Yesterday, December 6th, 2014, I drove from my home in Beachmere, just 50 kms north of Brisbane, to a function at University of Queensland - lunch with my friends of 5W. There is a big group of members in Brisbane - in fact around 70 turned up at the luncheon yesterday.
Along the way I passed many reminders of events in my life. The first was on the highway at Aspley. I can't remember when it was, I am guessing 1984, as I was working for an insurance company and I drove home from an evening appointment around 9 am and as I was passing through an area adjacent to a petrol station I hit three sheet. I was driving in my brand new car - and the sheep ran out in front of me, smashing the whole front of my car. One I killed, one survived and the other was thrown over my car and with broken legs thrashed around behind my car. I ran across to the service station and called the police (no mobile phones in those days!), and went back to the car. I actually cradled the injured sheep in my arms trying to stop it from running amok on the highway. The police were going to shoot it, but it died in my arms. My car was towed away for repairs.
A few kilometers along I passed a street where we used to live. What amazing stories I can tell about life at that house. We lived there only a few years but it was a bit of a party house (nice family parties) as it had a pool. I could write for ages about things that happend there - the drama of the big storm in 1985 (Brisbane has just had another major storm event - the worst since that one in 1985), a rather dramatic Christmas when the young boys who were supposed to be playing happily with their sisters, drank a bottle of whisky and one ended up in hospital! It was where our son taught mice to swim, where my husband had to rescue guinea pigs (while only dressed in his undies) when the back yard flooded and nearly drowned the beloved pets. Oh, there are so many stories from that house.
It was from that house that the children and I left on an amazing adventure in central Queensland, when I drove the children up to Airlie Beach, and we had an amazing series of wonderful adventures.
Further along the road I came to the spot where I had another car accident. When my car was returned after repairs from the sheep incident, and only a couple of weeks later, I was driving around the "roundabout" when a young girl clearly not concentrating, ran into the back of my car. Badly damaged again, but not needing a tow truck. I was not amused. My new car was so battered in its first few months with me. (Luckily that was the last of its dramas!)
Further on was Prince Charles Hospital where I worked back in the 1970's and the 1980's - initially in the cardiac area, and later in the psychiatric section. A lot of memories there!!
I drove past the primary school that my children attended, and also passed a house that figured in our lives when we lived in the area. My son had a friend who lived nearby, and one day the little boy was playing with matches as I recall, and set the house on fire. I remember offering to have the boys stay with us in the days immediately after the fire. I can't recall how long he stayed - perhaps 4 or 5 days, and he went back to his parents. A couple of days later the father and the boy appeared at our door, the father returning the items that the little boy had stolen from me!!! So sad. Some months later the boy ran across the road and was hit by a car - and was rendered a quadraplegic I recall.
The journey to the university is one that I have travelled frequently and often I have things that crop up to remind me of some aspect of my life.
Lunch at the Women's College is also worth attending, but as it was a Christmas function we had roast pork and vegetables and a great choice for dessert. I took a photo of the stained glass in the college. Quite beautiful.
Also I was given the task of taking a photo of the whole group (see below), but we were offered the services of a lovely lady in the kitchen - a professional photographer, so I set my photo up and helped get the 70 members in order, and she took the photo so I was in it.
Around 2 pm I left and returned along the same route that had travelled earlier in the day. Then went to a Christmas function at Beachmere before returning home and having a wonderful long night's sleep.
Along the way I passed many reminders of events in my life. The first was on the highway at Aspley. I can't remember when it was, I am guessing 1984, as I was working for an insurance company and I drove home from an evening appointment around 9 am and as I was passing through an area adjacent to a petrol station I hit three sheet. I was driving in my brand new car - and the sheep ran out in front of me, smashing the whole front of my car. One I killed, one survived and the other was thrown over my car and with broken legs thrashed around behind my car. I ran across to the service station and called the police (no mobile phones in those days!), and went back to the car. I actually cradled the injured sheep in my arms trying to stop it from running amok on the highway. The police were going to shoot it, but it died in my arms. My car was towed away for repairs.
A few kilometers along I passed a street where we used to live. What amazing stories I can tell about life at that house. We lived there only a few years but it was a bit of a party house (nice family parties) as it had a pool. I could write for ages about things that happend there - the drama of the big storm in 1985 (Brisbane has just had another major storm event - the worst since that one in 1985), a rather dramatic Christmas when the young boys who were supposed to be playing happily with their sisters, drank a bottle of whisky and one ended up in hospital! It was where our son taught mice to swim, where my husband had to rescue guinea pigs (while only dressed in his undies) when the back yard flooded and nearly drowned the beloved pets. Oh, there are so many stories from that house.
It was from that house that the children and I left on an amazing adventure in central Queensland, when I drove the children up to Airlie Beach, and we had an amazing series of wonderful adventures.
Further along the road I came to the spot where I had another car accident. When my car was returned after repairs from the sheep incident, and only a couple of weeks later, I was driving around the "roundabout" when a young girl clearly not concentrating, ran into the back of my car. Badly damaged again, but not needing a tow truck. I was not amused. My new car was so battered in its first few months with me. (Luckily that was the last of its dramas!)
Further on was Prince Charles Hospital where I worked back in the 1970's and the 1980's - initially in the cardiac area, and later in the psychiatric section. A lot of memories there!!
I drove past the primary school that my children attended, and also passed a house that figured in our lives when we lived in the area. My son had a friend who lived nearby, and one day the little boy was playing with matches as I recall, and set the house on fire. I remember offering to have the boys stay with us in the days immediately after the fire. I can't recall how long he stayed - perhaps 4 or 5 days, and he went back to his parents. A couple of days later the father and the boy appeared at our door, the father returning the items that the little boy had stolen from me!!! So sad. Some months later the boy ran across the road and was hit by a car - and was rendered a quadraplegic I recall.
The journey to the university is one that I have travelled frequently and often I have things that crop up to remind me of some aspect of my life.
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| Stained glass windows at the Women's College, University of Queensland |
Lunch at the Women's College is also worth attending, but as it was a Christmas function we had roast pork and vegetables and a great choice for dessert. I took a photo of the stained glass in the college. Quite beautiful.
Also I was given the task of taking a photo of the whole group (see below), but we were offered the services of a lovely lady in the kitchen - a professional photographer, so I set my photo up and helped get the 70 members in order, and she took the photo so I was in it.
Around 2 pm I left and returned along the same route that had travelled earlier in the day. Then went to a Christmas function at Beachmere before returning home and having a wonderful long night's sleep.
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| 5W Ladies at Christmas Lunch |
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