kids

Lest we forget

April 26, 2014

ANZAC Day, April 25, is an important day in Australian and New Zealand history. It is the day we remember our fallen troops and those continue on. It is the day, 99 years ago, we commemorate the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign, where we lost countless men. It is the day we celebrate those who are still here while mourn those who cannot.

ANZAC day starts with a dawn service, to remember those fallen in the quietest moment of the day and then there is a beautiful parade after through the city, honouring those who are still here and those who walk in the memory of others. It is this event that I attended this year.

My great-grandfather Stanley fought in the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I and my great-grandfather Hedley was a surgeon, commander of a field ambulance unit, in Malaya before the British surrendered to the Japanese and he was taken as a POW in Singapore in World War II. He was then the commanding medical officer of the Changi Prison Hospital, before returning home after the Japanese surrender in 1945.

It is those two that I remembered yesterday. I feel honoured to be a part of their families and honouring them is important to me. These photos are a small way I can help honour and celebrate others.

Lest we forget.

Miss P

October 31, 2013

This post is dedicated to most important small person in my life. She lights up the room when she enters, her laughter is contagious, and her smile is gorgeous. Today is Halloween, so I wanted to share my favourite holiday with her. She came straight from Ballet so was already dressed up, so I put on my fairy outfit for her especially. However, within 20 minutes, she had sweet talked her way into wearing all of my costume! By the end, I didn’t have a costume left – just sparkly shoes! Before my party, I couldn’t decide whether I would be Mary Poppins or a Fairy – turns out I was both this Halloween! Miss Pippi, you are amazing and I can’t wait to watch you grow up. I’ll be by your side always – there to have special ‘not grownup’ adventures with and to always look for spiders with. I love you beautiful girl.

Blinky Bill

October 11, 2013

Growing up, one of my favourite movies was Blinky Bill so finding these chocolates at the Royal Melbourne show was a trip down memory lane. Please pardon this change in format of blog post, but I just couldn’t help myself from sharing these videos from the movie. The first is the original trailer – it doesn’t actually start until about 30 seconds in – and the second is a few of the best songs from the movie, though not my two favourites so I still want to track down my CD. I still seem to know every word to these songs – that is a testament to how many times my mum had to listen to that CD!

Blinky Bill even followed us to the States, where we shared watching Blinky Bill with two of our closest friends – Maggie and Stewart. I still remember not long after we moved to America when the four of us dressed up and re-enacted the whole movie. So while Blinky Bill is so perfectly Aussie (based on a beautiful children’s book), he really reminds me of moving to Mid-West America and sharing our Australian culture in the only way a kid can – dressing up and singing.

#365manda – July

August 27, 2013

July was a very exciting month as it included two holidays, three countries, one high tea, one murder mystery, one concert, a few days in bed, two birthdays and one turtle (you can click on the picture to look at it more detail). The year is well over a halfway and I still haven’t missed a day. Some days are tricky but even on those days, I’m still grateful that I am doing this because it forces me to look for the beauty in the everyday and makes me realise what makes me happy. Very often that is food and people, but sometimes it is as simple as the sun in the sky or a water droplet on a leaf.

You can follow my #365manda adventures over on my Instagram feed.

Summer Times

February 19, 2013

The Victoria Markets put on magnificent Summer night markets every Wednesday night in December, January and February and I was lucky enough to be asked to be the official photographer for one of those Wednesdays! What follows is my photographic exploration of the market and its beautiful characters.