The Governor General Cleaned My Shoes

“Even before I was born, I was trying to do things my own way. I made life difficult for my mother, Jess, who was confined to bed for the last trimester of her pregnancy. I had disappointed my father, Geoff, by insisting that I be born a day earlier than his birthday, and I had mercifully waylaid their plans to call me Elizabeth.”

So begins my story that has me watching rockets going up at the Woomera Rocket Range, beating the boys at marbles (and winning the prized milky white marble with coloured orange waves), nearly being run over in a toilet, swimming with a snake on my way to inspect a very dead horse, setting tongues wagging in Canberra in a Commonwealth car and eliminating plastic bananas from Australia’s entire eastern seaboard. And yes, the Governor General did clean my shoes.

A Moment in Time: Childhood Memories

Melinda’s journey begins in the bustling streets of Bristol, where childhood memories of candy-filled visits to Sid’s shop and daring paper rounds paint a vivid picture of innocence and adventure. As she navigates the challenges of growing up in a tight-knit community, Melinda’s life is a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of youth. Her story is a nostalgic exploration of simpler times, filled with the sweet taste of frozen Mars bars and the camaraderie of schoolyard friendships.

From the lively streets of Totterdown to the serene landscapes of South Wales, Melinda’s tale is one of love, loss, and the indomitable human spirit. She faces the trials of adulthood with the same determination that saw her through childhood adventures, finding strength in family, work, and the occasional act of kindness. A Moment in Time: Childhood Memories is a heartfelt memoir that captures the essence of a life lived fully, marked by the highs and lows that make us who we are. Join Melinda as she reflects on her past, embraces the present, and looks forward to the future with hope and grace.

Crown of Crowns

Incepted into his Neo-Trinity at birth, Andy showed strong divergent capabilities as a small child. Belonging to a respected family, he is raised to be loyal, patriotic, and resilient. After the wool industry collapsed in Australia and farmers were stripped of their water rights, things looked scarily grim for Andy.

As a result, Andy wound up in a strict Christian brothers’ college in Adelaide, which has a reputation. Caught in a pre-existing football rivalry, he is stubborn and infuriates some, as they can’t seem to compete on a level playing field. This causes diabolical incidents of skulduggery from some of his peers to come into play.

Startling many, Andy revolts against society and runs with the devil, who has seduced him. Aware of his mischief, his parents do whatever it takes to secure their son’s safety. While enduring decades of suppression from every direction, the belief and love for Andy is far too great for his foes to befall. Thus, through the power of his Neo-Trinity, Andy finds his deliverance.

A Coven of Cats

A Coven of Cats tells the true story of the author’s longstanding love affair with cats. It begins with her experiences of growing up with cats, from the age of four, and continues with the narrative of her ongoing relationship with felines, culminating in her (and her husband’s) love affairs with Burmese: animals that combine the best (and worst) features of cats, dogs and monkeys!

The book is full of humour, high drama and the tragedy of loss. The central characters are the cats but the story revolves around the intimate relationship between cats and their human staff.

A Coven of Cats demonstrates how enriching it can be for humans to share life’s ups and downs with these animals. Far from the aloofness sometimes ascribed to felines, this book shows how loving, exciting and rewarding life with cats can be.

The World According to Stoopball

In the Bronx of the 1930s, paradise for a kid was stickball in the street or roasting potatoes in a vacant lot. Nuns ran school with a firm hand, while the restless work ethic of immigrant communities shaped life at home. Long before the digital era, young people ruled the world of play. But they grew up quickly against a backdrop of war. Retired Rear Admiral (USNR) Joe Callo revisits his youth and offers insight on the pursuit of meaning in an over-circuited modern age.

Shattered

Life and Death

A young girl can’t stop bleeding, a husband has just found out his wife has terminal cancer.

A twenty-five-year-old has been permanently disfigured by her abusive boyfriend. A young nurse was found hanged in her room, the note she left stating stress from work and bullying.

I and my fellow colleagues have spent years trying to save these lives, and in turn help our colleagues; sometimes we succeed, sometimes God has other plans, or things become so embroiled that we are helpless to help. More so now with the added nightmare of battling the Covid-19 epidemic, things have become unbearable. Watching the young, elderly and fellow nurses and doctors die on a daily basis. Having to wear unbearable PPE for gruelling 14 hr shifts.

This is a story of hope, pain, death, and a twist of fate so unreal that it would change my life forever. I used to think good things and luck only happened to other people, until it happened to me. First I became ill myself, nearly died, survived through the sheer hard work of my colleagues, and had a stroke of luck so freaky that it would change my life forever.

Hope floats and good things do happen if you believe hard enough.

Gropius and the Spirit of TAC

This  study describes how Walter Gropius of former Bauhaus fame transformed himself from the image of the omnipotent “Master-Builder” to the humble “Grope” of later years. Having come as an emigree from his native Germany to the US, he had to cope with quite a different office culture based on teamwork: Not the “single genius” but a collective approach to problem solving was the order of the day, coupled with a conciliatory manner of debate among equals. With that, his legendary firm “The Architects Collaborative” (called TAC for short) in Boston was to become the star of the profession in the USA, over the course of some 50 years. Thanks to the combined  talent and vigorous input of seven younger partners, the firm succeeded in gaining large commissions at home and internationally.

The well-designed school and campus buildings in New England found their equivalent in large university projects such as in Baghdad and Tunisia. Internally, the special aura at TAC was personified by a strong collective spirit of individuals in their own right. In turn, the office attracted a highly motivated staff of apprentices from all around the world. Grope’s personal charm, his humor and encouragement of young people got him life-long affection. Not the least, his pledge for the role of women in the profession left its mark on a whole new generation of architects’ offices to follow.

The author was a member of this team from 1962 to 1964 and kept in touch with Grope until his death in 1969.  An eye-witness account setting straight TAC’s merits to “Mid-Century Modernism”.

My Schizophrenia

Khaled was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1998. After spending 25 years in a medicated haze of stupour and depression, he is now determined to transition from illness to recovery. For many years, Khaled’s outlook was dominated by despair, but in 2021, the death of his mother became a pivotal moment in his life. He decided it was time to bring balance and order to his existence.

Though his mother never witnessed his progress, this book stands as a testament to his journey towards wellness. My Schizophrenia serves as a journal chronicling Khaled’s path to recovery, as he uses his writing to deepen his understanding of himself and his illness. Despite being diagnosed for decades, Khaled had never truly engaged with his recovery or well-being until now. This is his first book, offering an intimate look at his past and present, and inviting readers to join him on his transformative life journey.

Mimi’s Memoirs

Having been inundated with fan-mail and questions for nearly three decades, actress and director Sue Hodge decided it was time for everyone to know the truth behind the making of the internationally known hit comedy series ’Allo ’Allo!

Told with heart and honesty through the eyes of that madcap, pocket dynamo character Mimi Labonq, Sue gives a hilarious and no-holds-barred insight into things you would only know about if you’d been there. How did she fly across a cornfield as the flying nun? (Or maybe she didn’t.) Did she really get inside a grandfather clock? What was her true relationship with René? What did he really do to her when he was pushing her along as a baby in the pram?

To find out the answers to these questions plus much much more, read Mimi’s Memoirs, and you will understand why ’Allo ’Allo! became one of the biggest BBC smash-hits of all time.

Mongrels versus Pedigrees

There is no such thing as endings—only new beginnings. Life is all about perspective: the positive, the negative and how we respond to the challenges that life throws at us. Being diagnosed with cancer can really change your perspective on things! Cancer is a test of your patience, your strength, your courage and your faith.

This book is one woman’s reflections on her own diagnosis and her own personal outlook on her fight against cancer. From diagnosis, through to treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapies, to the possibility of surgery, this book is an honest account of the experiences of an individual determined to fight and survive, and the positive changes that her diagnosis brought.

What could have been the beginning of the end, was actually the start of a new beginning.

My Kaleidoscopic Life

My Kaleidoscopic Life is an account of the life during a century of upheaval and social change. It is a record of adaptation to circumstances and potential opportunities, rather than any burning ambition to become rich or famous.

However, the frequent changes in direction and necessary adaptation are certainly unusual. They provide unique and intimate glimpses into rarely described aspects of social history from before World War Two to post-Brexit Britain.