'How Can I Keep From .... ' – the one thing that comes to mind with me is GARDENING
 
They say gardening is good for the soul, which refers to mental and spiritual benefits of gardening such as stress reduction, improved mood, and a greater connection with nature.   Gardening can reduce stress and anxiety, provide a sense of purpose, and create a mindful activity that fosters tranquillity and a connection to the earth.  It is a source of physical exercise and Vitamin D. Community gardening provides social connection for those feeling isolated.
 
I can remember when I first started gardening.  I was 12 at the time and my grandfather, who lived with us, was a fantastic gardener.  I was given a strip of land, very sandy as it was in Frankston, and planted some corn. I was so excited when it grew to 4 foot high, but sadly it produced no corn.
 
It wasn’t until we bought our farm that I really could focus on a garden.  The previous owners left me with 100 roses and a list of their names.  Many were old world roses like Papa Meilland, with beautiful fragrances and colours.  At our front door we had two huge Kronenbourg roses and to this day I still have them in my garden.  They are a hybrid tea rose which start off a crimson red with a unique yellow reverse that fades to pink with age.  They have a lovely fragrance too.
 
On the farm we always had a fresh supply of vegetables for cooking.  It gave me great joy growing food and connecting with nature, gaining a sense of peace and patience.
 
Once we sold the farm, we bought an acre property in Benalla. I was so lucky as the previous owners had set up a lovely garden with different rooms of shrubs and plants.  The beautiful colourful flowers in Spring - Roses, Wysteria, Irises, Jasmine and wild Orchids – form a cascade of colour. 

​I suppose there will be a time when my garden will be too much for me and I will have to hang up my gardening gloves, but until that time I am able to appreciate all the beautiful plants and birds in my garden. 
 
 
Robyn Desmier
November 2025

​In my working life I was involved mostly in Human Relations, Occupational Health and Safety, Police and Security.  I had to be very organized, disciplined, and follow laws and regulations rigidly. I was always on time and on schedule, well almost always. In “My Other Life”, not so much. It’s more a case of totally disorganized, no discipline whatsoever and never on schedule.

To explain, I needed a hobby outside of work to provide relaxation. I had a friend who was an avid quilter who introduced me to the wonderful world of cutting up perfectly good fabrics and sewing them back together in a different sequence. I learnt all the variations where trims, laces, buttons etc. could be used up in quilts, plus other projects such as bags, pin cushions, couch cushions and pictures also using these same supplies. I grew to love it, BUT, quilting and craft is addictive.  It’s almost impossible to go into a store that sells quilting or craft supplies and not purchase something. Things have a tendency of coming home with me. At the time of course, I was between careers and working in a haberdashery and craft wholesaler, staff got everything at cost price so how could I say no?  I now have 20 plastic tubs full of quilting fabrics, 50 cards of lace with 30mtrs per card and various containers of other craft items. I have started numerous projects and have a large tub with 48 UFOs. That’s unfinished objects for those who don’t quilt. You see, I keep changing my mind.

In retirement I had a little more time and became more budget conscious. I tended to explore op shops and of course they also sell craft stuff!!! As I struggled to avoid the temptation to buy, I saw a stand with jigsaw puzzles on it. Desperate to take my mind off quilting I bought my first jigsaw puzzle. Well, who would know that this is also addictive. It seems every op shop has puzzles so cheap I could pick up 2 or 3 at a time. By now we had moved to Benalla.  My house has a long room at the side which sits in the sun, even during winter, an ideal spot to relax with coffee and puzzle. Now, I have a new hobby and addiction. With five op shops here, and puzzles going out at ridiculously cheap prices, I now have a collection that just reached 2000. That is, after giving away those I did not wish to keep to fellow puzzle addicts.

​It seems “I can’t stop from …” collecting stuff that I may use one day. I even began collecting things I will never use. Not sure how it happened, but perhaps it was when I tried teddy bear making at a local business. I was even given a collectable teddy by my work colleagues when I retired. Now I can’t resist teddies and have a huge and growing collection of furry friends decorating the house. 1800 at last count.

I give up, let the addiction proceed, or, carry on collecting. Sounds like a movie title!!!!
​

Heather Hartland
June 2025

In life we are confronted with a number of dilemmas. Some are things we want to stop doing.

One important confrontation I had in my life was -  How Can I Stop Smoking?

Easier said than done.

I was familiar with smoking from a young age. Both my parents smoked. And enjoyed it. Especially my mother.

I had a large extended family which included a number of youths older than me. All of whom who smoked. It seemed so normal. I wanted nothing more than to be accepted by them. These youths were admired by every adult. I wanted to be admired. They already seemed to have successful lives. They were grown up even though they were still teenagers. They were heroes. I wanted to be like them. They all smoked and I would ask them to give me a cigarette. They did. This is how I started smoking.

By the time I was 17 I was smoking in secret. I continued into my adult life and became an addict. I couldn’t stop. I always had the yearn to smoke.

When I had children I thought I should stop. I did not want them to see me smoking.

I tried various ways experimenting to see if I could stop. I would ration my smoking knowing that I would enjoy it more. I would go days without smoking but always would relapse on the weekend. If I drove the car I felt like smoking.  When my children saw me smoking they looked surprised.


I like to say that it took me 10 years to give up smoking. This statement could very well be true. The government had a campaign that encouraged people to give up smoking. I decided to try it. I wanted to give up and I was happy to try the governments policy.

I tried to follow the campaign. I was able to cut down smoking. I slowly got to the point where I went for a week without smoking. My seat at the football was in the smoking area and I couldn’t resist having several cigarettes when watching the football.


I was never a heavy smoker. But if I overindulged I would feel affected. Damaged. If I went to a hotel and drank and smoked I would feel bad the next day. It would take me at least one day to get over the hangover. Drinking and smoking can be seductive. But it was always damaging to my health. I knew this.

I had a close friend who was a heavy smoker who gave up cold turkey on a Thursday. He just said I decided on Wednesday not to smoke any more. Thursday was as good a day as any to give up. So I did, he said.

This worried me. How did he do it. I wanted to emulate him. Why couldn’t I emulate him?

In Russel Braddens memoir The Naked Island he describes the joys of smoking. He relates how everyone  would be on work parties all day. They would come home at night for a meagre meal, but then they would have an hour to themselves to indulge in the wonder of nicotine. Roll your cigarettes. Line them up for consumption. Light up. Draw in the smoke and escape into pleasure. Bask in the joys of nicotine.

This was in Changhi Gaol. How did tobacco make its way into a Japanese Prisoner of War camp? What hope do modern authorities have of banning narcotics if the Japanese Army couldn’t prevent the import of Tobacco through an occupied Island into a stockaded Japanese Prison.

By the age of twenty one I was addicted. Like most people I have an addictive personality. I was confronted with the problem of what to do about it. I liked to think that I enjoyed smoking. I would celebrate something by having a smoke. I smoked at family gatherings. I liked to say I was a social smoker but I wasn’t. I was an addict.

I slowly cut down by using the celibacy method. I deliberately did not smoke at home. I would deliberately go all week without smoking. Within a short time I was celibate. But like all celibates I had the urge to smoke. The addiction meant the desire was always there.  Always lurking in the background. And easily given into.

One morning at work I had the occasion to walk from my office to the warehouse and back. A distance of about 300 metres. By the time I got back to the office I realized that I had given up smoking. During the walk something happened inside my body. There was some change in the flow of bodily fluid. Some  chemical change occurred.  I felt different.

I no longer had the urge to smoke. My body felt as if it was regenerating. I had got over the hump. From now on my life will be easy. I realised it would be different. Better..

I am obliged to ask the obvious question? Can we compare smoking to climate change?  

Have we accepted that climate change is hazardous to our health? Have we accepted that climate change is something we should be concerned with. I think the jury is still out unfortunately. Refer to recent National Party Policy.

If we had surveyed everyone in 1956 how many people would have agreed that smoking was hazardous to your health? Likely answer - no one. It was not obviously hazardous so why should we be concerned?

Some people lived to an old age without getting ill from smoking. This settled the argument. Smoking was so prevalent in society. It was unthinkable that there would be sanctions against it.

Ditto Climate Change.


Neville Gibb
​June 2025

I guess it all started with nursery rhymes followed closely by Methodist hymns.
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In Grade 5, Mrs. W. H. Keith Young (did she have another name?) came to Pleasant Street State School to train a group to compete in the South Street competitions. Each member sang a line or two and if you could keep in tune, you were an alto! I’ve been an alto ever since!

Ballarat High music teacher, Miss Landt, gave us great songs to sing, our house choir won and I sang in a quartet at Speech Night. I was hooked.

Over the next years, moving around as a student, I always found somewhere to sing.

Married and moving to Maryborough, I joined CWA just so I could sing in their choir. Uniform – a black dress with a pink artificial flower pinned on the shoulder. I didn’t wear black but if to sing demanded it, so it would be.

Moving to Merbein, with toddlers in the house, it was back to the nursery rhymes but, nearing Christmas, a group joined with Mildura singers to learn and perform Handel’s ‘Messiah’ – a brand new experience.

By the time we moved to Tallangatta the children were all at school – but there was no music there. A friend and I, with four children each, started an after-school Music group, singing and playing the recorder. For fourteen years we sang – anything from the latest musical to Paddy McGinty’s Goat. We had a waiting list to get in. We had concerts and parents applauded. We made a booklet of songs and sang in the car.

A carload of us joined a singing group at Wodonga and after this finished, we decided to establish our own singing group in Tallangatta. The numbers varied from 5 to 25 but we sang, however many turned up. Our repertoire ranged from folk songs, aboriginal songs, religious songs, protest songs, to rounds. It was all unaccompanied and all for our own enjoyment. Sometimes we had a Sunday afternoon concert. At Christmas we sang at the town Carol night, occasionally at Anzac day services, but basically we just sang.

I started teaching Indonesian. The best way to teach children a language is to teach them a song but where to find the songs? We made a tape – singers from  Tallangatta Primary grades 1, 2 and 3 with son Stephen, guest accompanist. We sold hundreds. We changed the tape into a CD and sold hundreds more.

​​​Then I came to Benalla and found the wonderful U3A program. I haven’t missed a Thursday singing group since I joined.

Some members of that group and others from the Uniting Church made a CD of songs called ‘Peace Be With You’ for palliative care patients or people feeling lonely or depressed. We gave them away. I was part of that project and so glad to be so.