Inspiration

What inspires you?  Or rather, who inspires you?  When you get to my age you can recall so many people who have helped shape you into the person you are today, for better or worse.  My parents were   the first to influence me, encouraging me to stretch beyond what I thought I was capable of.  Since that time there have been all those stepping stones - a loving husband, remarkable children and extraordinary friends, all who inspire me every day.

Over the past few weeks I have been wondering if I should slow down a tad, give myself a break from my little business.  After all, I am at an age where many folk are in retirement villages or (gasp) nursing homes.  Then this morning I discovered this remarkable woman.

Her name is Ann.  She is 81 years old and she has just won the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee.  Eighty-one.  My goodness.

This morning I sat in front of my computer watching the final episode of the series.  I was so excited that I had to pause the programme while I rushed into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.  The three finalists were aged 27, 48 and 81 - quite a wide range in ages and each was so inspirational in her own way.

But it was the winner Ann who had the ability to fire up my lagging enthusiasm.  Even better came the last postscript in the programme ...

She is now a quilter!  

If you have an hour to spare, do yourself a favour.  Make a cup of coffee, put a cushion on your computer chair, sit back and be delighted.

To complete my day, I had an early morning visitor who dropped by just as I finished watching the video.

It also happens to be Anzac Day - a time to remember all those in the armed forces who sacrificed so much so that we can enjoy this wonderful life we have today.    They are my ultimate inspiration.

Anzac Day

Back in 1986 we were travelling through France with our three young children.  In our possession were copies of letters written by Private William O'Brien, given to us by one of his relatives.  We were on our way to Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery, at Vaulx-Vraucourt in Northern France.

Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery at Vaulx-Vraucourt

Our daughter, then 13, was reading the letters out loud as we drove through the countryside in an attempt to find his grave.  As she was reading his final letter, out of the corn fields this little cemetery appeared.  The whole experience was so moving that I still remember it as vividly as if it was yesterday.

Willie O'Brien was one of 10 children whose widowed mother struggled to keep the family business afloat in the early 1900s.  His remarkable story can be read here.  The family business survived, no thanks to the banks which in those days thought a widow with ten children was perhaps a poor risk.  The company was Defiance Flour Milling Company, soon to become a Queensland icon.

So here's to the memory of a remarkable young Australian, Willie O'Brien, who died 94 years ago last Friday, at the tender age of 20.  Lest we forget.