Christmas 2005
For the Blakes, 2005 could perhaps be described as the ‘Year of the Concerts’, as we were all entertained on various
occasions.
In January, Ross bought a car while Geoff was visiting his mother in NZ. He had taken driving lessons, obtained his
licence, and organised a car loan! Fiona began work as a law graduate at Phillips Fox Lawyers.
At the end of the month, checks were made and it seemed as if the radiation treatment on my whole brain had worked,
but I have continued with my weekly dose of Herceptin (the monoclonal antibody).
We housed all of Ross's effects when he had to move out of his riverside apartment. His flatmates were both moving
on. He found another abode in February. It is 2-bedroom/2-bathroom accommodation, still within walking distance of
the university. He now shares with a friend from his college days. Ross has really appreciated his car for driving to
work at the Post Office in the wee hours, especially in inclement weather!
In March, Fiona began her PLT course (Practical Legal Training) for admission as a solicitor through the Queensland
College of Law. This was quite demanding of her time, since she was now working every day and doing assignments
at night, as well as studying for exams. The course is condensed into six months, so she knew she would be free at
the end of September.
I managed to arrange the Organic Pest Control people to visit our townhouses, this month. They have proved very
effective and it was wonderful to know that we were not inhaling all those nasty chemicals!
Hamish attended his first concert of the year. The feature band was Nightwish from Finland.
April is my birthday month. Nowadays, I am delighted when I mark such milestones and am happy to notch up
another year! My dear friend, Wendy, has always insisted that we can’t stop having birthdays, so we must enjoy them.
What sage advice. My father and brother Jamie came to Brisbane for the occasion and my brother Don and his wife
Kath joined us for lunch at a city restaurant, as did Fiona Ross and Hamish. My surprise guest was dear friend
Pamela, who arrived bearing a beautiful potted orchid. Geoff took some photos of the occasion. I was sporting a new
ash blonde wig – Geoff insisted I have a new one - as I had to lose my hair because of the radiotherapy in
October/November last year.
Since I had been suffering mild swelling in my right arm, I wanted to investigate the Lymphodema Clinic at the Mater
Hospital, which I did this month. We made numerous visits to the clinic and the physiotherapist was most helpful.
Geoff soon became very interested in the massage and now has researched so much that he is a very good masseur
himself.
Hamish and two of his friends were thrilled to obtain tickets to the Avril Lavigne concert early in the month.
In May, friends of over 30 years, Roslyn and Rob Franklin, treated us to dinner at a riverside restaurant, which was a
lovely surprise indeed. I also attended a fund raising Art Show at the Kindergarten where the daughters of my sister,
Vivienne went to pre-school. Fiona was invited by a girlfriend to go to a Destiny’s Child concert when they were at the
Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Another special occasion was Fiona’s pre-Ball birthday drinks at our place. She and Ross and a large group of friends
were assembling chez-nous for Geoff to take photographs prior to the Law Ball. The theme, this year, was ‘Winter
Wonderland’, so Fiona and I decorated our sitting room with appropriate décor to complement. We thought the
snowflake-covered balloons, fairy lights in tulle, and bowls of silver almonds and white mints on the dining table were
most apt. Can you believe that Fiona is now 24? The greatest surprise for me, though, was when Ross arrived ahead
of the other guests. I was amazed, as he had had his hair cut that day! It had been long, worn in an Ozzy Ozborne
style pony tail, which was always neat and tidy, but this new short coiffure made him look so handsome in his mother’s
eyes!
Early June saw Fiona and her friends off to another Ball. This time they were photographed alongside entrepreneur
Alan Bond, who was the guest speaker at the Bond University Law Ball. The venue was the Surfers’ Paradise Marriott
Hotel. Of course, Balls are not as we remember them! Young people attend in a group rather than having partners and
ball room dancing is a thing of the past.
This month, we also attended the early 21st birthday party of Lizi, the daughter of one of my cousin, Alison. We met
people there that I had not seen for many years.
My father was visiting Brisbane in late June/early July, so we took him to an enjoyable, matinee performance of a
‘Scotland the Brave’ concert at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex on the Brisbane River’s South Bank.
Shortly thereafter, my sister Heather flew in from Hong Kong with her two daughters for their northern Summer
holiday. We caught up with them briefly mid-August at their Gold Coast apartment.
In mid-July, I was invited to a lovely Morning Tea held at a very pretty venue, ‘High Societea’. It was a fund-raiser and
so there were lucky door prizes. I was the fortunate recipient of a prize: a Series of 3 Cheese workshops featuring
Italian, French and Australian cheeses. These were conducted over three months – September, October and
November and were most educational. Samples of the cheese were very impressive.
Prior to Geoff’s flying to NZ for his mother’s 92nd birthday on 25 July, we visited the eldest of my father’s brothers,
Uncle Ferrier Mackenzie, who was celebrating his 90th birthday in a Nursing Home in Toowoomba. It was sad to see
how he has deteriorated with age. Geoff’s mother is not so steady on her feet now, but her mind is very sharp and she
continues to enjoy “surfing the ‘net” on her computer and sending e-mail messages to us and her grandchildren, who
are not resident in Auckland. Geoff investigated nursing homes so that she would have an idea where she would like
to go, once she feels her home of over 60 years is no longer safe for her on her own.
Geoff also drove his mother to Whakatane to catch up with her niece and nephew, Pamela and David Henson, whom
she had not seen for a long time.
This month, although she was not completing her PLT course until end of September, Fiona announced she was
enrolling in a post-graduate Masters of Advertising course at QUT! How punishing, but how enjoyable was this, as she
was able to use her creative abilities!
In the July/August school holidays, a teacher friend from my “Lady Musgrave” days hosted an ‘Open House’ at the
townhouse she had bought at Coorparoo. Geoff and I had a very enjoyable time and Gail took a lovely photo of us.
On 1st August, my father celebrated his 87th birthday. He has remained fit and well, although he slipped in the dry
soil on his property, before any rain had fallen, and crashed onto rocks. He was lucky not to suffer more than bruising.
We are so grateful that he has such a wonderfully enthusiastic outlook on life, enjoys every day and is happy to
participate in whatever anyone has planned.
Fiona finally had some success this month with diagnosing the problems with her elbows and knees. After two years
of traipsing around to various specialists of the medical fraternity, as well as nutritionists and naturopaths, an excellent
young Chinese physiotherapist was amazed that no-one had recognised the problem. He said she is suffering ‘golfer’s
elbow coupled with tennis elbow’. Her knees had been strained from wearing the wrong running shoes when she and
her fellow workers had been training in the city streets for a half-marathon they were entering. Her right arm is
symptomatic of RSI (repetitive strain injury) as a result of all-day computer work and long hours of studying for
university. Sleeping with her arms bent was a major contributory factor, apparently. We believe weekly physiotherapy
sessions are helping.
It was also in August that Geoff and I attended a farewell dinner for one of my cousins, Alison Mackenzie, who was
destined to work in the United Arab Emirates. She had been selected as part of a team of Australian teachers chosen
to establish the Queensland curriculum at a new school being built in Sharjah and, from her e-mail messages, is
having a wonderful time.
As mentioned earlier, Geoff and I saw my sister, Heather, briefly at the Gold Coast when we drove there to collect
Ross from a Science field trip at Sea World. He needed to return to Brisbane before the bus in order to join the 21st
birthday cruise of a friend. I took the opportunity to deliver Christmas gifts for Heather’s girls, so saving postage!
Hamish, meanwhile, attended the Nine Inch Nails concert - an American band who were visiting Australia.
The following week was Show Week in Brisbane and Fiona’s Food and Wine Appreciation Society (FAWAS) used the
public holiday mid-week to host Morning Tea at Queenie’s, a special tea place within walking distance of the
racecourse. The members enjoyed dressing for the races and having delicious food, all on one day.
Hamish asked if he and his girlfriend, Meri, could use our balcony with its view of the Brisbane River to host her
August birthday brunch. They were lucky it was a beautiful day and we think they enjoyed themselves.
Next day, we had friends arrive from NZ. They lunched with us en route to their holiday destination, Noosa on the
Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. Adrienne had been in charge of the house where Geoff lived in Golders Green in
London prior to our marriage. Geoff has caught up with Adrienne and Ron when in NZ, but I had not seen her for
many years. Her sister is now Lady Sylvia Cartwright, the current NZ Governor-General. We enjoyed browsing
through old photographs from our London days.
Geoff has been meticulously sorting 14,000 photographs taken since 1972 when he purchased his first camera. He
found some new albums on sale, so has been extremely busy cataloguing them!
At the end of August, Fiona and I attended the wedding of her friend, Hayley, whom she met in her only year (year 12)
at Somerville House in Brisbane. They have remained in touch, despite Fiona’s year in France and Hayley’s time in
England. Hayley’s mother and I became friends, as both our husbands were working away from Brisbane.
September was notable for several special occasions. Firstly, Geoff and I treated ourselves to Nana Mouskouri’s
Farewell Concert. I had taken my friend, Cherry, to one of her concerts in Brisbane in 1975, as a birthday treat, and
had always had such fond memories of that occasion. Nana was turning 70 in October, so this was to be her final
world tour. Her voice didn’t seem quite as rich as in the past, but she was a spectacular entertainer.
Our second treat was ten days later when Fiona took us to see the Russian Ballet. We chose the matinee
performance of The Nutcracker. What a splendid performance, although our Russian friend, Elena Counsell, was not
as easily impressed! She went to an evening performance of Swan Lake, but felt the standard was not up to her
expectation.
Another lovely occasion was our visit mid-week to Toowoomba to see the beautiful gardens for their famous 'Carnival
of Flowers'. Geoff and I met up with my father, brother Jamie and sister Vivienne with her two little girls, Prue and
Margaux, who had all travelled from Killarney. Another noteworthy item this month was Geoff and Ross’s attendance
at the Small Claims Court, as Ross and his co-tenants had not received a proper refund of their bond money for the
apartment they had vacated at the end of January. The magistrate ruled in their favour as the agent’s paper work was
incomplete! Quite an exercise, but we trust Ross and his flatmates learned from the whole experience, and especially
how important it is to keep records in a good filing system.
On 1st October Ross, Hamish and Meri flew to Sydney to attend a Children of Bodom concert. Ross caught up with
University friends who now reside there and Hamish and Meri explored the state’s capital.
Next, we were delighted to be visited by Geoff’s cousin Margaret and husband Roger Broadbent, who were in
Brisbane briefly. I first met them after our engagement in 1979 when they were living in The Netherlands. They now
live in Melbourne and Roger continues his radio announcing, broadcasting on the ABC Overseas Service.
Geoff and I were in ‘concert mode’ by now and so we treated ourselves to the Elaine Page concert in Brisbane! We
had last seen her on stage in Evita in London in 1979.
Fiona had completed her PLT course, but was busy obtaining referees to support her admission as a solicitor. We are
most grateful to all who provided her references.
Geoff’s niece, Sally, husband Jim McDermaid and their 5-year-old daughter, Caitie, were visiting the Gold Coast for
the Indy car race and decided to drive to Brisbane prior to their return to Sydney. We dined with them at a city
restaurant amid a wild electrical storm!
We celebrated Geoff’s birthday this month by dining at a Turkish restaurant, complete with beautiful belly dancer! We
have both Ross and Geoff captured on film, dancing with the femme fatale!
November in Australia is famous for its Melbourne Cup which always falls on the first Tuesday of the month. Our
family shall never forget Melbourne Cup Day 1997, when we were shocked by the awful news of my mother’s sudden
death. Not a day goes by without my thinking of her, but she would be the first to remind us that ‘Life must go on!’ This
year was a happier Melbourne Cup Day for us. Fiona was free of exams for the first time and decided to attend the
actual race meeting at Flemington and to enter the Fashions on the Field. We were instructed to watch the full
television coverage and there she was, captured forever on film! She didn’t win the Saab, but had a marvellous time.
When in Melbourne, Fiona and her friend, Ben, were lucky enough to obtain wonderful seats to the musical version of
the Lion King, which has not been performed in Brisbane. I hope one day to organise Geoff and Fiona so that she can
don her Melbourne Cup outfit and Geoff can taken photos of her as she was on Melbourne Cup Day.
Ross and Hamish attended an Arch Enemy concert in Brisbane at approximately the same time.
The following week, my father, barrister brother Don, and sister Vivienne, joined us at the Law Courts to see Fiona
admitted as a solicitor, after which, as is traditional, we had a special luncheon in the city.
We do enjoy living where we do, as every so often we unexpectedly bump into friends from yesteryear while at our
shopping mall. Most recently, we saw Lawrie and Louann Baker. I had worked for Lawrie at Queensland House in
London in the late 70s. Geoff had not seen them since those days. We had fun catching up!
I was also surprised to meet Ursula Ash with whom I had worked at my Uncle Bill’s oral surgery practice at th end of
the 1960s. Geoff and I were in the City and I just happened to glance at a lady waiting for a special bus. It was Ursula
and she told me she was celebrating her 80th birthday the next day! I had not seen her for almost 36 years!
November marks our wedding anniversary and our boys’ birthdays. I was happy not to be in hospital for our 26th
anniversary. Our friends, Vicki and Saleh, who were married in November 1979, the same time as we were, (they in
Kuwait/we in Brisbane) advised us by e-mail that they were briefly in Australia from Egypt, this year, so we could chat
by phone easily. I had desperately hoped we might see them in person last year when I was planning to visit the
Middle East for our Silver Wedding(s).
This year, we have graduated from the teenage years! Ross is now 22 and Hamish 20. Ross juggled his exams with
work and had three consecutive days of exams, finishing on his birthday! He is so pleased he has passed all of them,
despite this horrid schedule. He expects to finish his degree mid-2006. We have observed that Ross has matured into
a very nice young gentleman, this year.
Hamish decided to defer his studies in first semester and then again in second semester. He has had janitorial jobs,
worked at KFC, but more recently was appointed Manager of the Crepe Café in the Food Court of our nearby
shopping mall. He is well organised and ‘runs a good ship’ – for example, he showed the Saturday staff a list of jobs
that had to be covered that day and said: “Some tasks are easy, some are hard, but they must be done, so please
choose which ones you would like to do.” Of course, the ‘young’ staff (15-18 years!) opted for the easy jobs and
Hamish tackled the harder ones, but he was pleased that everything was accomplished co-operatively. He has learnt
a lot about people!
Water restrictions were imposed because of the lack of rain, although we have enjoyed some electrical storms since.
Water is a precious commodity and we must be mindful of any wastage, but what a nuisance it is be without a laundry!
Our Maytag washer, which is over twelve years old, started leaking and so Geoff consulted the Maytag webpage on
the Internet and felt he could fix it with the proper parts, but they had to come from Sydney. He enjoyed the challenge
and everything seems to be working well now.
I looked at our diary after the birthdays and the washing machine episode and realised that we were free of
commitments until late in the month, so Geoff and I spontaneously decided to drive to Sydney. In our short time there,
we managed to catch up with quite a number of people, including Anne Maree and Jim Alexander, Vicki from Cairo
(Saleh had already returned), Peter Hussey (Geoff's assistant on the Darling Harbour Project), Stuart and Sue Miln
(second generation Blake family friends) who live at rural Camden, Geoff’s niece and nephews who are all currently
resident in Sydney after stints in London, Ireland and Canada, respectively, and Elizabeth Pynor, our next door
neighbour from ‘86/’87, when we lived in Sydney prior to our relocation to Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, we were not
able to see everyone on our list, but hope to do so if are able to return in late January for Anne Maree and Jim’s
combined special birthday celebrations!
We arrived back in Brisbane in time for me to attend the end-of-year ballet concert of my niece, Prue, who is 6. It was
delightful and I think it was a fitting end to my ‘year of concerts’.
We were thrilled also to be at the airport to collect Richard Oakey, one of Geoff’s friends from his late 1960s yachting
days in NZ. Richard had flown in from north Queensland where he had been visiting his son. Not only is Rich very
interesting (he’s a scientist), but he is an extremely nice person. Geoff sees Rich and his wife Helen in NZ, but I had
not previously met him. It was a fine day, so we showed him some of the highlights of Brisbane and took him to dinner
in the city before returning him to his airport motel. He had an early morning return flight to Auckland.
Ross had purchased his last concert ticket for the year in March and patiently held it until December. It featured the
band Mötorhead before headlining the original Mötley Crüe. He said this was done in typical Mötley Crüe style with
pyrotechnics, onstage strippers and midget fire-breathers. I do hope that our boys value their hearing, but I am sure it
is already impaired after such exposure as on these nights of assorted subgenres of "heavy metal" noise.
Suddenly, the festive season and the heat of Summer is upon us and already we have received cards and letters. We
thank you for all your news throughout the year and your expressions of concern for my welfare. I apologise if I have
not responded as quickly as I should. I am due to undergo scans again shortly and hope that horrid treatment doesn’t
ensue. I discarded my wig in Winter and now sport curls albeit with a very strange scattering of silvery strands. The
radiotherapy has caused re-growth to make me look rather like a Jewish skunk! I have a cap of dark curls on the
crown like a Jewish skull cap and a stripe of more silvery hair from my forehead to the crown rather like a skunk while
the remaining curls are darker with silver strands! On that note… May we wish you Merry Christmas!