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Abolition of Slave trade and ownership
A brief history of when the trade and ownership of slave labour became illegal around the world.
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Boa Vista: Getting a feel for ancestry
We know from official records in Australia that Antonio Albress was born on Boa Vista, Cape Verde. We don't know where or exactly when: sometime in the 1840s. We do know Albress was not his birth last name, making finding records of him difficult.
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Santiago: Sunshine and history
Moving from Winter to tropical heat, I was quite sluggish getting used to the change. Adding a cold picked up from the 24 hour flight Australia to London, I sweated it out. Santiago is a little like the East and Southern Africa I travelled around in 1990, and nothing like it. It is its own unique place.
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Lisbon: Just add water
While it rained the whole time I was in Lisbon, it wasn't as cold as London – so things were looking up! So happy I have a water proof camera.
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London: Time to play tourist
I came to London primarily to get my Cape Verde visa. I added a couple of days to visit friends in Kent and play tourist around the city. Sadly I realised I no longer remembered my way around and was winging it!
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Update on my travels
The plan was to blog my journey in 2016. Unfortunately I took so many photos, narrowing it down to a handful became overwhelming. So it was something that was put off and put off. I managed to write 2 blogs when I returned, then 3 mid 2017 after sorting out the photos and adding them to this website. I have added 3 more posts in 2019, with the remaining still in draft stage. This has taught me that it is best to have a plan and a system in place.
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A date with history
If I could go anywhere in the world, where would I go? That led me to start planning a trip to Cape Verde and Jamaica.
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Part of the battle is recognising what it is
There are standard descriptions of what anxiety and depression is, but what if what you experience isn't standard?
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Mahatma Gandhi quote, with addition
Nor will I allow people to walk through my heart with dirty feet.
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Quote
“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” Herm Albright Originally posted on Blogger 6 September 2012
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For Mum
Originally posted a couple of weeks before my mother passed away, I recalled a letter I wrote to her after recovering from surgery that led to significant rehabilitation. The letter was prompted from the thought of what I would say in eulogy, then why do we not say it to the person while they are alive? This was my way of telling my mother I loved her.
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Stuck
Sometimes all the strategies in the world do not help when you are stuck and it seems like motivation is non-existent.
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In memory
Originally posted on Blogger 15 February 2012 Today is Val’s birthday – wonderful husband to Barb and father to John and Brian. Today we also remember the fall of Singapore in 1942 – where sadly, Val spent a few years in Changi. A few years ago I had the honour and privilege of repairing and retouching the photo of Val’s battalion, the 2/29th, with the sad realisation that many did not make it home to their families. With the commemoration of 70 years since these events my thoughts have been with them these last few days. Today is also the memoriam of my grandfathers passing. Lest we forget.
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Hibiscus
Originally posted on Blogger 12 January 2012 There are two hibiscus where I now live. The yellow one below is in the front garden and there is a pink one in the back yard. You may have noticed I love taking photos but these days I don’t have pets or young children (like my nephews) to take photos of (although they aren’t young children anymore) so flowers seem to be my thing. It helps that I’m an aromatherapist so love doing the macro photos and seeing the weenie hairs on stems, leaves, stamen etc. For these flowers, the attraction was trying to get all of that and the ants that…
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This beautiful photo and story brought tears
Pablo Casals, 1954 Originally posted on Blogger 7 January 2012 In the Abbey de Cuxa in Prades, I spent several glorious hours with the master of the cello. Our rapport was instantaneous – he trusted me to carry his cherished instrument. I was so moved on listening to him play Bach that I could not, for some moments, attend to photography. I have never photographed anyone, before or since, with his back turned to the camera, but it seemed to me just right. For me, the bare room conveys the loneliness of the artist, at the pinnacle of his art, and also the loneliness of exile. Years later, when this…
