Sunday, December 4, 2011

Polly Dolly: Navy Stripes

I'm linking up with Danimezza for this week's Polly Dolly Polyvore challenge!

This week's inspiration is NAVY STRIPES...

Today Polly Dolly is admiring the view at the Henley on Thames Regatta (and I'm not talking about the scenery...).  She's dressed for the occasion in a navy striped blazer, white linen pants and red accessories.   You can find her cheering for her crew with a champagne in one hand and waving a cheeky 'God Save McQueen' silk scarf in the other.  There's something very fishy about those cufflinks!

You can find out exactly what Polly's wearing here.Polly Dolly: Navy Stripes

Hiatus

Hello my dear bloggy followers.  You've probably noticed I haven't been posting very much recently.  I'm struggling a little with the demands of single motherhood, the emotional rollercoaster of a relationship breakdown and all the every day stuff (work, finances, commitments, etc.) I don't want to give up the blog but at the moment its a struggle to post anything that requires major brain thought.  So please bear with me while I'm trying to pull myself together :)

Love, Eloise

Saturday, November 26, 2011

5 Sentence Fiction: Sacrifice

I'm joining 5 Sentence Fiction with Lillie McFerrin Writes today.

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week I will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the inspiration word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just take your inspiration from that word. 

This week’s inspiration word is: SACRIFICE



In the winter of 1912, Amy Beechey stood in widow's black by the side of her husband's grave.  


Alone, with 14 children to raise, sacrifices would have to be made but the family pulled together and with the help of the older children, Amy struggled on.  


Stoic in her sadness, Amy did not know that greater grief was yet to come.  


Less than five years later, five of her kind and handsome sons; Barnard, Frank, Charles, Harold and Leonard would be killed in the war and another, Christopher, maimed for life.  


After the war, swallowed up in a nation deep in mourning for it's lost generation, Amy Beechey was finally presented to the King and Queen and thanked for her immense sacrifice; at that moment she who had paid the ultimate price looked the Queen in the face and replied, ‘It was no sacrifice, Ma’am, for I did not give them willingly.’

NB: The full story of the Beechey family can be found here.

Friday, November 25, 2011

A Tragic End to a Wonderful Story

If you live in Australia, you have probably heard about the bushfires raging across the beautiful coastline of Margaret River in WA. So far over 30 homes have been destroyed. Although I live in Melbourne now I spent a big portion of my life in and around that area. My sister and her family and my dad and step mum still live there but thankfully they are about 15 minutes further south.

I have been following the news closely from Melbourne and was absolutely shattered to hear that despite the efforts of firefighters and water helicopters, the terrible winds flaming the fire caused it to jump the Margaret River and they were unable to save historic Wallcliffe House.


Wallcliffe House, a picturesque homestead built in 1865 by the pioneering Bussell family, was perched on a small ridge overlooking the mouth of the Margaret River.  Whenever I would drive down Wallcliffe Road towards the beach I would always look out for its chimneys and shingled roof.  I remember my mum taking my sisters and I to visit the house and being amazed at the steepness and skinniness of its staircases.  I always wondered how the Bussell women had managed to climb up and down those staircases in their long Victorian dresses. 




Aside from its character and charm, one of the most interesting things about Wallcliffe House was its association with a famous episode of courage and heroism which generations of Australian school children were taught.

On 1 December 1876, the ship, Georgette, was grounded on rocks at Calgardup Bay just south of Wallcliffe House and began to break up. 

The pitiful scene was witnessed by a 30 year old Aboriginal stockman, Sam Yebble Isaacs, who immediately rode to the homestead at Wallcliffe House to get help.  The only person at home was Grace Bussell, then just 16 years old.  Grace rode her horse to the bay with Isaacs where they met a scene of utter misery with women and children from the boat being thrown into the surf.  Without hesitation, Grace Bussell plunged into the surf on her horse. 
Over the course of four hours, Grace and Sam Isaacs fought the waves on horseback and saved the passengers from certain death.  Almost all the passengers were saved and taken back to Wallcliffe House to recover.  Grace and Sam were later awarded the medal of the Royal Humane Society.

There are two interesting endings to this story….

The bravery of 16 year old Grace Bussell made her internationally famous. A young man from a well known Perth family, Frederick Drake-Brockman, read of Grace’s exploits in the paper and rode 300 kilometres on horseback just to meet her.  They fell in love and were later married.  Grace lived to the ripe old age of 75 and the little house owned by Frederick and Grace in Guildford is only a few doors away from my mum's house.

Sam Yebble Isaacs, the son of a Native American Indian whaler who had absconded from his ship in the 1830’s and an Aboriginal woman from the Wardandie tribe near Augusta, was granted a 100 acre block of land of his selection for his heroism.  He chose a spot on the Margaret River not far from Wallcliffe House and raised a large family there.  Sam Isaacs died in 1920 at the age of 75 (he was tragically killed when a sulky he was travelling in overturned) and is buried in the Busselton Pioneer Cemetery.  His descendents still live in the area.
It saddens me to think that Grace Bussell's family home is no more.  It's a terrible loss for the generations of families that have lived in the home and especially for its current owners, the Chaney family, who have put so much work into the property and gardens.  And it's a terrible loss of history for the wider community.  I will always have fond memories of Wallcliffe House.

Polly Dolly: Drive

I'm linking up with Danimezza for this week's Polly Dolly Polyvore challenge!

This week's inspiration is DRIVE...

Today Polly Dolly is test driving the soon-to-be-released Mercedes electronic sports car on Via Aurelia, the famous curvy road that hugs the coastline of the Italian Riviera.  She's fully equipped for speed in a sulphur yellow leather jacket, Prada's streamlined shield sunglasses, a Marc Jacobs sports watch and Cartier's "Panther" ring in platinum, diamonds and onyx.  Ohhhh, lucky Polly!


You can find out exactly what Polly's wearing here.
Polly Dolly: Drive

Monday, November 21, 2011

5 Sentence Fiction: Lightning

'm joining 5 Sentence Fiction with Lillie McFerrin Writes today.

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week I will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the inspiration word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just take your inspiration from that word. 


This week’s inspiration word is: LIGHTNING




Six months into the Gallipoli campaign, dysentery and a monotonous diet forced men to spend hours perched over makeshift latrines and due to recent sniping in the area, orders had been given that men must attend the latrines in pairs.

Consisting of a long, narrow pit with an A-frame at each end supporting two long poles, the lower pole was used to ‘perch’ on with one’s nether regions hanging over the back, and the higher pole, which ran across the middle of the perchee’s back, was there to stop the hapless individual from falling in.

On this night, Guy Atherton found himself in the unenviable position of being asked to accompany Caruthers to the latrine (everyone else in the Mess Hut had taken care to avoid this request as Caruthers had a habit of squatting for forty minutes whilst keeping up an endless stream of small talk punctuated by groans, splashes and grunts).

The night was stinking hot and humid and the stench arising from the latrine was almost indescribable forcing Guy to hold his sleeve over his nose and yet Caruthers squatted there serenely, his posterior glowing white in the moonlight, seemingly oblivious to the smell and the flies.

Just then, an almighty bang shook the earth around them and the sky lit up phosphorescent white, Guy threw himself to the ground only to realize within seconds that it wasn’t a Turkish shell but a lightning strike just a few feet away; Caruthers, to Guy’s amusement, was no longer perched on the A-frame.


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Polly Dolly: Gym

I'm linking up with Danimezza for this week's Polly Dolly Polyvore challenge!

This week's inspiration is GYM...

Polly Dolly hates to sweat, so she is taking a Pilates class instead.  The baby blue ballet wrap and leg warmers perfectly set off her Tiffany starfish pendant and earrings and the soft chiffon skirt hides all those bits you don't want to show at the gym!


You can find out exactly what Polly's wearing here.
Polly Dolly: Gym

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