Lunch with Michael and the gang at The Little Snail

Always so lovely to catch up with Michael and Sue's friends. We meet at The Little Snail, a wonderful French restaurant in Pyrmont. They do a three course meal for $50. I had mushroom crepe, kangaroo fillet and a profiterole. So delicious!

Lunch at The Little Snail, Pyrmont and wonderful discussions about family research

A lovely lunch with Sue's friends, our quarterly get-together to keep her memory alive.  Michael couldn't make it unfortunately. The favourite conversation during lunch was family research through ancestry.com and DNA tests. Everyone is passionate about this. A great synchronicity after my recent project and still waiting for the DNA results. I learned some great tips.

Darling Harbour

Little Snail restaurant

The Little Snail does a wonderful 3 course meal. I had the most delicious mushroom crepe, lamb and chocolate mousse.

Jann's amazing family research

Jann has taken her family research to another level. She has written the most amazing book weaving together all she discovered. I had a look at it over lunch and it moved me to tears. I later wrote her an email and had a beautiful response (see below).

Email to Jann and her response

Hi Jann

Spending time with you on Thursday was truly wonderful, and seeing your incredible family book was a real privilege.

I've been reflecting on why it affected me so deeply. I’ve always been haunted by the thought that our lives—filled with countless experiences, both sublime and challenging—fade away when we pass. Each of us is a rich story wrapped in skin, yet in time, those stories are lost, like "tears in the rain." There’s something profoundly beautiful about this, but also deeply poignant.

Your book is an antidote to that loss. With exquisite detail, it captures and preserves the experiences of those who have passed on—some long ago—allowing us to share in their journeys. It keeps them alive in our hearts and minds, celebrating love, joy, dreams, hardships, and heartache. It is, in essence, a celebration of life itself.

Thank you for the inspiration. I’d love to have a digital copy of your book—to immerse myself in it and to use it as inspiration for creating something similar for my own family.

See you at the next gathering

Warmly,

Graeme

Hello Graeme

I am quite touched by three aspects of your thoughtful email:

• The sensitive way you express your thoughts and reactions;
• Your appreciation of my cobbling of the story in an attempt to capture and relate some aspects of the lives of those who came before;
• And that seeing an example in black and white may be a stimulus for you to capture your family’s story.

I’ll say again what I said on Thursday.... looking back from this end of life (Smile) allows for a perspective and a deeper understanding about the circumstances and life pressures governing the lives of past generations.

 

You are so very kind and your words are much appreciated.

Gosh, if it was to be published (it won’t) your writing would be perfect for the back cover!

 

I will send it soon – just want to tidy up the corrections offered so scrupulously and generously by Judy!

 

Thank you

Jann

Email to Michael

Hi there Michael

I hope the funeral on Thu went ok and it was a fitting celebration of a full and beautiful life.

We missed you greatly on Thursday, and you were very much part of our conversations.

I'm really glad I went as, apart from the wonderful company, it was a source of tremendous inspiration.

For the past few months, I have been immersing myself in family research, discovering long lost family relatives. I've even done an ancestry DNA test. It's all been a beautiful and enriching experience.

It was thus an incredible synchronicity to discover on Thursday that family research is a favourite past-time of several people there.  It led to captivating and very useful discussions. Most inspiring of all is that Jann happened to have with her a book she has written on her family's history. I was moved and inspired by it beyond measure.  Below is an email I just wrote to her.

Anyway, sending you love and healing vibes. I hope you get your energy and mojo back soon so you are rampant and raring to go.

Cheers

G

Thank you, Graeme, for letting me know.

It’s delightful that you all clicked on Thursday. So, you won’t mind that Graeme Tucker asked for your email address; which I’ve given to all of those luncheon suspects.

So an interesting ancestry DNA for you. Wot’s the result – English, Viking, German?

Yes, yes, for we non-believers it’s poignant that our “stories, wrapped in skin, in time are lost”.

Thinking (hard), our stories do fade but . . . you know, Carl Jung and all his stuff about the collective unconscious; we might have a lasting effect; albeit stories remain gone?

. . .  OR, on the other hand, as a wise man from Muswellbrook once quoted – If you fill a bucket with water; then put your hand in; then remove it, the result is an example to you of one’s importance in the greater scheme!

At my (!) highly satisfactory funeral on Thursday, the celebrant mentioned our shared stories – the connection but the now and future "one-sidedness”. I thought that he nailed the condition.

Yours in research,

Michael

Lunch with Michael and Sue's friends

It's always so lovely to catch up with this beautiful group of people.  We had the most delicious lunch at the Little Snail in Pyrmont.  It offers a three course menu and I chose mushroom and spinach crepe, kangaroo steak and chocolate mousse.  Absolutely delicious!

Balmoral lunch with Michael

 Grilled calamari, prawns and fish with Michael at Balmoral. I got some snaps of Balmoral but forgot to get a photo of Michael and I.

Slideshow for Michael

I did an end of life slideshow for Michael, Sue's wonderful brother, for when he eventually passes, hopefully a very long time from now.  It was really fun immersing myself in his favourite memories and photos.  Really soul enriching. At, the end of the day, we are all stories wrapped in skin and it was lovely getting to know his story.

Lunch with Michael and Sue's friends, after pottering at Wendy's Secret Garden

Michael's 80th birthday

Michael held his birthday celebration at the Macquarie Cemetery for which he was mercilessly teased in the speeches. I had a super time and had some great conversations with people I hadn't met before including someone who, like me, had recently returned from Antarctica.

Lunch with Michael and Sue's old friends

 

Email to Michael after getting back from Cape Town

Hi there Michael

I've just got back from a wonderful month in South Africa. It was so great to spend quality time with my family. I also got to do lots of hiking with my sister and friend, Russell, including an epic hike in The Cedarberg.

One of the most exciting things for me was getting back into my bird photography in a big way. South Africa has incredible birds. I was yet again bowled over by my new camera and how easy it made it to get wonderful shots of birds in focus. I wanted to share one specific highlight which you can see it here.  It was a priceless experience for me and one that my camera allowed me to capture easily and immortalise. Once again, I'm so thankful to you for making it possible.

It would be lovely to meet up for lunch or coffee sometime if you are free and catch up. I do so enjoy our conversations.

By the way, Antarctica is happening now in March. We're doing it a bit later because we're going on a longer trip including South Georgia and the Falklands to.  A dream.

Talk soon

G

Letter to Michael

Sorry I haven't been in contact like I said I would.  Life has been unbelievably hectic for really wonderful reasons I wanted to share as it involves you directly!

You'll remember Sue went to both the Arctic and Antarctic on her travels and they were the best travel experiences of her life. Her eyes would light up whenever she spoke of her adventures there and her photos were unbelievable.  I got to edit her photos from both places and dreamed of going myself one day.  However, the cost of getting on the ship  is very, very high and I wondered if I would ever get the chance.

Then, out of the blue, an educational company who a good friend works for contacted me and asked me if I'd like to go on an Arctic expedition with them as  their nature photographer and researcher - totally for free!!   If the trip is a success, there will be the chance to go to Antarctica too and several other destinations around the world.  An absolute dream come true!!

The only challenge was that I needed to have the latest, mirrorless camera and my camera and some of my lenses are very out of date.  

So, thanks to your amazing generosity, I was able to go out and get all the photographic equipment I need. Without it, I would really have struggled to afford it. The process of deciding which camera and lenses to get has been unbelievably exciting.

I've had a chance to really get to use the new camera and lenses over the past few weeks and it's blown me away with what it can do. It somehow knows when you are photographing an animal and focuses on the animal's eyes without you having to do anything. It's total magic and takes all the stress out of photographing wildlife.  Photographing polar bears is going to be a cinch with it.

So I just wanted to thank you again for all you've enabled . I appreciate it more than words can say.  I know Sue, wherever she may be, will be absolutely and thoroughly delighted too.  I really have a wonderful sense of that.

I leave for the Arctic tomorrow and will be away 3 weeks or so.  When I get back, I'd love to take you out for lunch and regale you with my adventures and show you some of my photos.

I hope you are doing really well.

G