When Mum phoned me from New Zealand with the devastating news that she had been diagnosed with cancer and had only months to live, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think she did either. The kids and I arrived at Christchurch airport from the Gold Coast two days after I received the call. The day … Continue reading The Winter of her Life
I have spent a night in the mangroves on Mars. No, I haven’t explored the depths of the mental universe whilst high on psychedelic cocktails. Mars is the name of the houseboat that my husband and I hired when my sister and her partner visited us in Australia for a two-week holiday. Queensland, as the … Continue reading Life on Mars
My father died on January 12, 1966. British Airways offered to fly us back to England free of charge and whilst this option might have been seized upon with open arms by a grieving young widow with three hungry mouths to feed, my mother had other ideas. The summer of ’66 in Christchurch was warm … Continue reading The Teenage Train Wreck
I made my first appearance on planet earth in July 1960 in Old Windsor, England. My parents waited eight years before taking the plunge and having another child. Which is probably not surprising as I don’t imagine it would be a picnic raising twins in post-war Britain. Living in an upstairs flat with no running … Continue reading Escaping the Rat Race
