Category Archives: Website

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 – Jan-Feb 2024

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24-Yarn_0102-JanFeb So, we’re into 2024 already, and The Yarn is right there, along for the ride with you.

The January-February edition is available now, and here is the Editorial to get you started:

Happy new year, Yarn readers! And it’s not just a new year, it’s also the Club’s 75th! That’s quite an achievement for a little outpost here in the middle of North America, eh?! Talk about the “Aussie/Kiwi battler” – the DUCW exemplifies just such a character. And this little Southern Yarn gazette plays a not so insignificant part in the battle to stay alive and relevant ‘midst the constant bombardment of alt-media’s missiles, mortar and manipulations.

So, if you value these 8 pages in your inbox or mailbox every couple of months, please heed Catherine’s renewal reminder (p.1). Where else does one find such concise and concentrated downunder content? This edition, again, is a typical example – there’s Club and member news, book reviews, bird views, OZ and NZ news – you choose.

Since there likely would not be a DUCW if it weren’t for the BCATP, it gets another prominent mention (p.6). The humble but joyful little canary gets the honour of first bird “viewed” this year (p.8).

Huge thanks again to Jenny, Peter, Judy, Catherine, advertisers, Brian, et al.

Sept-Oct edition of the Southern Yarn

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The September October edition of The Southern Yarn is available for your reading pleasure. Yes, it’s later than we hoped, but some great content in there as usual!

It’s also on the Yarn page.

And here is Charlie’s editorial to get you started:

As we remind readers, from time to time, most of the founding members of the Down Under Club of Winnipeg ended up here as a result of their involvement in WWII. More specifically, most had come here for air and navigation training, under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, before being shipped on to more active duty. Then, having survived, they returned to their Canadian sweethearts who were waiting. Continue reading →

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 →

Southern Yarn Dec 2021 – Jan 2022

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It’s time for the last, AND the first Yarn of the years we are bridging with this issue. Stand by for the Dec-Jan issue of The Southern Yarn in your mailbox in glorious yellow paper and B&W print, or in modern full colour (with live hyperlinks!) via the PDF documents featured as always here on our website.

And good luck with getting used to saying and writing the new year 2022. That’s a lot of twos, but it has a nice ring two it, right?

The Southern Yarn, Dec 2021 to Jan 2022

And here’s Charlie’s editorial to get you started.

As Peter reports, our recent AGM was fun and multi-national. Not only that, some great ideas emerged and you will see their influence on the content in future issues of The Southern Yarn. As always, we welcome the contributions from members and friends. So, “Thank You” to Jude McCudden for her thoughtful poetic offering (p. 6) and Peter Debenham’s friend, Brian McCann, for his ‘Great Ocean Drive” story (p. 5). Also, Jenny has put together some member related snippets in “Re Member” (p. 3). Again, I thank our regulars and our advertisers!

Meanwhile, as the nursery rhyme advises: “Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the poor man’s hat. If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do. If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!” And as this food safety professional advises: Keep it simple, keep it cold or keep it hot, but keep it safe!

Be generous and … Enjoy!
– Charlie