To Julia, who would be 34 tomorrow. Thank you to Julia’s friend Sarah, who took most of these photos. Julia had been making beaded roses before she discovered the medieval origins of beaded flowers. It is rumoured that in heaven, flowers are conscious, releasing love to the viewer. Cheers Sylvia

Hello to anyone who still bothers to read this blog. With grief so profound it seems unable to be borne, I have to report that the light of my life, my daughter Julia Blayse, passed away on February 11. Her pain proved too much for her. If anyone cares to view the livestream of her … Continue reading A Fractured Family →

From page 3 ‘bimbo’ to a rural idyll cheers, Sylvia

The Road To Nowhere I’m looking forward to reading more ....... cheers, Sylvia

Lewis Blayse was a stolen child. The State took him from his home, along with his siblings, in 1951. He was thereafter a Ward of the State of Queensland until adulthood. That wouldn’t be the only time the State inserted itself into his life. In 1989 two officers from Social Security (now Centrelink) arrived at … Continue reading A stolen child →

Glass beaded roses, made by a trauma ‘survivor’ cheers, Sylvia

The children of care leavers can suffer mental illness. But like the children of Holocaust survivors, they are often very high achievers, both academically and artistically. cheers Sylvia

“He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man”, Samuel Johnson I understand, I think, what created the monster who abused me at 17. What I’ll never understand is how I’ve been viewed since, by the Church who treated me with contempt, by the media who have ignored … Continue reading Time for an awakening →

Whatever you do, steer clear of large, cavernous churches, especially cathedrals with organ lofts in the heights. Be careful not to attend one-on-one lessons for any subject during university hours. Take especial care in the case of keyboard instruments. If you are attractive, try to minimise this somehow. You could adopt some disguise, perhaps. If … Continue reading Watch out, young, attractive students! →

From a girl who, like so many other Australian girls, seemed destined for stardom Cheers Sylvia