I love this, Sar! And you sharing it with us, it's delightful. And the video, simply marvellous. For a 16 year old first-timer, I reckon you did great, in your Out of Africa outfit and all! 😘 How wonderful you and Emma have stayed so close all these years.
So much to love ... Dad's shout of joy and his sealing your soles in the heater overnight. Always practical, your dear Dad!
Thank you for this spot of whimsy - a perfect send off for the weekend. May your Friday be similar, with a few 'only connect' opportunities where the universe gives you a big hug and wink from all of us down under and beyond.
For others here - I feel I should introduce Ian!!! Ian came to my first ever book launch in 2012 and has supported me - borne witness to my craziness - along my bumpy road ever since. He's a fellow writer and active Christian who has sent me many prayers over the years. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve such care, but accept it gratefully.
Just what I needed today! Thanks. The ridiculous silliness and magic of life. In another weird circularity I have just read this sitting right next to the stage you walked in 1988, waiting for my daughter who works at the cafe that is now right opposite. Connections across time and space! Xoxo
Is it as grim as it was back then??? I used to work at the Lincraft there, when I was 16. Arriving at the bus interchange...and walking through the sad carpark to start work....eeek!!!
I used to really dislike Belco mall but post COVID I find it has wormed its way into my heart a bit. It was totally grim during COVID so I now smile each time I see it wonderfully busy. Sure, it is still a den of unnecessary consumerism, but it is still a mostly functional community hub that supports many single proprietor businesses as well as chains. Even those chains provide jobs for real people. Having seen some malls in the US where 3/4 of stores are boarded up and security guards stand outside each store remaining open, Belconnen feels normal. I don’t aspire to normal but it is comforting. They have got much better at providing seating where anyone can come into a heated or airconditioned space without having to buy something. It was our fire refugee when it was too dangerous to be on the farm during the black summer. Belconnen was built around the dream of the car, if the mall fails there is no other similarly large space for people to gather - like it or not it is the town square so I am embracing its good parts. I don’t think it will go away, I sometimes imagine how good it could be as an urban garden space and market - it has great light with those glass roofs and could support a humming weekly market when we need to do things differently. Lincraft only just closed - just after covid, it was still in the same spot! I noticed last week it has just reopened with a smaller store in another part of the mall. I showed both my daughters who work at the cafe your video this morning, to many giggles! A blast from the past in all the best ways! Thank you.
How funny to see Belconnen Mall mentioned on the worldly, infinite Internet - I was there on Thursday (I only go about once a year), right after a Belco Bunnings trip, and before visiting a cafe near the lakeside skate park. We looked for shoelaces, of all things, and used the spiral staircase, which might be where Miss GeeBee was held 35 years ago..
Yes! Sounds like a lovely Thursday. I’ve not been to the cafe near the skate park - opposite subway? Do you recommend? Check out the original design of the spiral staircase it has been so beigeified: https://hercanberra.com.au/city/remembering-40-years-westfield-belconnen/. Lovely to meet a fellow Canberran here.
Hah, another Canberran here too! Thanks for the link to the mall birthday story, although I don’t visit it often.
In another typical “one and a half degrees of separation” moment as it turns out I worked with Barbara Craft (mentioned in the story) at Advance Bank in the early 90’s 🫣
PS - not sure if you're on instagram but I did a little reel of me @emmamacdonaldinsta with wildly curly hair wearing the most 80's outfits and strutting my stuff. (That's what has me laughing most, modelling was SO ridiculous!!!!)
Not on IG often but I checked out your hair - beautiful! My youngest has crazy curly hair, it drives her mad too. So much of what we do is ridiculous if we pause long enough to think about it. Wishing you a beautiful sunny Saturday xo
Gillian I thought of you this weekend as I trudged out to Belconnen to buy my elderly father some pyjamas. Had to take myself to the stage where it all happened. Have not stopped humming S'Express songs and laughing about it all. x
Oh this is classic - and having been in Lyneham High with you I think spending your lunchtimes phoning random people from phoneboxes would have absolutely been better than being chased by boonies or picked on by...should I even name names? We survived, and here we both are, far wiser but probably not cooler, in France, proving that even the most suburban of suburbanites can escape and build strange and beautiful lives!
Indeed!! Yeah, the bullying had something to do with me disappearing at lunch. Perhaps something has to be bad enough to get a sensitive soul REALLY fleeing a joint..and if you're going to flee, make it France!
You remind me so much of Ruth Crilly in this post Sarah. She’s a friend of a friend and is hilariously self deprecating. Worth a follow on here and Instagram for sure xx
Sezzie, I have been ruminating on the video (all one hour of the craziness of it) and your words. While we laughed like hyenas the night I called you (I live for those crazy convos and wild laughter!), I have been feeling such nostalgia and tenderness for that wild young girl in the white dress. The passage that you were "breathless and alert" in the back of the car on the way home after the parade really touched me because I remember seeing you at the agency and you were the proverbial deer in the headlights, breathing hard and ready to leap when startled. You were so deeply unfamiliar and uncomfortable with what went on around you. I remember instinctively wanting to protect you while also being acutely you did not fit in. But in my eyes this was a good thing! You were interesting, you were doing four jobs (making and selling doll's house furniture being one of them!) and you were clever. You truly seemed far more substantial than those other preening bitchy girls. I don't know if I ever explained to you that high school was a nightmare for me too. I was called a "square" and largely ostracised, my only solace was hanging with another group of squares and focusing on my school work. I looked very funny back then, with the crazy hair, braces and freckles. I was already dealing with an eating disorder and my self esteem was in the toilet. Oh, and even my drama teacher called me "Little Miss Ugly" in front of the entire class. So maybe I saw a bit of a kindred spirit. If we could survive those brutal inner north high schools, then clearly, we could, and have, survived much more. I love the circuitous events of the past week and marvel that after all this time, actual footage exists. I treasure it. xxx
Oh Em, thank you. I know you saw me as I was...before I saw it myself. As you know, I also loved the challenge of that whole experience and was largely bored back then, so it all kept me on my toes. And it taught me.... DEPORTMENT!!!! haha
I’ve said for many years there’s only one and a half degrees of separation in Canberra, but that takes it to a whole new level 🤩 And the story of your statue in Damme is equally mind blowing and serendipitous! I guess it proves that you’re definitely larger than life 😜
Love it, it's so cool getting to see yourself at 16, I loved the scrunched socks. When I look at myself at 16 I have this huge fringe that I would straighten with a hair crimper then have a big wave bit that would stick up then spray heaps of hairspray to hold it all, I'm sad to say that I did not care about the ozone layer at 16. Also your spins were amazing 🤩
Thank you for all your podcasts and writing. They are wonderful.
Katherine Deveny is in Paris at the moment with Gunnas Internatiinsl.
She is a very outspoken Austrslian journalist. Think she would be very interesting to interview. Not for everyone but funny and very thought provoking!
As a born and bred Canberran now living on the other side of the country, this story gave me a good giggle and a dose of nostalgia. Thank you for lighting up the week Sarah! Off to get a copy of first we make the beast beautiful now I guess - have been meaning to read it for quite a while, and this story sealed it
Hi Sarah, I'd love to meet you when you're in London. My suggestions for nice wine are Boro Bistro right by London Bridge, or Vagabond - one near monument, in Shoreditch or Victoria.
Still hoping it might be possible to leave the lakes and get down to London for a quick meet up with you on 19th. Won't know until another couple of dates (a friend's funeral and a 40 yes on reunion of some long haulers) are agreed. Meantime my London based daughter suggested this spot where you can apparently book a corner for drinks https://www.editionhotels.com/london/restaurants-and-bars/punch-room/
Aww Sarah, I really wanted to do this but my good friend's funeral date has just been set for Monday 23rd plus 40th anniversary reunion of Long Haul buddies in OXford this Sunday. I don't think a third trip south between the two is going to be on. I'm so genuinely sorry to miss this chance to chew the cud with you and others. Next time.... :(
I too was teased for being ‘good’ Anna. And for my curls - so many silly names, ‘did you put your finger in the power point this morning?’
Mean, mean, mean 😢 and what motivates the name caller? It seems there’s some street cred’ for publicly teasing. The lack of care is seen as brave or tough… while standing up to or calling out the meanness is much harder. Doesn’t happen enough and so the teasing and chest puffing continues.
At Lyneham High teasing went to violent levels. It was the era. And the school...as Jo (one of the other commenters) can attest. I found the fact I cared is what got me attacked. I was too interested in school work. But the "girls" told me years later that when I acted like I didn't care about them, it made them go harder. Sigh.
I too thought it was sad that you felt sad. Even though we can see these things with broader and adult perspectives, the imprint of the emotions and the discomfort of those childhood and teen experiences can remain.
I love this, Sar! And you sharing it with us, it's delightful. And the video, simply marvellous. For a 16 year old first-timer, I reckon you did great, in your Out of Africa outfit and all! 😘 How wonderful you and Emma have stayed so close all these years.
So much to love ... Dad's shout of joy and his sealing your soles in the heater overnight. Always practical, your dear Dad!
Thank you for this spot of whimsy - a perfect send off for the weekend. May your Friday be similar, with a few 'only connect' opportunities where the universe gives you a big hug and wink from all of us down under and beyond.
Big love, dear Sar! xx
Wink and hug received, dear Ian.
For others here - I feel I should introduce Ian!!! Ian came to my first ever book launch in 2012 and has supported me - borne witness to my craziness - along my bumpy road ever since. He's a fellow writer and active Christian who has sent me many prayers over the years. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve such care, but accept it gratefully.
That’s heartening to know you have a friend like Ian. X And the video is marvellous yes!
Just what I needed today! Thanks. The ridiculous silliness and magic of life. In another weird circularity I have just read this sitting right next to the stage you walked in 1988, waiting for my daughter who works at the cafe that is now right opposite. Connections across time and space! Xoxo
Just remembered - you met Emma at the meet-up (sat next to each other)
Yes! I remember the lovely Emma. So good to meet you both that evening :)
Is it as grim as it was back then??? I used to work at the Lincraft there, when I was 16. Arriving at the bus interchange...and walking through the sad carpark to start work....eeek!!!
I used to really dislike Belco mall but post COVID I find it has wormed its way into my heart a bit. It was totally grim during COVID so I now smile each time I see it wonderfully busy. Sure, it is still a den of unnecessary consumerism, but it is still a mostly functional community hub that supports many single proprietor businesses as well as chains. Even those chains provide jobs for real people. Having seen some malls in the US where 3/4 of stores are boarded up and security guards stand outside each store remaining open, Belconnen feels normal. I don’t aspire to normal but it is comforting. They have got much better at providing seating where anyone can come into a heated or airconditioned space without having to buy something. It was our fire refugee when it was too dangerous to be on the farm during the black summer. Belconnen was built around the dream of the car, if the mall fails there is no other similarly large space for people to gather - like it or not it is the town square so I am embracing its good parts. I don’t think it will go away, I sometimes imagine how good it could be as an urban garden space and market - it has great light with those glass roofs and could support a humming weekly market when we need to do things differently. Lincraft only just closed - just after covid, it was still in the same spot! I noticed last week it has just reopened with a smaller store in another part of the mall. I showed both my daughters who work at the cafe your video this morning, to many giggles! A blast from the past in all the best ways! Thank you.
How funny to see Belconnen Mall mentioned on the worldly, infinite Internet - I was there on Thursday (I only go about once a year), right after a Belco Bunnings trip, and before visiting a cafe near the lakeside skate park. We looked for shoelaces, of all things, and used the spiral staircase, which might be where Miss GeeBee was held 35 years ago..
Yes! Sounds like a lovely Thursday. I’ve not been to the cafe near the skate park - opposite subway? Do you recommend? Check out the original design of the spiral staircase it has been so beigeified: https://hercanberra.com.au/city/remembering-40-years-westfield-belconnen/. Lovely to meet a fellow Canberran here.
Hah, another Canberran here too! Thanks for the link to the mall birthday story, although I don’t visit it often.
In another typical “one and a half degrees of separation” moment as it turns out I worked with Barbara Craft (mentioned in the story) at Advance Bank in the early 90’s 🫣
Yay Ellen! Lovely to connect with you here too.
That hurts my head. I remember it being built.
Gahhh… cwazy!!☺️
PS - not sure if you're on instagram but I did a little reel of me @emmamacdonaldinsta with wildly curly hair wearing the most 80's outfits and strutting my stuff. (That's what has me laughing most, modelling was SO ridiculous!!!!)
Not on IG often but I checked out your hair - beautiful! My youngest has crazy curly hair, it drives her mad too. So much of what we do is ridiculous if we pause long enough to think about it. Wishing you a beautiful sunny Saturday xo
Gillian I thought of you this weekend as I trudged out to Belconnen to buy my elderly father some pyjamas. Had to take myself to the stage where it all happened. Have not stopped humming S'Express songs and laughing about it all. x
Ha! Thought of me as the only person weird enough to admit to having a soft spot for Belconnen Mall :). Thank you for the blast from the past!
Oh this is classic - and having been in Lyneham High with you I think spending your lunchtimes phoning random people from phoneboxes would have absolutely been better than being chased by boonies or picked on by...should I even name names? We survived, and here we both are, far wiser but probably not cooler, in France, proving that even the most suburban of suburbanites can escape and build strange and beautiful lives!
Indeed!! Yeah, the bullying had something to do with me disappearing at lunch. Perhaps something has to be bad enough to get a sensitive soul REALLY fleeing a joint..and if you're going to flee, make it France!
Great stories! It’s fab to hear lovely stories in amongst the mess x
So delightful!
You remind me so much of Ruth Crilly in this post Sarah. She’s a friend of a friend and is hilariously self deprecating. Worth a follow on here and Instagram for sure xx
Sezzie, I have been ruminating on the video (all one hour of the craziness of it) and your words. While we laughed like hyenas the night I called you (I live for those crazy convos and wild laughter!), I have been feeling such nostalgia and tenderness for that wild young girl in the white dress. The passage that you were "breathless and alert" in the back of the car on the way home after the parade really touched me because I remember seeing you at the agency and you were the proverbial deer in the headlights, breathing hard and ready to leap when startled. You were so deeply unfamiliar and uncomfortable with what went on around you. I remember instinctively wanting to protect you while also being acutely you did not fit in. But in my eyes this was a good thing! You were interesting, you were doing four jobs (making and selling doll's house furniture being one of them!) and you were clever. You truly seemed far more substantial than those other preening bitchy girls. I don't know if I ever explained to you that high school was a nightmare for me too. I was called a "square" and largely ostracised, my only solace was hanging with another group of squares and focusing on my school work. I looked very funny back then, with the crazy hair, braces and freckles. I was already dealing with an eating disorder and my self esteem was in the toilet. Oh, and even my drama teacher called me "Little Miss Ugly" in front of the entire class. So maybe I saw a bit of a kindred spirit. If we could survive those brutal inner north high schools, then clearly, we could, and have, survived much more. I love the circuitous events of the past week and marvel that after all this time, actual footage exists. I treasure it. xxx
So brutal...the eye of competition..
And common ness if E.D in the highly intelligent...or those wanting to DO GOOD...to fit in...to serve...
To contend and partake...
Imagine if we were given the solace...just to RELAX...and allow life to take us..
Go w the flow...
70s 80s 90s and early 2000s...
Easier then..
Oh Em, thank you. I know you saw me as I was...before I saw it myself. As you know, I also loved the challenge of that whole experience and was largely bored back then, so it all kept me on my toes. And it taught me.... DEPORTMENT!!!! haha
I’ve said for many years there’s only one and a half degrees of separation in Canberra, but that takes it to a whole new level 🤩 And the story of your statue in Damme is equally mind blowing and serendipitous! I guess it proves that you’re definitely larger than life 😜
Love it, it's so cool getting to see yourself at 16, I loved the scrunched socks. When I look at myself at 16 I have this huge fringe that I would straighten with a hair crimper then have a big wave bit that would stick up then spray heaps of hairspray to hold it all, I'm sad to say that I did not care about the ozone layer at 16. Also your spins were amazing 🤩
I practiced them spins!
Hey Sar, love your sculptured ‘noggin’! 👍 that’s great that you looked and found it too!
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for all your podcasts and writing. They are wonderful.
Katherine Deveny is in Paris at the moment with Gunnas Internatiinsl.
She is a very outspoken Austrslian journalist. Think she would be very interesting to interview. Not for everyone but funny and very thought provoking!
Cheers
Cynthia Humphreys 🩷
As a born and bred Canberran now living on the other side of the country, this story gave me a good giggle and a dose of nostalgia. Thank you for lighting up the week Sarah! Off to get a copy of first we make the beast beautiful now I guess - have been meaning to read it for quite a while, and this story sealed it
Thanks for 'Berra support x
Hi Sarah, I'd love to meet you when you're in London. My suggestions for nice wine are Boro Bistro right by London Bridge, or Vagabond - one near monument, in Shoreditch or Victoria.
Details are now confirmed, you can register for the event via the below link, hope to see you there x
https://forms.gle/ubMYr7h9VDEj33Dr6
Thank you!
Still hoping it might be possible to leave the lakes and get down to London for a quick meet up with you on 19th. Won't know until another couple of dates (a friend's funeral and a 40 yes on reunion of some long haulers) are agreed. Meantime my London based daughter suggested this spot where you can apparently book a corner for drinks https://www.editionhotels.com/london/restaurants-and-bars/punch-room/
Thank you. Looks lovely, but I have to be aware of everyone's budget...cocktails could be a bit too much for some...but I'll keep in mind x
Ah yes, she loves a cocktail. Should have clocked that! 😂
Details are now confirmed, you can register for the event via the below link, hopefully you can make it down.
https://forms.gle/ubMYr7h9VDEj33Dr6
Aww Sarah, I really wanted to do this but my good friend's funeral date has just been set for Monday 23rd plus 40th anniversary reunion of Long Haul buddies in OXford this Sunday. I don't think a third trip south between the two is going to be on. I'm so genuinely sorry to miss this chance to chew the cud with you and others. Next time.... :(
Love the story.
Love the pose.
Love your friend Emma. Sad you felt sad at your own nerdiness...
I was teased for being a goodie goodie , what a travesty humans can be..
I liked the little me. I was fiesta and could be an observer but tried so hard to fit in...
And I did. Now I most certainly don't.
As Shakespeare said...all the world's a stage...
Most certainly is at the moment..
With little care for one a other.
Please try for Naomi Klein and Charles eisenstein on your pod...
Big Love.
I too was teased for being ‘good’ Anna. And for my curls - so many silly names, ‘did you put your finger in the power point this morning?’
Mean, mean, mean 😢 and what motivates the name caller? It seems there’s some street cred’ for publicly teasing. The lack of care is seen as brave or tough… while standing up to or calling out the meanness is much harder. Doesn’t happen enough and so the teasing and chest puffing continues.
At Lyneham High teasing went to violent levels. It was the era. And the school...as Jo (one of the other commenters) can attest. I found the fact I cared is what got me attacked. I was too interested in school work. But the "girls" told me years later that when I acted like I didn't care about them, it made them go harder. Sigh.
I too thought it was sad that you felt sad. Even though we can see these things with broader and adult perspectives, the imprint of the emotions and the discomfort of those childhood and teen experiences can remain.