[Barbara Smith]

I am 87 now. In NZ, I was checked regularly by the Plunket Nurse [as were my children]. Aged
4 1/2, I was taken to our local GP who did a full “pre-School” check – height, weight, teeth, physical, cognition & social abilities. The GP gave my Mum paperwork to give to our suburb school’s Headmaster when she enrolled me. We didn’t have a School Nurse nor did we have a Dental Clinic but I was automatically enrolled and called into the free town Dental Clinic annually from then on. We had gym/sports at school, a large play area, basketball court, & a footy field [where our Air Raid Shelter was not far from our school swimming pool. Gym & sports were an important part of our school day. Everyone did gym & learned basketball or football sports. The best kids made the teams that represented us at weekend Sports. Bikes were an accepted method of getting to school if you had one. [I had great practice for racing especially if I thought I might be late for Assembly – I didn’t have a bike until I went to the Intermediate School in town – a couple of miles on the flat round the western end of the hill provided great exercise!] The town Dental Clinic still catered for us.
2 years later – Girls High School was up near the top of the hill which was between our suburb & the town. Biking up the hill kept us fit, sometimes, we took the road from our suburb around the eastern base of the hill to where a shorter & steeper road got us up to the back entry to the school & Sports field. The Gym mistress kept a very stern eye on our uniform length, hair length/tidiness & health. We were transferred to a real Dentist either in town or closer to where others lived in the suburbs. This was a free service until the day we left school. When I eventually went to be a Nursing Student at the Hospital up on the western end of the hill, we had regular weight/?pregnant, hair length/tidiness, deportment & basic health checks. Any problems & we were referred to one of the hospital doctor’s clinics.

[Barbara Smith]

As a child having Birthday party’s [war was still on – 1940’s] Fairy Bread was just the best of things. Party kids loved the slices of freshly cut white bread [bread didn’t come already cut – it was 2 humps of dough baked together at the bakery] and apart from the decorated sponge cake with candles [we had our own chooks so eggs were plentiful but we had ration Books to take to the grocer’s for sugar butter & flour etc] and the home-made orange drinks there was very little else on the table. By the way, this was in New Zealand! So definitely Not just an Aussie thing!

[Barbara Smith]

In several local “Thai” restaurants you are served by Phillipino staff.

[Barbara Smith]

Put used coffee grounds about an inch away from the stem – spread in a circle around the plant – snails and slugs do not like the roughness of the coffee grounds & they have difficulty slithering over them!

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