Gard has been busy with a number of projects and has neglected reporting on the 2014 STHS Class of 1969 Reunion. It was, like all the others, enjoyable and over too soon.
Here is the slide-show Gard referred to in his Welcoming Address. Video will follow within a week or two.
Tom Jones - Poetry II
School Competition
A chance to read a poem of my own
to all my schoolmates gathered! Would they sneer
or think me stupid, as I used to fear?
Perhaps this honour could somehow atone
for lunchtimes spent unfriended and alone.
I edged towards the microphone with hope
Of putting right the doubts and shame of years
in high school feeling lesser than my peers
while never knowing whether I could cope
with clawing up achievement’s slippery slope.
But faces looking back would never more
be schoolboys. They were greying, wrinkled men-
reunion revellers recalling when
they’d started high school fifty years before
and since had lived the lives they’d studied for.
The pressure that we’d all once felt to thrive
as sporting stars or scholars was now gone.
We’d come tonight to reminisce along
with seeing which of us was still alive.
The competition now? Just to survive.
Thomas Jones 21/10/14
Stephen Edgar Wins the Colin Roderick Award
DEPARTMENT of Truth is Stranger than Fiction: A novelist puts a poem of her own creation in her new book. Not just willy-nilly, but as a necessary part of the story. She is not a poet, a fact her publisher makes clear on reading the manuscript. So the novelist goes on a strange search for a poet to pen a bespoke poem for her book. She finds one, a poet she has read but never met. The poet finds the proposition unusual, too, but writes the poem and it is included in the book. It’s a fine poem. A year later, the novelist and the poet share a major literary award. Had the fiction writer come up with such a plot twist she might have been accused of overreach, but it is just what has happened to novelist Ashley Hay and poet Stephen Edgar. This week Hay’s 2013 novel The Railwayman’s Wife, which features a poem written for the book by Edgar, was named joint winner of the prestigious Colin Roderick Award. The other joint winner was Edgar, for his poetry volume Eldershaw.
Hay explains how this odd coupling worked: “I sent him some of the imagery I hoped the poem would contain, a bit about its content and its context, and a bit of information about the character in the book who would be doing the writing.’’ Edgar sent back a first draft of the poem within a week. “What amazed me,’’ Hay says, “was that it not only fitted the voice of my poet so perfectly, and contained all the imagery and ideas I’d sent through, but there were also nods to other elements of the novel that Stephen didn’t know about — couldn’t know about. It took my breath away.’’
Edgar says novelist Michelle de Kretser was the link between he and Hay, putting them in touch after hearing of Hay’s dilemma. He reveals he did not read the novel but based his poem on the one Hay had written, and on the context she provided. “I simply immersed myself in the words Ashley had sent and let my imagination work on them and try to find a new form that seemed to be effective. I found it a very interesting and satisfying process. But I regarded it as something like working on a libretto for a composer — she would have the final say and I would adapt anything I wrote to suit her needs.’’
It’s a lovely story, but we should not forget the poet’s achievement in winning a literary award open to all genres. Reviewing Eldershaw in these pages in June, Geoffrey Lehmann lauded a “high point in Australian poetry’’. The Roderick is awarded to the “best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life’’. First awarded in 1967, it honours the Queensland author, critic and scholar Colin Roderick (1911-2000), who was the foundation professor of English literature at James Cook University in Townsville. The award is worth $10,000 to the winner — and in an act of generosity Roderick’s widow, Margaret, contributed a further $10,000 this year so that Hay and Edgar each received the full prize cheque. Previous winners include Ruth Park, Tom Keneally and Peter Carey, but as the ever gracious Hay suggests, this year may well represent a first: “Stephen Edgar becomes, in a way, the first person to win the Colin Roderick twice in a single year, because my book would not hold without him.’’
JB on PC
From John Booth:
Briefly eloquent
There’s an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term.This year’s chosen term was “politicalcorrectness."The winning student wrote: .....“Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."
My Secret Sydney: David Gaunt
Had fate played out a little differently, David Gaunt might have been a school teacher, rather than in the book business. He became friends with Roger Mackell, his partner in Gleebooks, while studying for a diploma of education at the University of Sydney. The bookstore was founded in 1975 by Tony Gallagher, but when he died in 1978, Gaunt and Mackell (who had been employees at the shop) took over.
"I decided to give it a go because we couldn't get jobs as teachers," says Gaunt. "For a while there, I was certainly tossing up [whether] I would be a bookseller or a teacher."
These days, Gleebooks is a Sydney institution. The 63-year-old co-owner modestly attributes the success of the store to good timing. "The inner west was just coming into its own. Glebe in the '70s and through the '80s was absolutely the place to be."
Things have changed a lot since those early days. "When we opened, we had to think twice if we opened late on a Saturday; would it be legal?" he says. "We made what was, at the time, a truly radical decision to open on Sundays. All these things that now seem terribly ancient were only 40 years ago."
Where did you grow up?
In the southern suburbs in Peakhurst. It was a typical '50s and '60s [experience] growing up. It was somehow suburban and vibrant at the same time – the vibrancy was because there were so many bloody kids. Lugarno, the adjoining suburb, had lots of bush, so I used to ride my bike down to the old Lugarno ferry. You had a lot of freedom.
Were you a big reader as a child?
Absolutely. When Hurstville Library opened, the children's area was so under-resourced that I got special dispensation to use my mother's card to borrow from the adult's library. They had the whole library of P. G. Wodehouse and I read my way through them at the age of 12 and 13. I had all these strange phrases and arcane English that Wodehouse introduced me to.
What's the most memorable event Gleebooks has hosted?
In 1995 we hosted the first public event Salman Rushdie did when he came out of protective hiding under the fatwa. The federal police had to be here and supervise the whole event. And it was the only event we've ever had where the speaker didn't talk from the stage, because the stage has windows behind it and the federal police wouldn't discount the possibility of a sniper from the poplars over in Glebe Public School.
Which is your favourite cafe in Glebe?
I'm very fond of Badde Manors; that's been around nearly as long as we have. And if anything deserves the epithet of quirky, that is it. It's where I take anybody who calls in to see me.
Where do you live?
Gladesville. My wife and I deliberately moved away from the inner city, because we wanted green space and a decent garden. We like old things, so we've got a very old cottage in a quiet neck of the woods on Tarban Creek.
Is there a place in that area that's special to you?
The stand-out would be, without a question, Gladesville Hospital. It was a 19th century mental hospital, so there are places with a sad history, but it really is part of secret Sydney. An enlightened superintendent there [Frederick Norton Manning] believed that for people with mental illness, having them in open garden spaces was important. It's a large area of old buildings – some in dilapidated condition, some still magnificent – with sweeping views up and down the Parramatta River.
How would you spend your perfect day off?
It would have to involve a walk – I'm usually walking with my wife, Sally. Sometimes we'll walk through The Rocks. I've been heavily involved in conservation preservation – I've been involved in the Hunters Hill Trust for years. It means I have a vivid memory of what Jack Mundey, the BLF [Builders' Labourers Federation] and caring people did in The Rocks back in the 1970s to save it from the same fate as the rest of old Sydney. I love to go there and walk around because I think it's beautiful. It reminds me of what people who care enough to make an effort can do.
What annoys you about Sydney?
The worship of false progress is just horrendous. In my own area [of Hunters Hill], I see people buy these beautiful old houses in a garden suburb and the first thing they want to do is rip out the garden and put in a five-car carport. It's a constant battle. I remember going back to Peakhurst as a young adult. "What happened to that 1856 church?" "Oh, they needed to widen Forest Road so it's not there anymore." Once you've destroyed the past, you've destroyed the past. I think you need to be immensely conscious of how much responsibility you've got for the things that you've inherited.
Which newer local writers would you recommend?
There are three women straight away that I would reference. Fiona McFarlane – she's a terrific writer. The Night Guest was her first novel. Ceridwen Dovey's Only the Animals is great. And there's someone who used to be a detective, who's been writing the best Sydney-based crime fiction that I've read in ages, called P.M. Newton. All three of them give you an indication that in a city of this size, you'd be depressed if there weren't good writers emerging all the time.
NICOLE ELPHICK
nicole.elphick@gmail.com
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/my-secret-sydney-david-gaunt-20140915-10g8uu.html#ixzz3DvJByFB2
Source:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/my-secret-sydney-david-gaunt-20140915-10g8uu.html
Tom Jones - Verses on Reunions
Tom writes... "I regard this cohort of my peers as living parallel lives - those lives that perhaps I could have led, had I chosen differently (and had more talent).
I have composed a rhyme on the subject of reunions, which is attached.
Old Boys’ Reunion
I’d finished school
at seventeen
When most of life was still unseen
I hardly knew my peers for I
Could barely look them in the eye.
Reunion after many years
Still generated hopes and fears
Could I now find a friendly glow
That wasn’t present years ago?
If in six years of high school then
We could not manage to be friends
What chance was there that now we’d find
Some intimacy that would bind?
But now at least I’d tasted life
Through work and study, kids and wife.
I’d learned to look men in the eye
And stepping forth, I could say “Hi”.
Thomas
Jones 14/9/13
Tom Jones: the Green, Green Grass of Home
http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/home-is-where-the-history-is-as-empty-nesters-resist-downsizing-20140203-31x73.html
Tom Jones and Miriam Guttman-Jones once thought of their four-bedroom North Bondi home as a full house.
With two children occupying a room each, often accompanied by a horde of friends, the house was full of energy.
Now the children, who are well into their 20s, have moved out.
But, in line with a recent study from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Mr Jones and Cr Guttman-Jones, of Waverley Council, have not considered following suit.
''I actually love this house,'' Cr Guttman-Jones said. ''I don't think it's too big and it's all on one level, which makes a difference.''
The report, titled Downsizing Amongst Older Australians, found that only 9 per cent of people aged over 50 have opted to move to a smaller home.
Study author Bruce Judd, director of the Australian School of Architecture at the University of NSW, said the idea of older people having too much space and nothing to do with it was a myth.
''Some people actually said they needed more room after retirement because they spend more time in the house,'' he said.
Professor Judd said calculating how much of a house was used by counting people and bedrooms was a ''reductive mathematical model'', which did not account for people using spare rooms for activities other than sleeping.
He listed home offices, gyms, hobby rooms and guest rooms as common uses, a theory reflected in the home of Mr Jones and Cr Guttman-Jones. One spare room remains filled with their daughter's possessions, another is set up as a study and Cr Guttman-Jones has plans for the third.
''I'm going to get it painted, I'm going to buy a double bed and turn it into a nice guest room,'' she said.
The study also showed that, of those who downsize, lifestyle and maintenance are the two most common motivators. The two go hand-in-hand, Professor Judd said.
''If you get rid of maintenance, it improves the lifestyle,'' he said.
Kate Byrne, who downsized to a two-bedroom apartment in Narrabeen after her husband died, agreed.
''Here I was in this big house that needed a lot of maintenance, a swimming pool, a long driveway, lawns to mow,'' she said. ''I've got time to myself now. On the weekends, I used to be a slave to the house.''
Relatively few downsizers listed finances as their reason for moving.
''Often the downsizing is not about saving money; it's about improving quality of life,'' he said.
Policy forums have suggested that the glacial pace of downsizing could be quickened by the removal of barriers, Professor Judd said.
He listed age-friendly planning in town centres, mandating accessible housing design, fee and stamp duty exemptions and improved information guides as policies that could make downsizing easier.
----
----
Martyn Yeomans remembers...
Marty has a new pic, and...
"I retired in the middle of 2012 from my last 'real' job and now do two days a week book-keeping at Matthias Media for my 'golf money'. I sold my aeroplane about four years ago and now concentrate on my golf game - I get in 2 or 3 games a week. My first grandchild (Tommy) was born to my oldest daughter on April 23rd. Put me down for the re-onion!"
On looking through our website, Martyn was reminded of this song by Harry Chapin:
Remember when the musicCame from wooden boxes strung with silver wireAnd as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.Remember when the musicBrought us all together to stand inside the rainAnd as we'd join our hands, we'd meet in the refrain,For we had dreams to live, we had hopes to give.Remember when the musicWas the best of what we dreamed of for our children's timeAnd as we sang we worked, for time was just a line,It was a gift we saved, a gift the future gave.Remember when the musicWas a rock that we could cling to so we'd not despair,And as we sang we knew we'd hear an echo fill the airWe'd be smiling then, we would smile again.Oh all the times I've listened, and all the times I've heardAll the melodies I'm missing, and all the magic words,And all those potent voices, and the choices we had then,How I'd love to find we had that kind of choice again.Remember when the musicWas a glow on the horizon of every newborn dayAnd as we sang, the sun came up to chase the dark away,And life was good, for we knew we could.Remember when the musicBrought the night across the valley as the day went downAnd as we'd hum the melody, we'd be safe inside the sound,And so we'd sleep, we had dreams to keep.And I feel that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind.It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been,It offers me a promise, it's telling me "Begin",I know we're needing something worth believing in.Remember when the musicCame from wooden boxes strung with silver wireAnd as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.
© 2007-2014. Harry Chapin Family Site. All rights reserved.
http://www.harrychapinmusic.com/index.php?route=common/home
http://www.harrychapinfoundation.org/
Donations Sought for Memorial Garden at STHS
Hi Stephen,
My name is Julie Carrington and I have been teaching science at STHS for the last 33 years.
I have been the project manager for the Matthew Goodall Centenary Memorial Garden for the last 5 years. I still have 1 more structure to complete and I see that you are having a reunion later in the year. The men at the reunions in the last few years have been most helpful and have made donations towards the completion of the different structures within the garden.
I am needing to complete the roof over the BBQ. Even though I am infact on leave this year I am keen to continue fundraising to complete this last structure.
I do hope your Year may be able to assist with this request in some way. Your year will naturally be acknowledged on a brass plaque that will be affixed to the wall next to the roof structure.
Regards,
Julie Carrington
-------
To download a Donation Form click here.
Thank you for your reply.
Matthew was a student who finished at the school in 1997. He was killed in a helicopter crash in Nias and was in the Navy.
I decided to take on the area that you would have known as the 4th form playground outside rooms 3,4 and 5. It was in a terrible state of disrepair.
It took me a long time to fundraise to get most of the area finished to be opened in November 2012. However, the posts for the roof had to be covered with black pot plants for the opening as I ran out of money.
I am $1600.00 short of the quote for the structure and so any help would be appreciated.
There is a special Centenary Garden account at the school set aside for all money collected for the project.
I have included a couple of links for you to read about Matthew and the opening.
Kind Regards,
Julie Carrington
http://www.theleader.com.au/story/954608/memorial-garden-for-former-student-matthew-goodall/#slide=2
Images provided by Ms Carrington:
I want to thank you for the support you have shown with the Centenary Garden.
My friend Carol Miller's husband is also a class of 1969 member and he was kind enough to take some donation forms to the [reunion] dinner [held 27 September 2014].
Bob was also the Science teacher of my soon to be son-in-law.
I am not sure if any donations have been made yet but I plan to ask the deputy principal after the school holidays.
Many thanks once again.
Kind Regards,
Julie Carrington
Images provided by Ms Carrington:
To download a Donation Form click here.
Class of '84 - new website
This just in from Andrew Jens:
Hi Stephen,
I'm not sure if you still operate your STHS web site, but ours recently changed to http://sths84.betzis.com/
I can't believe that we have our 30-year reunion this year. Time flies.
Hope you are going well.
Cheers,
Andrew Jens.
--------- --------------------------------------------- ---------
From the Class of '84 website:
Ray Haddrill, Chorister?
Bruce Helman sends us this photo from 1945 which appeared in the Newcastle Herald of 27 December 2013, and asks, is that Ray Haddrill second from the left in the front row?
"This week’s picture was supplied by Ian Bowrey, who found it at the bottom of a box of books he bought at an auction. It is the Newcastle Boys High Choir of 1945. ‘‘The school no longer exists. And I don’t think the photo should be filed away in a library, and I will be disappointed if it were never to see the new light of day,’’ Ian wrote.
"This week’s picture was supplied by Ian Bowrey, who found it at the bottom of a box of books he bought at an auction. It is the Newcastle Boys High Choir of 1945. ‘‘The school no longer exists. And I don’t think the photo should be filed away in a library, and I will be disappointed if it were never to see the new light of day,’’ Ian wrote.
Back row: O.Edwards, V.Eldridge, R.Durham, B.Treloar, J.Selkirk, W.Seay, R.Poole, W.Walker, R.Winder, E.Manning, H.Barrett, A.Pattison.
Middle row: F.Ebbeck, T.Warren, N.Durham, J.Hughes, T.Griffiths, R.Smith, B.Carlin, D.McAlister, R.Wyatt, J.Allan, W.Willis, R.Weathered.
Front Row: D.Griffiths, R.Haddrill, A.Graham, N.Turnbull, W.Smith, K.Short, Mr C.Lipscomb, P.Newey, J.Nicholson, D.Howard, B.Hopper, S.Lingren, R.Davis.'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)