Category Archives: Plonk and Tucker

Southern Yarn for Nov-Dec, 2024

The Southern Yarn is once again complete and ready. We held off in order to include content from our formal dinner last weekend where we celebrated our 75th anniversary as a club.

This means that the Southern Yarn got impacted by the postal strike. Perhaps it was good that we did not even get it into the mail, but we will let you know what happens in terms of our postal customers. For now, we will send the link to our email list so you can read it before Canada Post and their union sort out their differences and catch up on the backlog that is sure to be mounting daily.

Here is Charlie Powell’s Editor’s Corner, to get you started.

For Remembrance Day* this year, we attended the Service in the small rural hamlet of Domain, Manitoba. It was heartening to see the turnout — especially young families.

The outdoor elements included the usual wreath-laying, reading names of locals who enlisted for WWI and II, and Last Post, Rouse and National Anthem, all under surprisingly “mild” weather for this time of year. That was followed with an indoor gathering in the very spacious Community Centre.

One of the few solemn formalities was a projected showing of Terry Kelly’s “A Pittance of Time” music video – you can easily Google it and is worth watching! Children’s participation had been pre-encouraged with an art competition. The results were on display and winners were announced and prizes awarded. Then all were treated to refreshments – donuts, tea, coffee and time to view the artwork and chat with friends.

[*I guess I should explain, for those who are not aware … In Canada, Remembrance Day is commemorated much the same as ANZAC Day is down under.]

As Jenny Gates explains (p.7), our Southern Yarn may or may not remain at its current 8 pages – it will largely depend on how much original content is shared by members and readers.

Oh, and it’s time to renew your membership (p.3). As always, thank you to our advertisers, Peter, Jenny, Brian, Ed, Mike, ….

Yarn May June 2023

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Spring has sprung,
The sun is ris,
I wonder where the birdies is…

They will no doubt be flocking through soon, mostly on their way further north. Thankfully some regulars have stayed around through the winter months – chickadees and nuthatches – and visit our feeders daily.

We took a walk through Kings Park a couple of weeks ago and saw a fleet of pelicans on the river (more than 100). Some were perched on bits of remaining ice. Further along the track, Judy was buzzed by a cheeky chickadee. Luckily, she had come prepared with some black sunflower seeds in her pocket and was soon treated to that unique pleasure of having them feed from her hand. Birds I view this issue is about wood ducks (p.8).

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Yarn January-February 2023

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The first issue of The Southern Yarn is available now, online and in colour, and will be making its way through the post to those still having our postal version in glorious B&W on yellow paper.

Here’s Charlie’s editorial to get you started:

With this first edition for 2023 it is probably worth another reminder of the origins of the DUCW – namely, a bunch of Kiwi and Aussie servicemen wanting to socialize together after making it through WWII and choosing to make Winnipeg their home. This newsletter evolved later, and while sadly those founding vets have all passed on, we try to maintain a nod to their contribution by consistently including an article or something with a military theme – serious or otherwise. So, on p.6, in “Getting to know” there is a piece of history that was news to me until I read of it in the Australian Geographic. The focus is on the secret diamonds, but the bigger picture is the bombing of Broome, WA (I had only heard of the attack on Darwin). It is good to note that the AG journalist rightly acknowledged the critical role of the (Indigenous) Nyal Nyal man who first made contact with the survivors and raised the alarm – as opposed to the Mission Brother, who gets the credit in other accounts.

There are other contributions by my usual collaborators — Jenny, Peter and Judy — and I am particularly grateful this month to Jude McCudden (observations of changes downunder, p.2) and Ed Powell (guest Birds I View observer/writer, p.8). Hopefully they will inspire more of you readers to send in news or links to stories of interest to others. Special thanks, as always, to our advertisers, and Brian Hydesmith who assembles this into its presentable format. Continue reading →