Miscellaneous Collection by Gretchen Bernet-Ward
| As part of the RSL Queensland’s ‘Light up the Dawn’ campaign, all residents are encouraged to say The Ode and take the pledge by standing in your driveway, on your balcony or in your living room at 6am on ANZAC Day to remember all those who have served. You can learn more on the link below. |
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
In July 2020, Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, would have been 59 years old. I don’t know about you but that makes me feel old!
I guess I kept these magazines as a small piece of vicarious history, a trip down memory lane. Photographs are taken from my old copies of Hello! (August 1997) The Australian Women’s Weekly (May 1998, June 2000) and Who Weekly (June 2001) in memory of the late Princess of Wales.
The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was born The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer on Saturday, 1 July 1961, in Norfolk England. She received the title Lady Diana Spencer in 1975, when her father inherited his Earldom.
Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, The Prince of Wales, at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, becoming Princess of Wales. The ceremony was watched on television by millions of people around the world. As I recall her silk wedding gown looked crushed as she alighted from the royal carriage.
One warm night in April 1983 I waited beside the bitumen road as Charles and Diana left Government House, Brisbane, to travel into the city for an official function. The Rolls Royce was lit from within and I recall how Diana glowed and smiled even though the figures beyond her window would have been shadows.
During her marriage, the Princess of Wales undertook a wide range of royal duties with extensive overseas travel. Family was very important to Diana, who had two sons: Prince William and Prince Henry (Harry). After her divorce from The Prince of Wales in August 1996, the Princess continued to be regarded as a member of the Royal Family.
Post-divorce, Lady Diana filmed a controversial interview about her marriage. She died on Sunday, 31 August 1997, following a tragic car crash in Paris, believed to be caused by paparazzi chasing her vehicle through a tunnel. After purchasing the Courier-Mail newspaper, my father told me the news and I was disbelieving, shocked.
There was widespread (and world-wide) public mourning over the sudden death of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, a hugely popular royal, culminating with her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 September 1997. After the funeral, there was a long cavalcade by road to a small island on Althorp Estate, her family’s ancestral home in Northhampshire, England. The streets around my home were silent, everyone watching Diana’s last journey. It is hard to forget the funeral hearse driving past so many sad faces and billowing seas of flowers on route to her final destination.
Even after her untimely death, the Princess’s work lives on in the form of commemorative charities and projects set up to help those in need. And also through her married sons Prince William (heir to the royal throne) Prince Harry, and in time their respective children.
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Book Jotter information
https://bookjotter.com/2020/03/01/wales-readathon-2020/
DHQ 2020
https://bookjotter.com/2018/03/26/dhq-dewithon19/
Week 1 Discussion
https://bookjotter.com/2020/03/06/dewithon-20-week-1-one-moonlit-night-by-caradog-prichard/
Gretchen’s stuff
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2020/02/21/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Here’s what coordinator, author and literary entrepreneur, Michelle Worthington has to say in her newsletter: ‘This year’s theme ‘Bedtime Yarns and Ballads from the Australian Bush’ will have judges looking for creative, engaging short stories or poems inspired by life in Australia, Australian animals, the Outback or overcoming adversity which will appeal to children aged 0 to 12 years to be read at bedtime.’
A ‘yarn’ is a rambling story, particularly one that is implausible, and poetry must be in traditional Australian ballad format. Michelle encourages writers to think of a modern version of Blinky Bill, Banjo Patterson, Dorothea Mackellar, ‘Wombat Stew’ (I add my own personal favourite ‘Snugglepot and Cuddlepie’) for a new generation of readers.
Michelle Worthington goes on to say ‘We would love aspiring authors of all ages to have the chance to be published in our next Anthology to raise money for Aussie’s doing it tough, with proceeds donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service’.
NOTE: ‘The winning entries will be included in an Anthology to be launched in October 2020, and all successful authors and illustrators will be invited as VIP Guests to the Pyjama Party Book Launch at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and locations around Australia during the launch month.’
For competition guidelines and entry requirements, visit the website to sign up for Share Your Story newsletter
https://shareyourstorypublishing.com/
Michelle Worthington is an international award-winning author and business woman. As Founder of Share Your Story Australia, she waves her wand to coach aspiring authors and illustrators all over the world to achieve their dreams of publication. Michelle is also available for speaking engagements, book signings and school visits. She runs diverse workshops, and if you are thinking of becoming a writer, check out Share Your Story or visit Facebook or contact Michelle for further information.
Act For Peace https://www.actforpeace.org.au/
ActAlliance https://actalliance.org/
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
A thought-provoking message from Paula Bardell-Hedley and Tove Jansson’s Moomins on the campaign to combat the pollution degrading the Baltic Sea.
In 2020 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of ‘The Moomins and the Great Flood’, Moomin Characters Ltd, along with its partners, is launching #OURSEA, a one-year campaign to save this stretch of ocean and its cultural heritage. Read on…..
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Sometimes referred to as the great ‘creation myth of moominology’, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945) was the first of Tove Jansson’s eight Moomin novels, introducing the world to the extraordinary inhabitants of Moominland.
To celebrate the book’s 75th anniversary in 2020, Moomin Characters Ltd., along with its partners, is launching #OURSEA, a one-year campaign to help the Baltic Sea. Their objective is to collect one million euros for John Nurminen Foundation’s work to save this stretch of ocean and its cultural heritage for future generations.
One of the most significant sources of inspiration for Tove’s art and writing was the Baltic Sea, but it is now among the most polluted in the world and desperately in need of help.
What is happening to the Baltic Sea?
The focus of the #OURSEA campaign is on…
View original post 387 more words
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward © 2019
As we all know,
Christmas is fast approaching,
the silly season has begun,
in gift shops,
in department stores,
kids unable to settle in the classroom,
grass is brown and dry,
barbecue grills are being checked,
sunscreen is stockpiled,
food is flying off the supermarket shelves,
chlorine levels are dosed,
wrapping paper is being unfurled,
groups are having break-up parties,
bells jingle in the hands of Santa as he strolls through the mall,
queues in to the carpark,
queues out of the carpark,
tempers rise,
decisions have to be made about Christmas lunch,
European or Australian,
the temperature is predicted to be in the high 30°s Celsius,
the air-conditioning struggles at midday,
birds welcome the water in birdbaths,
dog water bowls appear outside cafés,
hats and beach umbrellas are selling fast,
flashy new decorations for an old tree,
family car washed and waxed ready to collect grandparents,
music is Christmas themed,
commercials blare out what we need for a happy fun festive season,
there is more than one man behind Christmas,
the wealth in the world prefers to use a generic symbol,
An old lady sits alone on the edge of her bed,
tears in her eyes,
sad for what is lost,
sad for who has gone,
that t-shirt-stained boy who sits on a park bench,
heatwaves shimmering off the concrete path,
wondering if he will see his Dad,
wondering if he will get a present,
put it under the tree he created from twigs,
we need each other,
we need our friends,
text a lunch date,
money spent at Christmastime isn’t going to mean much,
if there’s nobody to reminisce with in the new year,
friends share your life whether it seems like it or not,
they are part of you.
♥ © Gretchen Bernet-Ward
WHEN a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Poetry Collection “Mountain Interval” 1920
