Bring Your Own Ladder at Lake George!

In this recording extract, Clyde recalls the shallow and at times dangerously choppy waters of Lake George (or Weerewaa in the indigenous language) outside Canberra; a lake regarded as 'mysterious' for its cycles of drying out and filling- and who could believe - once the hub for various yacht and water ski-ing clubs!

These reminiscences provide great social contrast and underlining of Australia's vulnerability to drought. Many would be surprised at the thought of past generations arriving at the lake prepared with ladders to fish in Lake George! Listen in at: http://www.archive.org/details/YachtAndWaterskiClubsOnLakeGeorgeReminiscence

O-Wings, Hay in the Wings and the picturesque Rocky Mountains

Training to get his O-wings as an Observer with the RAAF in WWII, Clyde spent time in Canada  flying through the Rocky Mountains. Listen to a humorous account of haystacks, some wild training pilots on leave  from Europe and the cost of forgetting those pesky wind-up-aerials  while landing an Avro Anson.
http://www.archive.org/details/OwingshayInTheWingsAndRaafObserverTrainingWwiiCanada

The Threads of Memory

The internet proved useful and adpatable to responding to residents' stories. When Clyde and I pored over printouts of  post-war Singer sewing machine models online, I became fascinated by sewing machines and the stories around them. For a fascinating view onto some stories:
 http://www.singermemories.com/
Above: Image from Betty's album of her mother, Frances. Frances made mens' pyjamas for the Red Cross during WWII and sewed Betty's wedding dress. Here she's seen on her well loved Singer Sewing machine 62 years ago - sewing away in 1947.