Confessions of a Free Range Prolapsed Catholic

I have recently been reminded of the magnificence of the Pomp and Circumstance Marches written by Edward Elgar for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. As a music teacher, listening to them was compulsory for elective music classes. Google tells me that the title comes from Shakespeare’s Othello, and the line “Pride, pomp…

I was born in 1951. I was born into a Catholic family. I was educated well and in catholic schools. My Dad had a good job, well respected. My Mum was an “ at home Mum”. She took on responsibility, with Dad, for providing a home for her Mother. Grandma was a “present” for me…

The title of this contribution was my mantra for the last thirty years of working as a teacher. Today, five years post retirement it has come screaming back into my psyche as a result of a phone call to the Chemist. With every other thing that is going on, however, the prospect of my bud…

One of my favourite movies is “a Time to Kill”. It stars Matthew McConaughey. To me, he is this generation’s Clint Eastwood. The movie tells of an horrific rape of a little Afro-American girl aged about 6 or 7 by a group of deadbeat racist white trash in the South. The father of the little…

In my 30’s I read a book titled “The White Chrysanthemum changing images of Australian Motherhood” .It was a collection of stories selected by Nancy Keesing published in 1977, the year before the arrival of my third child. I recently found a copy on line and I am salivating at the prospect of getting it…

From another State, another one is on his way, Hard to believe but another young man in the gene pool has collected L plates, with suction cups, and is on his way to taking control of the driver’s seat! When I first saw the picture, sent by his beautiful Mum to my iPhone I wondered…

It was October 24th, 37 years and about 8 days ago. First born male child arrived on October 24th, 1972. He was ( and remains) spectacular! Clever, interested in history fascinated by words, voice like an angel, taller than every other boy in his class, he had a lot of “who do you think you…

In recent days I have been distracted from pandemic mania by a blast from the past. Double vaccinated, assured my husband who is up for heart procedure in a couple of days in COVID Free, an invitation to join a facebook page about the school I worked at as a first year our teacher, beginning…

It was my first year of teaching. Non elective music was the thing that, to people in the know, was an absolute necessity for all students from first form to fourth form. I do not remember the exact allocation of hours but somehow in my very first year of teaching I ended up with 9E7…

Its all a bit much! Living life on the pause button is starting to get to me! BUT at least I live in Australia. I wince and complain about the inconvenience of it all. Can’t go out. Gotta get groceries delivered. Gotta purchase on line. Gotta FaceTime my kids and their kids. Gotta listen to…