Earlier in the year I shared how I had met The Geranium Lady who sells potted plants of colour to raise funds for exservice personnel and their families suffering from PTSD. As I do the same with Rosemary saplings for the same organisation it was beaut to finally meet and enjoy a coffee together. It was just bizarre to learn that 40 years beforehand we had attended the same school, a school in a (then) semi rural suburb in a totally different State. It was a real Small World moment.
Having a strong presence in the local arts scene the Geranium Lady gifted me tickets to a community theatre production, The Girls In Grey, an award nominated one act play, debuted on Anzac Day, which was fitting given that it was a representation of Australia’s Nurses during World War 1. It was all the things you would expect – sombre, challenging, and full of Aussie humour – and of course I had a wee sob.
At the charity book sale six weeks ago where I totally excelled in finding some bargains I purchased a pre loved book called Anzac Girls from the military section, again about the ANZAC Nurses of WW1. It was not a book I was chasing, though God knows it’s several years since my search for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence by Laurans van der Post began. ( I did own a copy of both the book and the movie at one time. Funny how when daughters fly the coop things disappear along with them. “But , Mo, it’s part of my David Bowie collection”. * growling.) Anyway, it was just one of those books that “spoke” to me and so it now has a place on the book shelf.
Two funny things here :
1. Since reading this book ( which I will chat about at another time as it is an amazing read, and I mean absolutely bloody amazing, I have discovered that the concept of the play I saw some months previous was based on this book.
2. The author, Peter Rees, is the same chappie that wrote The Missing Man, about the Aboriginal Fighter Pilot during WW2. I developed an agonising headache one morning a fortnight ago and was unable to go into work. Thankfully I recovered quickly and was able to enjoy the book launch that afternoon:)
Creepier still, when I visited my contact selling his personal 4000 movie collection at the markets last weekend, he pulled out of the back of his van a carton of Australian movies on DVD. Can you guess the DVD on the very top of the stack?
Yep, Anzac Girls, a series of six one hour episodes produced by the ABC some four or five years ago. You know what I’ve been watching all weekend, don’t you.
Now that’s synchronicity.
Brizzy Mays Books and Bruschetta 
I remember watching that series when it was on tv – loved it!
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I rarely put the tv on Jen, so was unfamiliar with this series. I was unimpressed by episode 1 and nearly gave the whole thing a miss – too much flirting and chasing the lads. Pleased I stuck with it as it follows the book quite faithfully, though with little depth. It is an important story though : when we learnt about Gallipoli in school there was no mention of the Nurses, was there? I have vague memories of wearing a white apron and red cape with a Red Cross for Anzac Day ceremonies but never put the two together. Thanks for dropping by, Jen 🙂
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