Christmas Wishes

CHRISTMAS 2004

Dear Everyone,

A lot has happened this year. Some of you know about it already, but I shall repeat it here for those of you who don’t.

The year started off well enough. I had decided that I would de-register my photography business because the weight of my equipment and the hectic pace I had to work at were getting a little much for me.

I had know for sometime that Arthur was declining both mentally and physically, but the progress was very slow and he was still able to look after himself as long as I told him what to do. Then in March he started to act very strangely and was totally unable to do anything for himself. He had a CAT Scan and there was definite evidence of Alzheimer’s and of small strokes. I had a lot of trouble accessing help although he was getting too much for me as his deterioration was very rapid. At last, after much pleading on my part, I managed to get the older Persons Mental Health Team to visit and they immediately arranged for him to be admitted to hospital, as they realised I could no longer cope with him physically. He was admitted to hospital on the Wednesday 7th April. For the first couple of weeks in hospital he knew who I was, after that he had no idea and slowly lost his ability to do anything. In the end he was hooked up to so many tubes it was ridiculous. He finally died on May 5th. The summary I wrote for the officiating C of E Minister at his funeral and some pictures can be seen on https://members.tripod.com/JanBW/id63.htm for those without internet access I will copy the summary here.

ARTHUR JAMES WILSON

Arthur was born in Kuala Lumpur on 23rd May, 1926.

His father was Arthur Atterbun Wilson, an English Accountant.

His mother was Wong Choo Sem, otherwise known as Angela Wong, a Chinese teacher.

His early schooling was in Kuala Lumpur. His mother then took him to Singapore where he attended St. Andrews Anglican School for the rest of his schooling.

When he was 15 his schooling was interrupted by the fall of Singapore to the Japanese.

As he had been a Boy Scout and was proficient in Morse Code he was employed by the Japanese as a morse code operator, he was fed by the Japanese and given a protective arm band which saved him from some of the dreadful things which happened to his school masters and school friends.

After the surrender of Singapore to the allies he went back to school and completed his Cambridge School Certificate.

He was an excellent cricketer and athlete and in the last year of school, a prefect.

When the results were published he was offered a place as a cadet officer with the Singapore Police Force.

He remained with the police Force for 17 years rising to the rank of Senior Inspector, the later part of his time being spent as a Police Prosecutor.

This gave him the idea to study to become a lawyer, so in the early sixties he travelled to London to study in Middle Temple in the Inns of Court.

He returned to Singapore for a short time before deciding to migrate to Australia.

He travelled by a ship called the Australasia which called at several ports including Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

He decided to look at the Courts in Moresby to see how things were done, here he met the registrar who happened to be someone he knew. This man arranged an interview with the Secretary of the Law Department who offered him the job of Prosecutor.

He disembarked from the ship on 17 July 1967.

I met Arthur in 1969 as I was a teacher in Port Moresby.

We travelled to Hong Kong in 1971 where he had the job of Crown Counsel.

We decided we did not like the crowded nature of Hong Kong so we returned to Port Moresby.

Our daughter was born there in 1972. In 1973 we left PNG and went to Darwin where Arthur was again a Prosecutor.

We were blown out of there on Christmas Day in 1974 by Cyclone Tracy. We relocated to Canberra where Arthur for a short time was again a Prosecutor.

In 1976 Arthur was made the Deputy Master of the Supreme Court Darwin.

However, after a short time we decided to return to Canberra where Arthur was in the legislative drafting section of the Attorney Generals Department.

He remained there until he retired in 1991.

During the January fires in January 2003, Arthur single handedly saved our house and the house next door.

He died in Canberra, Australia on 5th May, 2004.

Since Arthur’s death I have done quite a few things.

The first was to go ahead and buy a house for our daughter Katy, however it is in my name. She is 32 and it was about time she left home and began to look after herself. I do not charge her rent for this house. I then went ahead and bought a town house for myself. The Kambah house was just too big and with far too large a garden for me to keep up. I have a lovely little town house which is on two levels the top level being a three bedroom ensuite house, the bottom level being a double garage with roller door, and a huge store room. I have spent the time since, doing the Kambah house up ready for sale and its now on the market. There has already been a great deal of interest in it and it is for open inspection tomorrow, 4th December. You never know, by the time I finish this letter it might already be sold.

I have also arranged to buy a little caravan, its an Aliner. It sort of folds down to a lower profile for towing. Its perfect for one person touring. However, I did make sure I got one with an extra bed in case I ever want to take someone else with me. It is being made for me and I’m buying it from a business in Miami on the Gold Coast. I have to go up there to collect it, It sounds a funny place to buy it from when you live in the ACT, but at $6000 cheaper than Sydney, who wouldn’t travel to get it? It should be ready before Christmas, but I’ve decided to collect it after Christmas, before would be just too rushed.

I also, in October took a trip to Adelaide. I went to a Wattle Park Teachers College reunion, and also caught up with a lot of family and friends. The trip actually unsettled me really, as I then wondered where I belonged, where I should live, should I live in ACT or should I live in SA? Was a South Australian or was I a Canberran? I will give myself a little more time to decide, I think its too early yet. I have many friends in ACT, but I also have many friends in SA, and in SA I have relatives too.

I know I have not made a mistake with the little caravan I have bought. I will do a few trips and see how I like the “grey nomad” life, if I don’t like it, I can always sell the caravan. They are very popular and second hand ones are hard to come by. I’m lucky that I have a double garage as, it being a fold down caravan it will fit in well. Of course there is the problem of learning how to back it in….but….nothing is impossible if you work at it!!! And it never pays to tell me I can’t do something, because I will find a way!!!

I have joined Lions, I’m now a member of the Canberra Valley Lions Club. Yesterday it was my turn to sell Christmas Cakes in The Canberra Centre (that’s a large shopping mall in the CBD) . I was there for 3 hours, 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and I sold a total of 23 items. Now everyone else has to try and beat that total!!!

I also have not made a mistake with the town house I have bought myself. Its an excellent town house in an excellent position and will appreciate well. If I do decide to live in SA I will not sell this but rent it out.

I belong to three musical groups here affiliated with U3A (University of the Third Age). As I had not done anything with my flute for many years, I felt I would be too rusty to join an orchestra. So over a year ago I joined a recorder orchestra. The recorder being a much simpler instrument and with somewhat similar fingering to the flute, I thought I would start there. I have enjoyed no end playing in the group. It consists of descant, alto, tenor, bass and a few very much larger recorders. The lady who conducts the recorder group at last persuaded me to join the “real” orchestra with my flute, she plays second violin in it. To my amazement I found I had not lost my skill, I am, of course not as good as I was as a teenager, but its coming back, and of course I have more confidence than I had as a teenager and really don’t get embarrassed if I make a loud mistake. Both these groups have given a few concerts in the past year or so. I also joined with a friend and a couple of other instrumentalists to play a few well loved popular tunes. Not only have these groups given me something to do, but I now realise that it doesn’t matter where I live I will always be able to join similar groups.

I hope this finds everyone well.

Jan

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	Christmas Wishes CHRISTMAS 2004 Dear Everyone, A lot has happened this year. Some of you know about it already, but I shall repeat it here for those of you who don’t. The year started off well enough. I had decided that I would de-register my photography business because the weight of my equipment and the hectic pace I had to work at were getting a little much for me. I had know for sometime that Arthur was declining both mentally and physically, but the progress was very slow and he was still able to look after himself as long as I told him what to do. Then in March he started to act very strangely and was totally unable to do anything for himself. He had a CAT Scan and there was definite evidence of Alzheimer’s and of small strokes. I had a lot of trouble accessing help although he was getting too much for me as his deterioration was very rapid. At last, after much pleading on my part, I managed to get the older Persons Mental Health Team to visit and they immediately arranged for him to be admitted to hospital, as they realised I could no longer cope with him physically. He was admitted to hospital on the Wednesday 7th April. For the first couple of weeks in hospital he knew who I was, after that he had no idea and slowly lost his ability to do anything. In the end he was hooked up to so many tubes it was ridiculous. He finally died on May 5th. The summary I wrote for the officiating C of E Minister at his funeral and some pictures can be seen on https://members.tripod.com/JanBW/id63.htm for those without internet access I will copy the summary here. ARTHUR JAMES WILSON Arthur was born in Kuala Lumpur on 23rd May, 1926. His father was Arthur Atterbun Wilson, an English Accountant. His mother was Wong Choo Sem, otherwise known as Angela Wong, a Chinese teacher. His early schooling was in Kuala Lumpur. His mother then took him to Singapore where he attended St. Andrews Anglican School for the rest of his schooling. When he was 15 his schooling was interrupted by the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. As he had been a Boy Scout and was proficient in Morse Code he was employed by the Japanese as a morse code operator, he was fed by the Japanese and given a protective arm band which saved him from some of the dreadful things which happened to his school masters and school friends. After the surrender of Singapore to the allies he went back to school and completed his Cambridge School Certificate. He was an excellent cricketer and athlete and in the last year of school, a prefect. When the results were published he was offered a place as a cadet officer with the Singapore Police Force. He remained with the police Force for 17 years rising to the rank of Senior Inspector, the later part of his time being spent as a Police Prosecutor. This gave him the idea to study to become a lawyer, so in the early sixties he travelled to London to study in Middle Temple in the Inns of Court. He returned to Singapore for a short time before deciding to migrate to Australia. He travelled by a ship called the Australasia which called at several ports including Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He decided to look at the Courts in Moresby to see how things were done, here he met the registrar who happened to be someone he knew. This man arranged an interview with the Secretary of the Law Department who offered him the job of Prosecutor. He disembarked from the ship on 17 July 1967. I met Arthur in 1969 as I was a teacher in Port Moresby. We travelled to Hong Kong in 1971 where he had the job of Crown Counsel. We decided we did not like the crowded nature of Hong Kong so we returned to Port Moresby. Our daughter was born there in 1972. In 1973 we left PNG and went to Darwin where Arthur was again a Prosecutor. We were blown out of there on Christmas Day in 1974 by Cyclone Tracy. We relocated to Canberra where Arthur for a short time was again a Prosecutor. In 1976 Arthur was made the Deputy Master of the Supreme Court Darwin. However, after a short time we decided to return to Canberra where Arthur was in the legislative drafting section of the Attorney Generals Department. He remained there until he retired in 1991. During the January fires in January 2003, Arthur single handedly saved our house and the house next door. He died in Canberra, Australia on 5th May, 2004. Since Arthur’s death I have done quite a few things. The first was to go ahead and buy a house for our daughter Katy, however it is in my name. She is 32 and it was about time she left home and began to look after herself. I do not charge her rent for this house. I then went ahead and bought a town house for myself. The Kambah house was just too big and with far too large a garden for me to keep up. I have a lovely little town house which is on two levels the top level being a three bedroom ensuite house, the bottom level being a double garage with roller door, and a huge store room. I have spent the time since, doing the Kambah house up ready for sale and its now on the market. There has already been a great deal of interest in it and it is for open inspection tomorrow, 4th December. You never know, by the time I finish this letter it might already be sold. I have also arranged to buy a little caravan, its an Aliner. It sort of folds down to a lower profile for towing. Its perfect for one person touring. However, I did make sure I got one with an extra bed in case I ever want to take someone else with me. It is being made for me and I’m buying it from a business in Miami on the Gold Coast. I have to go up there to collect it, It sounds a funny place to buy it from when you live in the ACT, but at $6000 cheaper than Sydney, who wouldn’t travel to get it? It should be ready before Christmas, but I’ve decided to collect it after Christmas, before would be just too rushed. I also, in October took a trip to Adelaide. I went to a Wattle Park Teachers College reunion, and also caught up with a lot of family and friends. The trip actually unsettled me really, as I then wondered where I belonged, where I should live, should I live in ACT or should I live in SA? Was a South Australian or was I a Canberran? I will give myself a little more time to decide, I think its too early yet. I have many friends in ACT, but I also have many friends in SA, and in SA I have relatives too. I know I have not made a mistake with the little caravan I have bought. I will do a few trips and see how I like the “grey nomad” life, if I don’t like it, I can always sell the caravan. They are very popular and second hand ones are hard to come by. I’m lucky that I have a double garage as, it being a fold down caravan it will fit in well. Of course there is the problem of learning how to back it in….but….nothing is impossible if you work at it!!! And it never pays to tell me I can’t do something, because I will find a way!!! I have joined Lions, I’m now a member of the Canberra Valley Lions Club. Yesterday it was my turn to sell Christmas Cakes in The Canberra Centre (that’s a large shopping mall in the CBD) . I was there for 3 hours, 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and I sold a total of 23 items. Now everyone else has to try and beat that total!!! I also have not made a mistake with the town house I have bought myself. Its an excellent town house in an excellent position and will appreciate well. If I do decide to live in SA I will not sell this but rent it out. I belong to three musical groups here affiliated with U3A (University of the Third Age). As I had not done anything with my flute for many years, I felt I would be too rusty to join an orchestra. So over a year ago I joined a recorder orchestra. The recorder being a much simpler instrument and with somewhat similar fingering to the flute, I thought I would start there. I have enjoyed no end playing in the group. It consists of descant, alto, tenor, bass and a few very much larger recorders. The lady who conducts the recorder group at last persuaded me to join the “real” orchestra with my flute, she plays second violin in it. To my amazement I found I had not lost my skill, I am, of course not as good as I was as a teenager, but its coming back, and of course I have more confidence than I had as a teenager and really don’t get embarrassed if I make a loud mistake. Both these groups have given a few concerts in the past year or so. I also joined with a friend and a couple of other instrumentalists to play a few well loved popular tunes. Not only have these groups given me something to do, but I now realise that it doesn’t matter where I live I will always be able to join similar groups. I hope this finds everyone well. Jan Click here to email me