What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

I am a proud Australian whom was fortunate enough to study Australian History in my final year of secondary school. I loved learning about the history of Melbourne, particularly from the 1850s onwards, the Gold rush and how Melbourne became one of the wealthiest cities in the world, with buildings of grandiose architecture.

The history of Melbourne was wonderful to study, but the indigenous history was only briefly mentioned and mostly overlooked. Our textbooks briefly said that Aboriginal Australians were Hunters and Gatherers and had been here for over 40,000 years. That was the only piece of Aboriginal history we learned.

Thank God when I got to go to university 🙏 I learned a bit more about Aboriginal history and the Dreamtime. Admittedly this was mainly in Children’s literature classes, where reading stories of the dreaming to children was becoming in vogue.

Most of my knowledge of Aboriginal history has come through watching the ABC , and also from my reading, particularly the book My Place by Sally Morgan. At university one of my closest friends was Aboriginal and I spent a fair amount of time with her in Melbourne University’s Koorie Unit. I also spent a lot of time observing how she was treated by others, and I am ashamed to say that at times she was given tokenistic support, or was downright discriminated against. I was enraged by how people could be nice to her in public, then treat her like a joke, when she wasn’t around.

I would like to learn more indigenous history and stories of the Dreaming. I would like to be better informed about the indigenous people of the land that is my home. Acquiring knowledge is how we begin to overcome racism.

What could you do more of?

The 2 things I would like to do more of are walking Lily on sunny days as it is exercise and bonding time for us both and of course I would like to spend a lot of time writing ✍️ my blog and books. Simple but good both things are.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The best piece of advice I was ever given was lovingly given to me by one of my brothers. It was during my first hospitalisation for my mental health issues. My brother kindly said that from then onwards I was to surround myself with good people. I took that advice on board and very consciously followed it from that day onwards.

I was wise enough to know that if I wanted good people in mu life that I would need to strive to be a good person myself, so I chose to be the best version of myself I could be, given the circumstances I was in.

My advice to everyone is to attract good people in your life, by being a good person yourself. My brother gave me some really good advice indeed.

What things give you energy?

The sort of things in my life that give me energy are my daily morning routine of breakfast, a shower, getting love from Lily and walking her in the fresh morning 🌄 sunshine and air.

The other thing that gives me energy is what’s known as “unconditional positive regard’. Any one whom has studied psychology will be aware of the term ‘unconditional positive regard ‘ a term Carl Rogers coined,about how the best therapy for troubled people was to treat them with ‘unconditional positive regard’. This is so true, and being an empathy I practiced unconditional positive regard in my work in peer support in mental health. We all feel better about ourselves when we are given this type of support, and my many loving friends give me lots of it, as I do give them. It comes naturally to me to show my loved ones unconditional positive regard and it is something I firmly believe in. We all fare better when we are shown positivity and I do it in many little ways, like sending good morning 🙏 🌄 gif greetings 🙏 to my loved ones. It is good therapy to practice and it is FREE. We reap what we sow, so practice unconditional positive regard in your life and the universe will reward you with such, in abundance.

Goodwill generates goodwill and brings positive energy to your life.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

My all time favourite album would have to be the Split Enz album True Colours. It was the album that made Split Enz a household name and cemented the musical careers of both Tim and Neil Finn. I Got You was on this album and won Neil Finn songwriter of the year for it. It also featured Tim Finn’s beautiful sad song 🎵 I Hope I Never.

There are many other iconic albums I love by Australian artists from Moving Pictures ‘Days of Innocence ” album to Goanna’s ‘Spirit Of Place’. I have a rich and diverse collection of 🎶 music and my tastes have changed throughout the years but True Colours remains my sentimental favourite.

Which topics would you like to be more informed about?

This topic is very relevant to me at the moment as I am endeavour to set up a shop with ETSY online. I started the process a few days ago, by myself and to begin with I was successful at it. I have nearly totally set it up, but have hit a technical snag. I am not great technology wise, but did manage to set up a blog on my own, so how much harder it should it be to set up ETSY. At the moment I am taking a brief break from it and hope to try again and hopefully 🙏 make progress on it soon. At times I wish I was more technology smart and was more competent when it comes to technology. Oh well, I guess that makes me a typical middle aged person, trying to keep up with change in this 🌎 world. So I guess I would like to be more informed and educated technology wise.

What would your life be like without music?

I can’t imagine a life without music. Music is one of my great loves ❤️ 😍 and I don’t even really want to contemplate a life in which music doesn’t exist. It would be tragic because the beauty and meaning of music 🎶 bring so much joy and feeling to all the human race.

I look back on my life and various memories are tied to particular songs, everything from Neil Finns love anthem to his wife Message To My Girl” to 1927s That’s When I Think Of You ” to Hunters and Collectors 🎵 “Throw Your Arms Around Me” to the Beatles “Let It Be” many , many songs have so much meaning for me, literally hundreds of songs mean a lot to me and are the soundtrack to my life. I’m quite sure everyone else on the plane is the same.

Without music, life as we know it would end. It could never happen because God would never deprive us of something so beautiful and meaningful. Music is my life, my life is music as Marcia Hines once sung. Music is the food of love and those who bring it to us are the tableware.

How do you celebrate holidays?

For the past few years I have celebrated Christmas at my brother Peter’s home. I do try to catch up with the other members of my family at this time as well. I also try to see my closest friends on the lead up to Christmas..

At Easter and other holidays I try to catch up with my loved one’s too. There always seems to be picnics around Australia Day or Cup Day, but honestly since covid these occasions are rare.

Normally I am happy to be a homebody, but I do like to catch up with friends regularly and do things like opshopping and going out for lunch.

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I wish I had learned earlier in life to 100% trust my gut instincts about people, particularly men. It could’ve saved me a lot of heartache. When I was married, I ignored the red flags and my churning gut instincts that were telling me something was seriously wrong in my marriage. I trusted my husband and fell for the act he was putting on, even though my instincts were screaming at me that my husband was a charlatan.

In the end I trusted my women’s intuition and left the marriage. It was not the first time I had been taken in by a charlatan.

I know to trust my dog Lily. Lily is a lovely little dog, but she doesn’t like every man that crosses our path. I know if Lily seems anxious and upset by different men to be wary. Fortunately the first man Lily met through me was my friend Russell. Russell is amazingly lovely, and the most wonderful man I have ever met. So I believe Lily rates men against Russell, who is just so lovely, that other men don’t rate so well.

I know Lily’s gut instincts are always to protect me, so I pay attention to her and avoid encounters with those she does not trust.

What are your favorite types of foods?

My two favourite types of food are Italian and Indian. Both are unique and both do great vegetarian options. I love pizza and pasta and love the spices and smell of both, particularly Indian. I would love to visit both Italy 🇮🇹 and 🇮🇳 India to immerse myself in the food and culture.