Hello friends and followers. It's been a while. I'm hoping that the coming year will be a happier one for everyone. In coming episodes I will be making room in this podcast not only for more audio memoirs and reflections, but also for some of my writer friends to share samples of their creative work. I hope to grow this podcast as an inclusive platform and am excited to see where it goes in the coming months. For those who tune in, I hope you find it entertaining and inspiring. 

In this episode of The Australian Baby Boomer Podcast, I speak with Kath Moore. Kath has always had a love of making art, of drawing and of seeing the beautiful colours in the world. Her artistic expression has formed the background of her work throughout the time she spent in the teaching profession. Now, since her retirement ten years ago, it has again come to the fore. As soon as she retired, Kath enrolled in "everything" at the Claremont School of Art, and then travelled to Florence to the Angel Academy of Art for an intense Summer School (web address below) which concentrated on life drawing. I was fortunate to be invited to Kath's home to see the beautiful range of artwork that she has made, and to talk to her about her art. 

http://www.angelartschool.com/

This is part two of the interview with Stewart. His post-Duntroon career has ranged from the CSIRO dung beetle project (see link below) to working with early technology related to the internet, and more recently to being involved at the forefront of current technological innovations across a range of industries. The interview ends with his views on how training and education approaches in Australia have changed over the years. 

https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/BF/Areas/Invasive-species-and-diseases/Biological-control/Exotic-dung-beetle-to-tackle-Aussie-flies

This episode contains information that some listeners may find distressing and a link to Lifeline counselling services is included below. 

Today's guest is Stewart. He quips that he did his growing-up in the army, at the Royal Military College of Duntroon. Because he had been a year ahead of his peers in high school, he had not yet turned seventeen when he was admitted into Duntroon. While he took well to the basic training, when his year-group returned to Duntroon, things turned sour as they were subjected to the now notorious process of bastardisation. This is his personal account of encounters with this system. 

The episode is in two parts; the first deals with his time at Duntroon, and the second follows his career afterwards.

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/marking-time/2831588

Today's interview is with Trevor. After finishing his carpentry apprenticeship, Trevor found work in the north-west of Australia, a place where the heat is extreme and desert stretches across the continent. At times, the days can reach 50 degrees centigrade. It was the late sixties. He'd just begun his working life when his number came up and he was conscripted into the army.  He was facing the prospect of being sent off to war in Vietnam.

Then Gough Whitlam's Labor Party came to power and conscription was ended. Trevor was able to leave and return to work in the building industry. He'd met a mate in the army and together they formed a successful building company that went on to build in remote Aboriginal communities. This was a pivotal time in his life. Trevor learnt much from this work, and his love of the desert country and people has never left him.

The interview ends with reflections on the way in which the drawing up of building regulations and checking jobs has changed over time, and perhaps not always for the better.

Once upon a time there was a storyteller called Bea. In this episode, Bea talks about her many years of experience as a professional storyteller, travelling all around Australia and to other countries sharing her stories with children and adults alike. Enjoy!

In this discussion Maarten reflects on how he created a full and meaningful life once he retired from his long-term workplace. It seems he did not so much retire as step back to consider the bigger picture, before choosing to throw himself into those things that provided the most meaning for him. Central to this endeavour are community, enjoying life, and doing useful work. 

In this episode, Geraldine talks about her life in Perth, Western Australia in the years that followed the second World War. As a returned serviceman, her father barely spoke of the war, except for one memorable occasion that Geraldine remembers here. Geraldine's childhood was not trouble-free, but she recalls it as a free and happy time. It was also a time when Australia was opening up to immigration from a range of European countries for which English was not the first language spoken. The new immigrants brought with them their skills, cultural and culinary traditions, and friendship, expanding the horizons of mainstream Australians of the time. 

In this episode a retired teacher, Norm, reminisces about his childhood in the tiny desert goldfields town of Cue. Freedom was the order of the day and he reflects that it was as much by good luck as it was good management that he survived to tell the tale. 

In this episode you will be introduced to this new podcast series that will be by and about Baby-boomers, their stories and reflections, and to Baby-boomer Iris, its coordinator. The first episode provides a brief rundown on what you can expect in upcoming episodes. Watch this space.