The Other Side

In the early 1940's, my paternal grandfather was given a 48-hour leave from the base where he was a mechanic for the RAF. He and another serviceman walked past a theatre and decided to go in. They dug into their pockets for change but were quickly told that they didn't need to pay. They were given front and centre seats ... at the theatre recently featured in the movie Mrs Henderson Presents. He said his eyeballs still haven't popped back into his head.

He and my grandmother have been married for 63 years. They met in Blythe when she was 14 and he was 17 and moved to Australia with three children in the mid-1950's. In Adelaide, they got off the boat with a single trunk and $50.

We spent two days with them in Adelaide, which, along with Melbourne, is having the coldest June since the 1800's. Some places are recording the coldest temperatures ever. I'm so glad we're here to feel such important history being made. My toes are not so glad. Despite socks and nearby heating, they remain frozen. But I digress.

My grandfather had lots of stories to tell. He told us about their friends dog who only eats chicken breast (cooked and diced) and who needs to be walked every night at midnight. He told us about where he was on D-day: his squadron moved from Iceland to a loch in Scotland in terrible weather. He said that when someone in the squadron was killed, you would say that he had gone to have a Burton - a type of beer. This allowed all the men to keep a stiff upper lip, which is a vital part of being British.

It took me a while to realise why seeing Nana was strange. In the past, she's been so motherly - going out of her way to take care of me. This time, it was she who needed to be taken care of. She's much more frail and her memory is not what it used to be. She asked us at least three times per day when we were moving to Tasmania. While her memory may be declining, her cooking has certainly improved, most likely attributable to my grandfather's heart attack. She can no longer use as primary ingredients bacon, cheese, butter, cream, bacon and cheese. All of our arteries are glad.

There are magpies a-plenty around their house and they have trained my grandparents quite well. In the morning, they warble just outside the back door and are rewarded with bread for breakfast. Then they warble for morning tea. And for lunch. And afternoon tea. They have quite a racket going. In the mornings, Z and I would wake up to their songs and extricate ourselves from the guest bed, which is older than me. It was impossible to avoid rolling downhill into the centre of the mattress, though sleeping close together (with pyjamas, socks and sweaters on) helped keep us warm. There were still windows in the house open despite the bitter cold.

The first morning I opted for a shower to warm up. The trickle of water dribbling out of the tap was barely hot without any cold water on at all. But I guess it's all a part of sucking it up and not complaining. As my grandfather likes to say, Keep a stiff upper lip.