all the while combing, combing,
combing what was left of my hair in the belief this would somehow hasten the
regrowth. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBI7TmbBHjFwEKdAuZmFHaEABwHYiE5hgOQPw5Faer4TaIyoSW9IMnC_QAUpvsxCNIexTrdGib1_8k0lSKN7hrrKgaroB9p8nAY54_3IYOIcV_94mg4gGrjp8SQ2Fv_FGU8PGnaGjf85O/s1600/cindy+brady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBI7TmbBHjFwEKdAuZmFHaEABwHYiE5hgOQPw5Faer4TaIyoSW9IMnC_QAUpvsxCNIexTrdGib1_8k0lSKN7hrrKgaroB9p8nAY54_3IYOIcV_94mg4gGrjp8SQ2Fv_FGU8PGnaGjf85O/s200/cindy+brady.jpg" height="200" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cindy Brady rockin' the rope ribbons</td></tr>
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By the following year, I had enough hair to wear The Pageboy – another ugly, but super-popular style of the 70s. Better still, I reached that milestone that female victims of Very Short Hair know all too well: my hair was now jusssssst long enough to pull into a ponytail, without ‘bits’ falling short of the elastic. With great joy, I added the touch d’jour: a rope ribbon. I think elsewhere they were known as soft wool ribbons? Although ropelike in shape, they were very soft to the touch. </div>
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I didn’t know any girl who’d wear pigtails, plaits or a ponytail, without
dressing it up. Baubles and ribbons were the finishing touch. If you wore your hair down, matching barrettes were the way to go. Teachers made an enormous fuss if your hair fell anywhere near your face. Long fringes, we were told, could lead to blindness. At this point, we began falling into two camps: girls with conformist hair, and those with The Shag. I thought The Shag (and "The Lioness") looked pretty exciting, but flashbacks to my last Major Haircut left me shy of scissors coming anywhere remotely close to my shoulders.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsdkgPMS6sG2Z4csk8jjp0Bsi6JUVv7_UAm5mKA9r3H81gsKiBoKGAc4CcXwndD5SlZRcN8UbDagRH1XDKy0miHz7fDA0lHyrVNxYZnRKmkF8d6-wGpGiJflWVazbUMt8D5bEgnVmVrEu/s1600/hair+bobbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsdkgPMS6sG2Z4csk8jjp0Bsi6JUVv7_UAm5mKA9r3H81gsKiBoKGAc4CcXwndD5SlZRcN8UbDagRH1XDKy0miHz7fDA0lHyrVNxYZnRKmkF8d6-wGpGiJflWVazbUMt8D5bEgnVmVrEu/s200/hair+bobbles.jpg" height="158" width="200" /></a></div>
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So the majority of us clung to our lengthy locks. Our mothers longed for us to forever wear pigtails that sat high and springy
above our ears, but as you got closer to – say – ten years of age, the pigtails
became big bunches of hair that sat lower on your head, and much closer to your
face. Thus you had graduated from being
Cindy to being Marcia. </div>
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And if that doesn’t make sense ... you weren’t a child of the seventies
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-10663795769649808132011-09-25T12:23:00.000+09:302011-09-25T12:23:12.832+09:30Putting The Past Out To Pasture<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Swamped in a smorgasbord of media choice, will today’s children ever know what it’s like to be sentimentally attached to a book?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx0gNbIVloZXLZHssvijGpfK7DIl3I0q56JmeW2Y8ij2vGrBAR54Go086xSDvgLl9SXcNBCWR-IcMAgEkqyoQ7elEGw69Wo1aM2Pe_aKJDy-7ySLoU9rqH5uqWVOQJuaoCFs4GvZGmeXA/s1600/bookmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx0gNbIVloZXLZHssvijGpfK7DIl3I0q56JmeW2Y8ij2vGrBAR54Go086xSDvgLl9SXcNBCWR-IcMAgEkqyoQ7elEGw69Wo1aM2Pe_aKJDy-7ySLoU9rqH5uqWVOQJuaoCFs4GvZGmeXA/s320/bookmark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had so many ‘favourite’ books.<span> </span>Some I loved for their stories, some for the illustrations, others for what they’d meant as a gift, and one simply because I’d saved so long to buy it.<span> </span>(Another concept that might be lost on Generation Y: delayed gratification)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDFHASACp-a9bDOkVhTT5sjh_DYMIcetpJto_d6ZfY0MNrZvfPVCA-fpn10jAtLir8Ihzm_kRmhJZepNCccVRVXFY9oaZTk9oZdpPYkiSwZy1SRlMEouJpYpJB6dajyna9goS4pVt9f5V/s1600/broomstick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDFHASACp-a9bDOkVhTT5sjh_DYMIcetpJto_d6ZfY0MNrZvfPVCA-fpn10jAtLir8Ihzm_kRmhJZepNCccVRVXFY9oaZTk9oZdpPYkiSwZy1SRlMEouJpYpJB6dajyna9goS4pVt9f5V/s200/broomstick.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A book could become tatty with use, but you loved it no less.<span> </span>Perhaps even more, because the tat said “much used, much loved.” <span></span>My Enid Blyton books were still with me in my 20s.<span> </span><span> </span>Even non-bookish types have been known to secrete a dog-eared Little Golden Book in the back of a wardrobe.<span> </span><span> </span>Of course, we romantically imagine that any children we might have, will love them as much as we did.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Certainly Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree trilogy has stood the test of time (although I can never forgive the PC crew for changing the names of the children – as if modern kids couldn’t handle having a Dick and Fanny on the same page, puhleeeeze).<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eventually I shed most of mine, disappointed that my firstborn didn’t get the same buzz from The Naughtiest Girl as I did.<span> </span>I’ve blogged before about my general dismay that Milly Molly Mandy and the girls of the Chalet School are barely known to anyone under 40, but we can’t keep looking back ... right?<br />
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That’s what I tell myself today as I sort through a stash of my oldest books. It's finally time to discard “The All Colour Book of Horses”</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span></span><span></span>This book has no relevance to my life now.<span> </span>And yet ... it’s so hard to bin it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</span></div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-32344807481007091872011-08-19T17:17:00.002+09:302016-06-19T13:32:24.516+09:30Bitchin' about the Kitchen<div class="MsoNormal">
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One of the great changes to the traditional family home in the late seventies, was the kitchen being incorporated into the main living area. Previously, kitchens had been entirely self-contained rooms in which to prepare and eat food. Perhaps we can thank the growth of the Womens Movement for this revolution in home life. Until then, women Knew Their Place, which was often the confines of the kitchen: preparing meals, cooking, or washing dishes; certainly not distracted by *gasp* the high-mindedness of male conversation.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would you believe these 'used' 60s ramekins are currently listed on ebay for $50? Quick, raid Mum's cupboard!</td></tr>
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Formal dining rooms (and not everybody had them) were used only with guests. All other meals were eaten at a table in the kitchen. Add to that the typical (nuclear) family structure of the time, rules about ‘table manners’ and you realise how very different life is today. When was the last time you heard a child being told to keep their elbows off the table?</div>
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If the aspirational kitchen of the 60s was a shiny laminated ‘mod’ experience, the 70s kitchen was quite the opposite. The “farmhouse” look was much favoured, rich in yellowed pine. A beaten copper rangehood was often the focal point. Pans dangling from ceiling hooks supposedly added to the ‘country’ feel, as did decorative cake-tins hung in random formation on the walls<br />
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As the decade wore on, cupboards in walnut stain also became popular. People with faux-Tudor leanings preferred mahogany. A timber benchtop, though desirable, was a luxury for most and somewhat impractical, so laminates still had their place. Favoured shades were lime green and egg-yolk yellow. Formica did some more upmarket heavily textured laminates, the most popular by far being a dark brown flecked with red and orange, that looked like a volcano had spewed on the benchtop.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did your Mum have cannisters like these?</td></tr>
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At odds with the ‘au naturel’ vibe was the way women loved to display all their kitchen gadgets, especially electric frypans, electric can-openers, vertical grills (“what are they?” I hear the under 30s ask) and most of all, the beloved Kenwood Chef. Sets of saucepans enamelled in red, burnt orange or olive green completed the ‘look.’</div>
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Earthenware dinner sets became groovy (attractive but could get very “hot!hot!hot!”) and a set of chocolate brown coffee cups or ramekins was de rigueur.</div>
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Thank goodness wallpaper was falling out of vogue (in Australia at least. Europeans and Americans stayed with it several decades more). One of the more popular patterns here in the early 70s was a brick or lattice wall with ivy growing over it. Into the 1980s, large block-mount photos of baskets of gourds became curiously popular.</div>
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Window dressings? Where I grew up, a single style raged through every kitchen in Adelaide - cafe curtains: a frill along the top, matching half-curtain below. But the best part of the 70s house belonged to those kitchens that were still separate from the main living area but adjacent to a designated ‘meals’ area, for the two would usually be divided by a set of half-sized swinging saloon doors. Most children (and probably quite a few dads) got in touch with their inner Clint Eastwood on a daily basis.<br />
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Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on the Apricot Chicken Casserole.<br />
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-35532091210004054262011-07-08T18:18:00.001+09:302012-05-10T11:48:19.245+09:30Top of the Shops<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Before malls became the main way to shop, every suburb had a small strip of shops, most having no particular appeal to children, except perhaps the candy counter at the delicatessen*</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> I grew up in the time just before supermarkets were particularly 'super.' Rather, they were boring places with checquered linoleum floors were you bought non-perishables that were packed into large brown bags. Meat and vegetables still had their own shops. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Butcher shops were always fun, because butchers were always so damned happy and whistled a lot. Presumably, hacking through bones all day with a cleaver is a great de-stressor. Cheery chaps in striped aprons strode a sawdusted floor to add fake green ivy to their displays of meat, and no child left the shop without a free fat slice of of fritz**</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next-door was the greengrocery, a darkish store that always smelled of stale cabbage. Shoppers would tell the proprietor what fruit and vegetables they wanted, but the owner would fill the bag for them - none of this ‘choose your own’ caper, folks. The brown bag would then closed with a three-spin twist. Into the string bag it went, as we headed on to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Pharmacies were always mysteriously quiet, and the pharmacist took forever to dispense your prescription, to be sure you had time to browse their range of over-priced goods. To be fair though, most prescription items then weren’t ready-packed, much less blister-packed. The pharmacist would measure out the tablets into a container, or mix and a bottle a syrup from scratch. You’d know your order was close to ready when you heard the clatter of the typewriter as Mr Pharmacist (it was always a Mr - no female pharmacists in these parts in the 70s!) prepared the label for your “Chest Elixir” or “Indigestion Tablets” or “Ipecac and Squills” ... whatever exotique concoction it might be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And then we headed home, passing the hairdressing salon, peering in at women having their hair coiled around rollers or perming rods (a perm or a 'set' was more common then than a cut or colour). At the back of the salon (which would usually have a pretentious French name or a French woman’s name) would be a row of women reading magazines as they sat under hairdryers that looked like enormous hardboiled eggs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If we’d been very, very good, we’d be given a small coin to feed the into one of the dispensing machines in front of the delicatessen: a gobstopper perhaps, or for a little more, a tiny little useless toy. A boy would be lucky to get a teeny-tiny little paratrooper figurine with a papery/plasticky “parachute” attached to it with strings; the best a girl could hope for was a garish ring with an adjustable band (that generally broke after just one adjustment)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I just realised something as I wrote the last paragraph: the condition of getting a treat was that we’d displayed good behaviour during the outing. These days, children seem to feel they’re entitled to these treats, and parents often give them not only freely, but even to ‘shut the kid up’ if they whine for it. And, sad to say, I think a lot of modern kids would scoff at the fact we were so easily pleased by a dicky little toy, a Freddo Frog or little bag of mixed candy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">* Delicatessan (subject of a future blog) = corner store/candy store </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">** Fritz is a.k.a. Baloney or Devon </span></span>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-67150898482353137202011-06-21T10:10:00.002+09:302011-06-21T10:21:56.972+09:30Please Mister Crocodile ... Stop Her Wallowing in The Seventies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before computer games, before video games – in other words, back when indoor games were either board games or card games - many of us “Seventies Kids” enjoyed fabulous yard and playground games. A few of those games have survived; many have not.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting place for the kiddies to play eh?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apart from the stock-standards <b>Chasey </b>and <b>Hide-n-Seek</b>, <b>Brandy</b> (or <b>Branding</b>) was simply about trying to dodge or out-run someone who was intent on pelting you hard with a tennis ball. The ‘branding’ was supposed to be legs only, but of course some players aimed too high (not always by accident, especially if they were taunted enough) and the game would end in tears.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m trying to recall whether this was the same as <b>Red Rover</b> - perhaps someone can advise me? Possibly it might now be banned in today’s politically-correct schoolyards</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I doubt <b>Clapping Games</b> still have currency – certainly my youngest daughter hasn’t a clue what I’m on about when I mention it. These games (usually one-on-one) involved some rather complex clapping patterns, as you chanted a ditty - “Under The Brown Bush” was the best-known one. . My favourite was “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?” although it could get spectacularly boring after a couple of minutes. (A bit like this blog).</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Skipping </b>has become more of a sport than the pure fun it once was. You may remember the four basic skips (high, low, jolly, pepper) and the rope game that arose from them? The only other one I recall is “My Mother Said.” </span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Better still was <b>Elastics </b>(which needs no explanation for those who remember how much fun a minimum of three people could have with a long piece of elastic, knotted into a loop). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Chalked games</b> on the ground – variations of hopscotch – were perhaps of an earlier time, although we did some elaborate spiral variations of them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But it didn’t come more low-tech than standing face-out from a wall, doing clever things with a <b>tennis ball tied into a stocking leg</b>. A variation on this involved tying the stocking to your ankle and artfully moving along as the ball constantly circled one ankle. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here’s a game that may perhaps have different versions in different states/countries: <b>“Please Mr Crocodile.”</b> The rest of the chant was “may I cross the Jordan River without getting wet?” “Mr Crocodile” would reply “only if you’re wearing the color .... “(names color). If you were wearing it, you could safely cross the ‘river’ patrolled by Mr Crocodile, but if not, you had to run the gauntlet. So desperate were some of us to cross safely, we weren’t above flashing our knickers if it provided the color-match. (I still recall my great joy when Mum one day bought me home a pair of mutli-colored knickers)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">And finally <b>Statues </b>(a.k.a. in Australia as “Creepy Up”) – a game which has stood the test of time, though is not the daily occurrence it was in schoolyards of the 1970s. The person who was “It” faced a wall, as the others stood in a line some distance behind, and attempted to creep up on “It,” without being caught moving (ie freezing to a ‘statue’) when “It” sporadically turned around to try and catch you out. The goal was to reach “It” and tap him/her on the back, then rush back to the starting line as "It" gave chase and tried to catch you.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Screaming optional.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-30049023663020748132011-05-11T19:12:00.000+09:302011-05-11T19:12:36.757+09:30********************** PHUNKY PHOOTWEAR ***********************<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut-SGFNcNVoQh-V0Dh2FyOimT6eBVYKqTFKcNI-m-sTuGuyzsK_SqFR7x58x21Z19ol8A59BoCEsjoC1EMYVUmMG1Jh7GXdGi-jmPiBMj4sEk0WWb8FT4T600ntve6G5cHUr6loIGzuyO/s1600/platform+http+www.vintage-heels.co.uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut-SGFNcNVoQh-V0Dh2FyOimT6eBVYKqTFKcNI-m-sTuGuyzsK_SqFR7x58x21Z19ol8A59BoCEsjoC1EMYVUmMG1Jh7GXdGi-jmPiBMj4sEk0WWb8FT4T600ntve6G5cHUr6loIGzuyO/s320/platform+http+www.vintage-heels.co.uk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">courtesy http://www.vintage-heels.co.uk</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The 70s was surely the most innovative decade for footwear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Platform soles were bigger and chunkier than in any time in history and I absolutely coveted them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember being 11 years old, begging my mother for a pair and not liking her arguments which featured those old chestnuts (1) “not good for developing feet” and (2) “where would you wear them?” </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The other newbie of the time was the thigh-high lace-up boot, especially in white. (Yes, a reworking of something marching girls had worn years before, but not the platform heels and not with hot pants). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nobody used the term ‘trainers’ for sports shoes; they were called sports shoes and THE one to have was the Adidas three-stripe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leather footwear for sport was a novelty in itself, since most of us had grown up wearing canvas ‘sandshoes’ (aka plimsolls in the UK) to play tennis or basketball.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The other fashionable sports footwear of the day was the Converse Hi-Top – then known (in Australia at least) as a ‘gym boot.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And like many older styles, they’ve come back around in fashion decades later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Desert boots also reigned popular for much of the 70s for casual wear.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanks to the hippie movement, we also saw footwear that borrowed heavily from ethnic traditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strappy suede sandals and beaded moccasins, were of course lifted straight from the American Indians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clogs were popular for the first time outside of the Netherlands, but greatly funked-up, with only the soles being wooden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man I loved my clogs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- apart from the fact everyone could hear you coming *CLOG-CLOG-CLOG*</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysKzVC-8_mWwX650QeSkCwJdE5nOzebajeKpT4UVH-d3uq6uIqMgI78ZSehSRRGMoWiAdoMUfkolXgN3LNONFBIc0XXQ68TawUl21m2VDl6dVMMzVyOOjk8Np0x1z_Rr-RsXqYY9TkCpY/s1600/platform+boot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysKzVC-8_mWwX650QeSkCwJdE5nOzebajeKpT4UVH-d3uq6uIqMgI78ZSehSRRGMoWiAdoMUfkolXgN3LNONFBIc0XXQ68TawUl21m2VDl6dVMMzVyOOjk8Np0x1z_Rr-RsXqYY9TkCpY/s1600/platform+boot.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">In the late 70s, espadrilles appeared (again, a resurfacing of an old fashion, formerly resort wear in Western Europe and the beaches of Miami).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And finally, we must reference Slap Thongs, those odd rectangular straw-soled flip-flops with velvet straps (which came in a few colors but we all knew it had to be black or nothing).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">No fashion since has been entirely innovative; the only completely ‘new’ idea I can think of is peep-toed boots and really ... it smacks of designer desperation doesn’t it?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This post is based on memories, some knowledge and lots of opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feel free to dispute or add your own thoughts!</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-9860539654128638262011-04-27T12:40:00.003+09:302011-04-27T15:43:16.521+09:30Chalk Talk<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Discussing school days and chalkboards with one of my blog readers (do chalkboards even exist anymore?) I recalled that it was once quite a privilege to be the ‘chalk eraser monitor.’ The more loaded with chalk dust it was, the more exciting the act of banging the life out of it, forming a massive cloud of colored dust. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These days, that would have at least half the class reaching for their inhalers. I think maybe 2% of the kids at my (large) school had asthma. We wouldn’t have known an inhaler from a kazoo. Nebulisers? Never heard of them; would have thought they were some kind of alien weapon from “Lost In Space.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhBm0Mo_pa3bnojH2Q3YcFiWR8W6DQK6R1rGrsiwKp2isEAgMJmnm0PILXHIbNm1fcBgVpw5jYZ9atsQbx3XPGapb-vEDBdOJ8bEuP2ffNN3FCP1WXFomQzkLSQD6o-x4UYj2FN9uLBmb/s1600/chalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhBm0Mo_pa3bnojH2Q3YcFiWR8W6DQK6R1rGrsiwKp2isEAgMJmnm0PILXHIbNm1fcBgVpw5jYZ9atsQbx3XPGapb-vEDBdOJ8bEuP2ffNN3FCP1WXFomQzkLSQD6o-x4UYj2FN9uLBmb/s320/chalk.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> Certainly one of the most common simple ‘punishments’ a teacher could mete, if he/she saw someone not paying attention in class, was to hurl the chalk duster across the room at them, hitting them either square on the head, or leaving an impressive branding on the back of their school jumper. Again, if we transpose that to a modern-day school, I can’t even begin to speculate the cries of protest that would arise, the throng of parents complaining and possibly laying assault charges.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">When I was 14, our temperamental English teacher (a very camp gent in ultra-high-waisted slacks) one day became increasingly annoyed as he listened to a group of rowdy girls in our class mocking novels by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. “Stop it!” he finally yelped. “ You’re just a bunch of sluts!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, that certainly shut them up. It wasn’t appropriate from a teacher, but at the same time, some of the huffy reactions were hypocritical to say the least. And guess that? The two parents who lodged complaints about him, were the very ones whose daughters were being dropped off after school, a block shy of their homes, by guys who drove panel vans.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-12471231472210709132011-04-05T18:42:00.005+09:302011-05-11T18:57:21.995+09:30All Bound For Morning Town<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-g1wPHDrT9apqUPu4nB1iQfnfZCaxfVmDj6lIcXoexmoR4kkROwJg-LxE5D2j0BjIGmkciT9BWRjWJYhJDuSinJ4jT3v2Nya1jtFswkmi34iGkH8NFvp-AHKK639-56MERjyODXHOY8SR/s1600/Disneyland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-g1wPHDrT9apqUPu4nB1iQfnfZCaxfVmDj6lIcXoexmoR4kkROwJg-LxE5D2j0BjIGmkciT9BWRjWJYhJDuSinJ4jT3v2Nya1jtFswkmi34iGkH8NFvp-AHKK639-56MERjyODXHOY8SR/s320/Disneyland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Do children enjoy lullabies anymore? I remember Bye Baby Bunting, Hush Little Baby (Papa never did buy me that mockingbird) Moon of Silver-White, and a special 'local' one (link at end). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, many of us loved to catch the sleepy train to ‘Morning Town.’ Nobody did it better than The Seekers, led by Judith Durham’s amazing voice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foC79VwRUZw&feature=player_embedded#at=35">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foC79VwRUZw&feature=player_embedded#at=35</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Bed time was rarely negotiable when we were young. Certainly nothing on television after 8.30pm was considered appropriate for children. We had a bunch of fun shows to watch after school if we wanted (but funnily enough, many of us preferred to go play with our friends). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> The “big” night for family TV was probably Sunday. Who doesn’t remember The Wonderful World Of Disney, and how Uncle Walt seemed so kind (but apparently wasn’t in real life) and wondering which ‘Land’ that week’s programme would visit. “Please don’t let it be Frontierland” we’d wish, much preferring Fantasyland and Adventureland ... Tomorrowland at a pinch. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Australians will certainly remember Young Talent Time on a Sunday night, and singing/swaying along to Johnny Young’s “All My Loving” at the end.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOdwVcy40qW00EAHmkyhy-_nDUXOqYi-hs8dvhOBzSITj_pXMrCxM6PbrD0g_fXhpfiepSdhhgewF3S2DLr9v07cqlLBcuzw2d6rVdj_J8K7sGrv2V_N45xypv1IBODAAa5EuwHYee6O1/s1600/sleepy+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOdwVcy40qW00EAHmkyhy-_nDUXOqYi-hs8dvhOBzSITj_pXMrCxM6PbrD0g_fXhpfiepSdhhgewF3S2DLr9v07cqlLBcuzw2d6rVdj_J8K7sGrv2V_N45xypv1IBODAAa5EuwHYee6O1/s200/sleepy+girl.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> And so to bed ... In the 60s, that meant beds with padded headboards and chenille bedspreads. In the 70s, more likely turned pine or tubular-framed beds with bold geometric-patterned quilts. Some children had a fluffy animal-cum-‘pyjama bag’ to put their PJs in. If we were lucky, we'd get a bedtime story, told by a real live parent, but amazingly, we were able to sleep without a fix of TV, Facebook or texting our friends. And probably had more and better-quality sleep because of it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">PS Somebody messaged me to include Puff The Magic Dragon. Is it a lullaby as such? Certainly is lovely though, with those words every parent understands too well: "A dragon lives forever / but not so little boys." </span><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-50227585409473572232011-03-19T11:31:00.002+10:302011-03-19T11:36:16.203+10:30Music in the Sky with Diamonds<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Is it just my bias, or was I incredibly fortunate to be a </span>“<span lang="EN-US">child of the 70s,</span>”<span lang="EN-US"> thus immersed in the best music era of all time? I can</span>’<span lang="EN-US">t even begin to blog on how much Glam Rock, Disco, 70s Pop and Rock brought pleasure to my life.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">But I was born in the sixties, so, thanks to my parents, some of</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><i>that</i> music imprinted my psyche as well. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Certainly, the 1960s was a decade that produced some amazing hits. Unfortunately, my parents weren</span>’<span lang="EN-US">t listening to those. Their middle-of-the-road tastes leaned more towards Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Herb Alpert, Percy Faith and *passes around anti-nausea tablets* Max Bygraves.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I can still see Dad, sucking on a can of Tab Diet Cola, as he tapped his foot to Acker Bilk and James Galway. His funk factor stopped at Herman</span>’<span lang="EN-US">s Hermits. If only someone had airlifted me ahead to the </span>‘<span lang="EN-US">70s, to those joyful days of saving up to buy a vinyl single (45rpm) in a paper sleeve. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Every decade has its musical duds, but I</span>’<span lang="EN-US">d argue the 1960s had more than most. My </span>‘<span lang="EN-US">most loathed</span>’<span lang="EN-US"> instrumental was <i>Swinging Safari </i>and<i> </i>the worst<i> schlagermuzak </i>of all time was<i> Days of Wine and Roses </i>and<i> The Shadow of Your Smile.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Best </span>‘<span lang="EN-US">60s instrumental was easily Mason Williams</span>’ <i><span lang="EN-US">Classical Gas.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Not until adulthood was I exposed to the finest music of the </span>‘<span lang="EN-US">60s, from artists like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Mamas & The Papas, The Who, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin</span>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Here's what happens next: I post this blog, and realize I’ve overlooked a seminal artist/band of the sixties. Apart from The Stones (not a fan, though I respect their work), The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell </span>…<span lang="EN-US"> perhaps you can think of another that genuinely deserves a mention?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-41499751333416049752011-03-12T10:20:00.003+10:302012-09-12T15:31:44.249+09:30Wooden It Be Nice?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">I spent countless happy hours playing in the Aladdin</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">s Cave that was Dad</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">s Garage. The raw brick walls were lined with an incredible array of shelves and drawers, all meticulously labelled, to store </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">blokey stuff.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> He loved woodwork, and built a huge bench with every conceivable tool and gadget. My brother and I were compelled to put our fingers into the vise to test our pain threshold. Even more intriguing were Dad</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">s rifles, on a not-so-high shelf next to the bench. He did a better job of hiding his </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Man</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> magazines though. Almost.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD35Jm2Pq4-5E-5Jzf0AUZYG6UJLe9askSk4w3fJUO3s5x_m-uY7Qg8gXxsmiG0xdc1AW5pMJFeJ4zgfmZANIKNxg09KMZ8iMuQ8riPyBrrb7_AI4Mf35eFK4NQBPsDpBmim14zqH27X_b/s1600/karmann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD35Jm2Pq4-5E-5Jzf0AUZYG6UJLe9askSk4w3fJUO3s5x_m-uY7Qg8gXxsmiG0xdc1AW5pMJFeJ4zgfmZANIKNxg09KMZ8iMuQ8riPyBrrb7_AI4Mf35eFK4NQBPsDpBmim14zqH27X_b/s320/karmann.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The Garage was home to Dad</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">s succession of cars, his favourite being a Karmann Ghia. One day, when I was four, I decided to hop in and </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">drive</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> it. I tried to force the column shift into second gear, but since I had no idea about using the clutch, the stick snapped. It took a good wad of glue, a roll of masking tape, and a smack on my bum to brace the stick until it could be repaired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">But it </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">wasn</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">t just the familiar hulk of a vehicle I missed in the Garage when Dad left us. Lots of interesting stuff went with him. Tools disappeared from the shadow board, save the odd wrench and spanner. Left behind were old jam jars full of screws, nuts, bolts and washers, which I enjoyed sorting. I used colored chalks to draw the outline of where his car had been. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">In the gloom of the Garage, without a car or a Dad </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> just me putting my bike away each day </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"> rats and mice began throwing parties in the dark corners and the cellar. The magic was abating.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">To this day, I miss the smell of sawdust. On the rare occasion I visit a hardware store, I</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">m irresistibly drawn to the fresh timber area, where I take in lungfuls of sawdust (hopefully just the scent). For years after Dad left, I</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">d sweep and sweep the shed with a stiff broom, whipping up a musty cloud in which I savoured the very last remnants of his woodwork.</span></div>
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Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-25503409715639928322011-03-08T13:35:00.003+10:302011-03-08T16:49:24.602+10:30Ten-Year-Old Landlord Owns Two Hotels in Mayfair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m admiring the conkers on my neighbour’s magnificent acorn tree, and it occurs to me that the local kids probably wouldn’t even know how to have a conker fight. Without a doubt, those of us who grew up before the 1980s were more connected to nature. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJOp7o9G85RX70zda6bEgzqXqUs9RudxwL9y4TnAMFegur-WN6OD1chnJWp4LZkZpYYcOV9KeBnF3y0ZBV8i4hr5kjBBU3o-sMw4s6WqNgql-Uz9QVO_jWGAlAAgGGWglpyOx3I8pIyCu/s1600/bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJOp7o9G85RX70zda6bEgzqXqUs9RudxwL9y4TnAMFegur-WN6OD1chnJWp4LZkZpYYcOV9KeBnF3y0ZBV8i4hr5kjBBU3o-sMw4s6WqNgql-Uz9QVO_jWGAlAAgGGWglpyOx3I8pIyCu/s1600/bike.jpg" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJOp7o9G85RX70zda6bEgzqXqUs9RudxwL9y4TnAMFegur-WN6OD1chnJWp4LZkZpYYcOV9KeBnF3y0ZBV8i4hr5kjBBU3o-sMw4s6WqNgql-Uz9QVO_jWGAlAAgGGWglpyOx3I8pIyCu/s1600/bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I realise technology and safety issues have changed life for the ‘modern child,’ but I’d wager that a day spent riding around the neighbourhood on your bicycle (a Dragstar if you were lucky), exploring the local creek, climbing forbidden trees, etc. gave us much more joy than a day spent playing Wii, or hanging at the mall. Certainly it kept us fitter.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You could get a physical and social workout by attending your local Youth Club. And almost every boy dabbled in scouting at some stage ... sadly, that’s no longer the case. Girls were Brownies, Guides, or in Girl's Brigade. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With family and/or friends, board games were lots of fun too. Apart from the age-old Monopoly and Scrabble, the most popular ones I recall were Hands Down, Mouse Trap, Tip It, Ker-plunk, Operation, Battleship and Cluedo..</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are several youtubes of “Mouse Trap” ads. This one was ‘before my time’ but gives the clearest demonstration of how it worked. WHEN it worked!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Variations on some of these games are now available online of course, and I guess the upside is that you can always find someone to play them with. Does that make them more fun? I’m not sure, but it certainly makes them easier to put away. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I imagine many kids now would “LOL” if I challenged them to a game of knucklebones or marbles. They were simple amusements, but I often wonder how quickly the new generations’ brains can evolve, to cope with the instant availability and rapid-fire action of online and video gaming ... Perhaps we’ll have the last laugh.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-76513325679067423042011-03-04T22:23:00.003+10:302012-06-04T16:55:04.021+09:30Look what I found next to the Funk & Wagnalls<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My brother and I weren't the only ones to mispronounce Funk & Wagnalls, right? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Having already chatted about some of my favourite books, here’s a random smattering of other ‘early’ books that stay strong in my memory. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 6: <b><i>Milly Molly Mandy </i></b>Joyce Lancaster Brisley</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> A sweet, very old-fashioneded account of English village life, with delightful line drawings.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 8: <b><i>Little Dream </i></b>Cynthia Leonetti </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Quite simply, the sweetest story I’ve ever read. Yet you can’t find the book anywhere now except in national library holding collections. I was captivated by oh-so-pretty Little Dream, the pompous Big Dreams and the wonderful finale. Would love to meet somebody else who’s actually read it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 9<i>:<b> I Am David </b></i>Ann Holm</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The epic and moving tale of a boy who “learned the meaning of beauty.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 10: <b><i>Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat </i></b>Ursula Moray Williams</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> Easy to find with its glaring hot pink cover, this fantasy was a ripper read!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 11: <b><i>On The Beach</i></b> Nevil Shute </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">My first grown-uppish ‘apolcalyptic’ book. We're a long way from Enid Blyton now, baby. Basic synopsis: nuclear bomb ends the world. When the film of the book was later shot on location in Melbourne, Australia, the star Ava Gardner infamously said that it seemed like the end of the world, anyway ;p</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 12: <b><i>Old Yeller</i></b> Fred Gipson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Came across this in my Dad’s “Readers Digest Condensed Book” collection, (which btw, looked awfully smart on the bookshelf next to the Funk &. Wagnalls). The saddest story.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 13: <b><i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i></b>Harper Lee</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> What a powerful and moving story (and for once, the film was even better). Atticus Finch rocks!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 14: <b><i>The Grapes of Wrath </i></b>John Steinbeck</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">A</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">classic. Fascinating in its alternating chapter style. Loving Rose of Sharon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 15: </span></span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">M</span>y Darling, My Hamburger </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paul Zindel</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> If only for the title</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 16: <b><i>Picnic at Hanging Rock </i></b>Joan Lindsay</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Evocative and worth reading for the exquisite prose; disturbingly frayed. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 17: <b><i>The Loved One </i></b>Evelyn Waugh</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Only Waugh could make death funny. Sharp and original, his command of satire is second to none. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Age 18: <b><i>Portnoy’s Complaint </i></b>Philip Roth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Even as a tiny child, I was aware of the outrage when this book was first published. So when I came across it in a bookshop when I'd finally "come of age," I had to read it. It wasn’t what I’d imagined, but so much better - possibly the funniest book I've ever read. A masterpiece of Jewish humour.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-32927063711104830752011-03-01T20:57:00.003+10:302011-03-08T17:05:20.084+10:30The sincerest form of flattery ...<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Successful TV shows will always have a copycat within the year ... These are the earliest I can remember. Let me know if you agree or disagree:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Addams Family </b>vs<b> The Munsters</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Addams were indeed ‘creepy’ but not all that ‘kooky’ ... so it’s Munsters all the way, baby. Every member of the family was lovable (especially Hermann, or maybe I was reading too much into the size of his feet). Nobody in the Addams house was remotely lovable.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sA6MCn1dC-N1NhnIUdNPfPzLLoB52Z5bqI05VaAhJDOl1kGUfPNiZ3gjYjPNQqKeL4BZANA-OpAdIBDqrgpy_JnwsVMCCtRS0cBRA8CNL1HgmuDGCubMWNtadFdXU5dUf-kaI-CEzHqd/s1600/munsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sA6MCn1dC-N1NhnIUdNPfPzLLoB52Z5bqI05VaAhJDOl1kGUfPNiZ3gjYjPNQqKeL4BZANA-OpAdIBDqrgpy_JnwsVMCCtRS0cBRA8CNL1HgmuDGCubMWNtadFdXU5dUf-kaI-CEzHqd/s320/munsters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The Waltons </b>vs <b>Little House on the Prairie</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Goodnight, John-Boy" ... 'cos when Pa Ingalls took his shirt off to chop the wood, there was no contest. I’d be Michael Landon’s “Half-Pint” anyday. Yes I know he was apparently a hypocrite and a control freak, but I don’t bloody care.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remember the Oleson family - owners of the General Stores in Walnut Creek? Thank goodness their bitchy exchanges cut through the saccharine of the rest of the script - example:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Willy Oleson to his mother: "You've got wrinkles around your eyes"</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs. Oleson: "I beg your pardon! They're not 'wrinkles' - they're laughter lines."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Willy Oleson: "Nothing's <i>that </i>funny."</div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Bewitched </b>vs<b> I Dream Of Jeannie</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No need to call Dr Bombay – Bewitched wins easily. Even as a little girl, I found Jeannie’s simpering “Master” act a bit hard to take. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's even a sub-contest to choose your favourite Darren: Dick York or Dick Sargent? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Just as an aside: how did Larry Hagmann go from SO handsome to SO not?)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Donny and Marie </b>vs<b> Sonny and Cher</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Blergh, neither! Although let’s give an honourable mention to Sonny for the night he cracked that very funny (if cruel) line to Cher: “Is that your nose, or are you eating a banana?” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These days, it's hard to say who looks the most scary: Cher, Marie or Marie's line of dolls. Have you seen those? They'd even scare the crap out of Chuckie!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2826420467024589026.post-17834652712477530182011-02-27T10:06:00.005+10:302011-03-08T15:38:45.292+10:30"A love of reading: the golden key that opens the enchanted door."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdpOqQTDUb6O9wbsSx8G-ORkB3dzMtNoe4Ak91JymbDCc4HjlbNaANTgiS7_bKtJoEUk7EpoyRlxB2BFv_3yJxoiz1RrEPmm7s9yiZO4MFPfRcjX7U7nKGgndKvNKaH5nlAzQ65XWgBDu/s1600/wrinkle+in+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdpOqQTDUb6O9wbsSx8G-ORkB3dzMtNoe4Ak91JymbDCc4HjlbNaANTgiS7_bKtJoEUk7EpoyRlxB2BFv_3yJxoiz1RrEPmm7s9yiZO4MFPfRcjX7U7nKGgndKvNKaH5nlAzQ65XWgBDu/s320/wrinkle+in+time.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Reading was an enormous part of my childhood. My parents correctly predicted my future would be about books and writing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">First blood was the wondrous work of Enid Blyton in <i>The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage. </i>I immediately squirreled away pocket money to buy the rest of the series (all the while wondering why such a great crime-solving unit would name itself </span>“<span lang="EN-US">The Five Find-Outers and Dog</span>”<span lang="EN-US">), then graduated to the <i>Famous Five</i>. Blyton could write a ripping yarn, complete with lashings of teacake and ginger beer. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Almost every child I knew read <i>The Enchanted Wood </i> trilogy with utter joy. My<i> </i>children loved this series too; the Faraway Tree may well delight a future generation. I must say I had no time for Silky (the token submissive female) or The Saucepan Man (why?) but longed for Blyton to explore the psyche of Dame Washalot (one serious case of OCD) and the Angry Pixie. We were never told why the Pixie was in such a state: was it psychosis, I wondered, or just haemorrhoids? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I enjoyed Blyton</span>’<span lang="EN-US">s three school series (<i>The</i> <i>Naughtiest Girl,</i> <i>St. Clair</i></span><i>’</i><i><span lang="EN-US">s </span></i><span lang="EN-US">and <i>Mallory Towers)</i> despite the repeated themes. Each featured wild lacrosse games, colicky horses and batty French teachers. I found further succour in the gripping <i>Adventure </i>series, but sorry, Enid - the <i>Secret Seven </i>never did it for me.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">American authors also brought much joy into my life, notably Betty Smith's beautiful coming-of-age tale <i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, </i>Madeleine L</span>’<span lang="EN-US">Engle (<i>A Wrinkle In Time</i>), Elizabeth Enright (<i>The Four Storey Mistake</i>)<i>, </i>Norton Juster (<i>The Phantom Tollbooth</i>)<i> </i>and the <i>Trixie</i> <i>Belden</i> series.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">So wash my mouth out, but Australian authors held slightly less appeal, excepting two stand-out tales: Alan Marshall</span>’<span lang="EN-US">s moving <i>I Can Jump Puddles</i> (to this day, just hearing the title makes me emotional) and Colin Thiele</span>’<span lang="EN-US">s <i>February Dragon</i> - quintessential Australian fiction that I read as quickly as the bushfire ripped through the chapters<i>.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></div>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04285418295630717452noreply@blogger.com4