family — Body of Work

#171 I bowled my heart out for Australia...

On Christmas Day, in a family backyard, I bowled my heart out for Australia.

At 45 years of age, I was seven years older than the late Robert (Bob) “Dutchy” Holland OAM who debuted for the Australian Men’s Test Team, donning the baggy green for the 1984/85 series against the mighty West Indies who were the world’s cricket powerhouse of the era.

The pitch was grassy, the wickets an outdoor chair, and there were vociferous appeals bordering on unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly when there is, without question, no leg before wicket in backyard cricket.

AnecdoteBrian Wightman2 January 2022Christmas, family, cricket

Merry Christmas...Tree...

My family has an elaborate faux Christmas tree.

It has not always been that way.

Once upon a time, a popular department store plastic and wire excuse of a tree that adorned our sunroom with a unique lean that had to be leveled with the assistance of a folded sheet of A4 was all we had for Christmas.

There was not enough tinsel across Northern Tasmania to hide its inadequacy.

The tree signified Christmas and that meant so much, but it was half-baked ornamentation at best.

Anecdote, LeadershipBrian Wightman7 December 2020Christmas, community, Northern Tasmania, family, care, diversity

An Easter Hare in Gumboots

As I cast an eye across our back deck a couple of Wednesdays ago, it appeared the Easter Bunny had returned to Tasmania with pitter-patter paw prints transforming the boards into a winter wonderland.

On closer inspection the prints were far larger than expected, resembling the heavy footed and rarely sighted Easter hare in gumboots who appeared to have trampled through settled snow.

ReflectionBrian Wightman16 August 2020snow, Anarctica, blast, Lebanon, Beirut, family, community, Launceston, social media, Mawson, Shackleton

Tasmania's Special Places: Ida Stein's Swansea

Ida eventually realised that there was a limit to feelings of simplistic comfort, particularly as the body aged and joints become less forgiving. Ida's 20-year tour of duty on the naturally hardened floor of a tent was a significant achievement, but it couldn't last.

Portrait, ReflectionBrian Wightman5 July 2020Swansea, tent, caravan, simplicity, tinny, family, friends

The Postcard

My Aunt Margaret sent mum an old postcard, stamped in England where my father was working for the Royal Mail after leaving the Royal Air Force. On the front, a photo of Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column, London by John Hinde, F.R.P.S. And on the back a beautifully handwritten message, which defies the fact that dad left school at 14 years of age, and simply reads…

AnecdoteBrian Wightman22 March 2020postcard, family, history, Belfast, Northern Ireland, migrants, regufees