Christina Winifred Peat. Mum was born on 27th November 1920, the only child of her mother, Christina Elizabeth Davies. Her father and mother separated and divorced shortly afterwards, and I understand that as an adult my mother met her biological father and grandparents several times, they were Swedish, and their appearance was short and round, maybe that is why my grandmother who was 6ft tall looked so different from my mother. My mother grew up in an area where in the same street, remily street Lakemba, her mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles all lived. Her grandmother, named Hester Elizabeth lived well into her nineties and died at home of old age. My mother told me that back in the UK where her grandmother originated that she had witnessed the “bellringing” of someone being buried alive, and, to this end, after her passing my mum witnessed the doctor putting a darning needle through her finger to prove to my mother and grandmother that she was dead. They grew their own vegetables, baked their own bread, and lived a simple life of sharing amongst family and friends during the depression years. Work was hard to get, and my grandmother married a wonderful man, Richard Fewell, who adopted my mother and became the father she longed for. Her happiest early memories were of them being a family. My grandfather worked away a lot, on the railways and my grandmother and grandfather became estranged. Mum lost contact with him for years, and searched for him before the age of computers etc. Peter and I picked up on this search, and we located him for Mum, and drove her to see him. The reunion between my mother and grandfather was wonderful, and my grandfather regained his family, and we, mum, dad, peter and I and bug and Stephen, remained in regular contact with grandfather until he died. Mum left school and worked as a seamstress at a shirt factory in Belmore called “crystals” run by Mr Crystal himself. She was trained in all of the industrial machines, and became the leading hand for collars. During the Second World War years the factory at one stage had to fix thousands of US 2 officers’ shirts that had been sewn with their collars on backwards by another firm. My mother lead the team of workers on shifts in order to complete this huge task, and besides a bonus, the factory received a box of nylon stockings as a thank you. Mum was extremely proud of this accomplishment. The crystal girls were the only ones at dances with stockinged legs. Mum married, only briefly, to a man who had a motorcycle, and developed a love of being a pillion passenger. Prior to this her dad used to ride and there were a number of photos of mum in a sidecar travelling around with her dad on a bike. Mum loved to dance, and was an accomplished ballroom dancer in her day. She never pursued it as any more than a hobby, but the temptation to dance was always too much for her at weddings and gatherings, and, having taught me to dance the waltz, quickstep, pride of Erin, barn dance etc, i used to always have to dance with her, as my father had two totally left feet and absolutely no idea of how to dance. Mum was affectionately known to a few special people as “ginge” I only ever heard my grandfather, two of mums cousins and two friends ever call her that. Mum and dad had friends who lasted a lifetime, a number of whom I was privileged to be able to help keep in contact with. Although Mum was an only child I was raised knowing Mums cousins and aunts and uncles as family as well as her friends. My godmother, Aunty Kath, was mums cousin, and we visited Aunty Kath and Uncle Alan before Uncle Alan passed. They met Amelia and Chris which was something special for mum and I to be able to share with them. Mums best friend always was Aunty Rose. Mum married dad after the war. This year they would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in September. They were married for 39 years. Mum and dad married when she was 29. Mum had several miscarriages, and mum and dad had their first son, Stephen, who was born prematurely in 1954 and passed away 24 hours after his birth. Mum told me that she never saw Stephen, but Dad held him before he died. 3 I was born in 1956, with my brother, Kenneth being born 4 years later. During my childhood we were raised in a working class environment with my father working from dawn to dusk six days a week. My mother stayed at home as was the norm in the 50/s and 60/s and took in sewing and minded children for extra cash. Mum and Dad had the backyard of our Denman ave home divided into sections. There was the house yard, with clothes line and concrete area, a huge vege patch and a chook yard at the back which had a magnificent mulberry tree in it. Dad used to grow most of our vegies, including all salad vegies. As a child I would forever pinch the beautiful roma tomatoes from the vine which mum used to call egg tomatoes. During one particular summer afternoon i was warned not to eat any tomatoes. Of course i did and on my way to my bedroom my mother asked me again whether or not i had eaten any tomatoes. I denied it, and she said “good, cause your father sprayed them with poison yesterday to stop the insects and you will die if you’ve eaten them” So for several hours as a 7-8 year old i waited to die. I learnt to wash them before eating them. During my childhood years and early teens I have fond memories of my mother and grandmother doing baking days. My grandmother was a wonderful pastry cook, and i would be sent to the chook yard to pick mulberries, or apples, and rhubarb from the veg garden and pies would be baked all day. At least ½ were given away, or swapped for other food. May School holidays meant that Mum and Kenny were left at home so that dad and I could visit dad’s relatives in Muswellbrook. January holidays were always preceded by a Christmas Eve gathering, where mum placed a Christmas paper covered box in a corner of the lounge room, and during the preceding months mum would make numerous items such as aprons or doilies or crotchet pillow cases as presents for those in attendance. After Christmas we would all head off to either long jetty or the entrance for 2 weeks holiday. Where we would eat copious amounts of fish and chips and play cards when it 4 inevitably rained. Mum loved cards and board games, and was quite skilled at it. Initially we were raised in a house in Lakemba, and then moved to Augusta St punchbowl, the last house that mum and dad shared together. My wedding reception was held at Augusta Street, i was married on mums 56th birthday. My mother’s best friend, Rose, was my matron of honour, and Selena was my flower girl, with Mum making each gown for the wedding, including my wedding dress. By far the greatest joy in my mother’s life was her grandchildren. Mum eagerly “adopted” Selena as a grandchild, and used to take great delight in having Selena all of the time whilst Peter and i both worked. She loved taking Selena shopping because everyone thought that Selena was her real granddaughter because they looked so much alike with the red hair and chubby faces and freckles. Every grandchild was special. Bug because he is so much like his grandfather, both in looks and personality. Stephen because of his Pa saying he was identical in features to his namesake and because of his loyalty to his grandmother Amelia because she after all was the only granddaughter and a red head to boot! Christopher, mum’s namesake her “little man”, her youngest grandchild Memories, memories of salmon rissoles on Good Friday. Almost Everybody loved her salmon rissoles. Memories of her stay at Hill top and with Bug and Belinda at Bowral. Memories of birthday parties with almost everyone jumping or being pushed into the pool at Chris’ party. Playing cards , checkers and any other board games she could. 5 Memories of Christmas at Hill Top with Amelia straight out of hospital and us eating Christmas dinner at 10pm at night. Amelia and mum spending hours watching musicals or john Wayne westerns. TV shows such as home and away, blue heelers, wheel of fortune and frost. Memories of mum hiding Easter eggs in Amelia’s bedroom only to have red the dog steal them all! Memories of mum peter and I watching the horror on early morning television of 911, live when it first happened. Chocolate chocolate and more chocolate. Mum was always very partial to chocolate. Her favourite was Cadburys peppermint chocolate, and she loved fruit and nut but couldn’t chew the nuts. Caramello was also a favourite along with Turkish delight And don’t forget her Benson and hedges special filter. And on odd occasions a scotch (Johnny walker or white heather) and dry. Fig jam, lan choo then later dilmar tea and twinings lemon scented. Nice biscuits. Always Arnott’s biscuits. My phoning mum shortly after Stephen was born and her running out of the elevator at Bankstown hospital with her apron still on. Dad wasn’t at home so she rang a cab and was nursing Stephen within 15 minutes. My phoning mum at 2-30am to tell her that Christopher was born, and her complaining at me that now she had to wait hours to tell anyone. She started phoning at 6am and woke all of her friends up anyway.....I can envisage her now waiting at the phone and checking her watch every 5 minutes.....it must have been torture for her.... Mum loved bingo, from the time we were children and going on holidays where there used to be a bingo hall at the entrance, where we would go to and have to sit quietly whilst mum played. In later years at hill top she used to love going with Kate and Melissa. 6 Mum loved the companionship of people, and enjoyed her friendship with the Stephenson’ The whole family, especially Kate became a good friend to mum and were rewarded with a now famous crotchet blanket. Mum loved the pokies. She never ever gambled more than she could afford, and usually won a little. She liked a roast dinner at Mittagong rsl and with every visit to hill top had to make a visit to the rsl Mum enjoyed being with us with our involvement of hill top war memorial hall and the 50th anniversary. Several times she crocheted blankets to be used as prizes in raffles and enjoyed being an invited guest during the official opening of the war memorial wall. Mum loved her first great grandchild, Christine. I am sure she would have also loved billy and issabella if she had known them. My last two memories of mum were, after years of searching, when I found her in a small villa in Minto. She was so glad to see me, and i was able to reassure her of how much she was loved by all of us. Contrary to what she had been told. She fought and argued with my brother when he arrived, and i know then that she loved us. He dragged her away from me with her yelling, no, no, i want to see Jan. She remembered all of us, even without her photos, and I managed to briefly tell her about each of you. My last memories are of her clinging to Stephen, crying her eyes out and saying to Stephen that she wanted to see him and bug and that nothing and no one would stop her. Unfortunately that did not happen; I believe it was beyond her control. I do believe that whilst ever she remembered us she loved us. The nurse who looked after my mum for the last 6 months of her life told me that she was a nice little old lady who didn’t know anyone or remember their names, she never spoke of any family, not even dad, but always wanted a cuddle from the staff. She loved chocolate, TV and ice cream, and the only memory she had was of crocheting. Up until the morning she died she was still crocheting and used to pick up the crocheted blanket on her lap and start 7 Crocheting onto that. Mum quietly slipped away, whilst sleeping in her armchair alone in her room at 10am on Saturday 13th February, 2010. I visited Queen Vic yesterday, and mums chair was placed by her window with a view overlooking the front driveway, a garden and the Australian flag flying high. She would have liked looking out at that. God bless you Mum.