At this stage, I don’t know for sure if I’m related to James Patrick Terence O’Brien of Lismore, NSW but his story fascinates me, nonetheless. It’s a story I discovered quite accidentally, searching for family history connections using the Trove newspaper database.
The many newspaper reports clearly indicate James had a really, really serious long-term problem with alcohol, which resulted in many convictions over many years.… Read the rest “James Patrick Terence O’Brien”
On the weekend I finally got around to watching the brilliant television program “Friends Of Dorothy” by William Yang. William is a really important Australian photographer whose work documents, in particular, Sydney’s gay and lesbian scene in the last forty years.
I have met William on a few occasions and have concluded he’s a very lovely man.… Read the rest “Jenny Kee and Me”
I didn’t expect to, but ended up telling a story at the “Now Hear This” story-telling night in Sydney tonight.
I told the story of my great-great grandmother who had a relationship with her first cousin (no, I don’t have two heads). After the birth of their fourth child together, he married someone else and had four more children.… Read the rest “Now Hear This”