In Our Midst
Portrait of an Artist
I spent a happy childhood, the
youngest of four siblings and
the only girl. My parents were
almost complete opposites.
From my mother I learnt to
sew. She made me delightful
little dresses in pretty coloured
cottons and wools. I learned to
make my own on an old
treadle Singer sewing machine
and I wish I still had it. The
electric ones became too fast
for me.
From my father I shared an
interest in drawing and
painting. I was sent to the
Canterbury College School of
Art. I did well, though there
wasn't much work in art at that
time. My father was glad of my
help in his sign shop when
illustrations were called for. I
can recall painting the scenes
surrounding a merry-go-round
for him, and in a similar way I
painted a Christmas turkey in
full feathers for my brother Ron
in Whangarei, as well as a
seascape for a fish shop.
Like many in my age group,
my life was affected by the
war. I was expected to find
work in the essential industries.
I chose nursing and went to
Kilburnie to train, but it was not
my forte. However, my artistic
flair provided me with a
stepping stone as artist at
Burwood Hospital in the Plastic
Surgery unit where I worked for
several years, drawing the
operations in theatre, painting
irises for artificial eyes and
doing charts and diagrams for
teaching purposes for the
tutor sisters.
In my early thirties, I moved to
Auckland where I was
employed as a colour
consultant for the Taubmans
paint firm. During this time I
met and married my dear
husband, Charles, and we
made our home on the North
Shore. Among other things I
did some illustrated articles on
the colour scheming of houses
and rooms, which were
published in Women’s Weekly.
Due to circumstances we
finally decided to return to
The
Residential Care &
Retirement Living
Volume 012
(03) 375 7033
Palm Press
(03) 375 7032
[email protected]
Editor: Elmarie Le Grange
Newsletter of Palm Grove Lifestyle Care and Village
February 2016
Attention!
Wedding Virus Alert
It must be something in the water
Gladys Crook,
a talented artist
Christchurch. Our first port of
call was my beloved botanical
gardens, where my father used
to take my brother and me
chestnutting. I will always think
of our lovely Christchurch
botanical gardens as my very
special place, where I learnt to
appreciate the beauty of
nature and the pleasures of
walking.
Charles and I found a very nice
little unit to call home, where
we lived with our dear old grey
tabby cat. At the time I did a
water colour of him in one of
his favourite nooks. It still hangs
on my wall, among the few
remaining paintings which
were saved from the
devastating Christchurch
earthquakes.
SOLUTION
∼
Artist Gladys Crook's water colour of her grey tabby cat
108 Marshland Road,
Shirley,
Christchurch
∼
Hot on the heels of a fellow
staff member, Reanee (neé)
Buksh, HCA at Palm Grove,
also caught the virus and tied
the knot. She recalls the buildup to the happy day:
"Jordan and I met in primary
school in 2001. I was 10 years
old and had a huge crush on
him! He's a shy person and it
took him 6 years to pluck up
the courage to ask me out. As
my very protective family
considered me their "baby",
they initially tried to stop us
from seeing each other, but to
no avail.
"In 2009 Jordan and I were
blessed with a child, Kaylen.
Two years on she and I moved
from Fiji to Christchurch, and
Jordan joined us in 2013.
"On Christmas Day 2014, he
asked me to be his wife.
Planning the wedding was
super exciting. I also bought
not one, not two, but three
wedding dresses, as I couldn't
make up my mind! The year
went by in a blur and before
we knew it we were on a
plane to Fiji. Being at home
with our families at Christmas
was amazing.
∼
Reanee and Jordan
on their wedding day in Fiji
The happy newlyweds
"At last the morning of the 9th
of January dawned. I wasn't
nervous as I knew I'd be
spending the rest of my life
with my best friend. The
wedding was an amazing
experience. We had a
wonderful day with the best
people around us as we
celebrated our love and the
beginning of our married lives
as Mr and Mrs Varea. Love has
never felt so good!
"Now we're back home in
Christchurch. So, is it really
home? Of course it is...
Anywhere is home as long as
we're together!"
Letter to the Editor
brother and his wife, who had
driven all the way from
Trip of a lifetime
Wo l v e r h a m p t o n t o s a y
goodbye. I found it hard
On 29 January 1966 my seeing them standing on the
husband and I and our two wharf as we sailed away - lots
c h i l d r e n s a i l e d f r o m of tears as you can imagine.
Southampton to emigrate to Our first port of call was the
New Zealand. My son, Ian, Canary Islands. We had a
celebrated his 5th birthday look around, but found it very
on the ship and my daughter, hot, especially having just left
Sandra, was 2½ years old.
the Scottish winter. Our next
We thought we had said our
goodbyes to everyone, but
as we boarded the ship,
N o r t h e r n S t a r, w e w e r e
shocked to spot my eldest
stop was Cape Town. We
were awestruck when we
went up on deck to see Table
Mountain, a majestic
backdrop to a beautiful city.
Word Finder
The remaining letters spell a popular Valentine's Day item
The next city along the South
African coast was Durban,
which we found too hot and
humid.
Finally we reached Australian
shores. Freemantle was our
first port of call. We enjoyed
going in to Perth before
sailing on to Melbour ne
where we spent two days
enjoying the trams and the
city. Sydney was next. We
thought it was a lovely place
and took the children to its
fantastic zoo.
February Birthdays at Palm Grove
Winsome Mulholland - 3rd
Molly Bayliss - 7th
Brenda Randle - 14th
Nanette White - 14th
Francie Robson - 20th
Jean Shuttleworth - 24th
Hugh Brown - 29th
The
Friendly Crossword
We arrived in Wellington on
7 March, having been on the
ship for 6 weeks. It was a
beautiful sunny day and the
first car we saw was an old
Austin 7. We found it strange
that there were so many old
cars in New Zealand.
Regards
Moyra McEwan
COUPLE
CRUSH
CUPID
DARLING
DATE
DEAR
DEVOTION
FANCY
FEBRUARY
FLAME
FLOWERS
FONDNESS
FOREVER
FRIENDSHIP
GIFT
GIRLFRIEND
HEARTS
JEWELRY
LIKE
LOVEBIRDS
LOVERS
PARTNER
PROPOSAL
RELATIONSHIP
RESTAURANT
ROMANCE
ROSES
SENTIMENT
SUITOR
SWEETHEART
Facility Manager's
Desk
Dear Residents
I was recently looking over
some video recordings of my
daughter when she was
young. When she was three
years old I asked her what
she'd like to be when she
grew up. “A dog,” she replied.
“Darling, you cant be a dog.
What else would you like to
be?” I asked. “A doctor,” she
said wide eyed. “That’s nice.
Anything else?” I prodded.
“Maybe something you like,
something you like to do.” “I
know,” she replied. “I want to
be a lollipop!”
Another clip shows my
grandson helping himself to a
lolly from a bag. My son
decided to reprimand him:
“Jacob, you can’t just help
yourself. You must say, ‘Please
may I have a lolly?’" Jacob
looked up to his father and
said, “But I already have one!”
We had a great time on the
ship. We met lots of people
and still keep in touch with
some of them. It’s amazing
how 60 years have passed.
My children and I have never
regretted coming to New
Zealand – this is our home.
ADMIRER
ADORE
AFFECTION
ATTRACTION
BEAU
BELOVED
BOYFRIEND
CANDLES
CANDY
CHOCOLATES
From the
Across
1. Tootpaste container
3. Bouncy toy
6. Skewer
9. Innermost part
11. Kanga's kid
12. Capable
13. Repulsive to look at
14. Earth's atmosphere
15. Extend credit
17. Second hand sound
20. Stitched up
21. Scot's family
Down
1. Between las and dos
2. Constrictor snake
4. In the past
5. Tell a fib
7. Dining room furntiture
8. Sandwich covering
9. Legal setting
10. Museum piece
15. Part of UCLA
16. Not used before
18. Ailing
19. Mattel doll
Don’t we just love our little
ones. It’s a pity they have to
grow up!
Take care
Nicola