EDWARDS’ FAMILY NEWS LAST MINUTE EDITION 1995

The earth is definitely round!

January 1995 found us all up at the shack enjoying our last moments of idleness.  A notice in the local supermarket found us a tenant for the six months so it was all hands to packing and cleaning.  Back in Sandy Bay it was the same story on a bigger scale.  On the 17th we loaded up our packs and headed off to Los Angeles.  After Disneyland, the Grand Canyon and all the other sights we landed in Toronto on Australia Day, welcomed by Steve and Joan Scott. We found an apartment, got the kids in school and David started his work at the university. The first thing Kerry did was break her coccyx - Ouch! - while sledding!  Good on yer, Mum.  Waiting for us in Canada was the invite to the Power Family Reunion in Ireland, around which the rest of the trip was based.

We all loved Toronto! Despite the cold, we enjoyed ourselves with outdoor sports and indoor activities. The kids loved school and we all made some wonderful friends. We spent two weeks in March driving to Miami to visit Pip Davis, Jan Goodall, Geoff Morrison and Dan Schaff. David took a side trip from Toronto to St John’s Newfoundland, where he caught up with old friends Len Zedel and Ian Clark.

In May we headed off across the US towards British Colombia and back across Canada.  We caught up with lots more friends (Corrine, Ellen, Melanie, Donna), but time and distance meant that we’ll leave seeing some more far-flung US and Canadian friends until next time.

Well what can you say about French bureaucracy? Nothing printable...and it would only spoil your Christmas...but France itself, that’s different.  Three laps of the Arc de Triomphe, then it was off to Normandy and Brittany, where we stayed with Steve and Joan again.  Generous friends were all over Europe and visiting the sights with locals made for a truly great experience. None of us will forget Ireland and the welcome we received there. Some research uncovered some vital family history we had not been able to access in Australia. We liked Waterford so much we stayed longer in the district before going into the west. Put Ireland on our list for the next trip, too.

A heatwave greeted us in London. We all got a mysterious complaint that David called ‘museum foot’. Our week in Poole almost cured us, but we suffered a relapse on visiting Bath and Bristol.  We found England Ireland and Wales to have manageable distances after the vastness of North America.
Hong Kong was wonderful as usual, although there was a moment’s hesitation when Wendy remembered how many children there were.  Our ever resilient children, who had slept in cupboards and hallways, managed to melt into the background at bedtime. Then it was back to the cold of Hobart, unpacking boxes, gradually slowing down, sleeping between sheets and having a choice of clothes. Still well trained, the children reach for back packs whenever they hear the words "Load up everyone!".

The children went straight back to school and David to work.  Kerry went comatose trying to get over it all but only briefly as she was nominated as president of the Sandy Bay Historical Society and chair of the Professional Historians Association. She delivered conference papers and gave talks, took on some research and evaluation jobs which lasted right up to Christmas. She pieced two quilt tops while overseas and enjoyed knitting Kaffe Fassett designs. Work on the neglected garden paid off with a beautiful spring display and all fifty roses seem to have survived. Some indulgences along culinary lines have encouraged, we won’t say necessitated, an interest in vegetarian cooking.

David was away for long periods after the rest of the family settled down.  Work took him to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Christmas Island, Darwin and the Tiwi Islands (well sort of, he went in squares right next to them!).

David is still involved with the Marieville Residents Association, The Battery Point Advisory Committee, the ALP, the union at CSIRO (he’s still the President, and organised a stop work meeting at sea this year!). As part of his involvement with the IREE, David organised a special dinner on 12th December, the anniversary of Marconi’s first radio transmission across the Atlantic from Poldhu in Cornwall to St John’s Newfoundland. From the dinner in Hobart, which is the antipodes of St John’s, we passed radio messages by Morse code, telephone and by Internet to Len and Ian.

Alex has finished Year 10 at Taroona and goes off to Hobart College next year in preparation for a career in engineering or medicine or full time travelling. Despite the breaks in schooling his results were excellent. Alex played saxophone in the school concert this year and continues to enjoy the piano and guitar. Sport took a back seat this year, but ask him sometime about playing cricket in Toronto.

Chris had a wonderful school year, here and abroad. Chris can tell you all about castles and has sorted out the First and Second World Wars. He goes into Year 9 next year. He is thinking of being a chef or a PE teacher. He discovered ice hockey and skating in Canada and took to them instantly. Cycling is his great occupation at the moment and his circle of friends cover quite a distance.

Phillipa goes off to high school next year and soon will be taller than her mother. She did outstandingly well in athletics, soccer and netball at school in Hobart and was snapped up by the basketball team at Ryerson in Toronto. Ice skating was a great favourite with the three younger kids in Canada and they were regularly at the rink across from our apartment, with their second-hand skates and red hats (so Mum could see them from the 18th floor). Phillipa continues with piano and viola and played in several concerts this year.

Victoria has to run twice as hard to catch up with her siblings and has developed determination and endurance. She did well in several long distance runs, played soccer and joined in Sportsfun classes. Victoria loved her school overseas and was made much of by her teachers and classmates, who still write. (Ask her about Ken!). Her cello playing has improved greatly with two lessons a week. Victoria enjoys writing stories and doing crafts and at this stage is thinking of engineering as a career.

We have lots of plans for 1996, and only some of them include travel. We wish all our friends all the best for Christmas and the New Year.