Personal stories

9 Articles
FamilyPersonal stories

Some things about Dad

Here are Some Things About Dad I put together for Ian Bradshaw's 80th birthday on 21 June 2021. Dad took on the farm at 21,...

FamilyPersonal stories

About Mum – my memories

Here's the Little Book of Memories I put together for Pam Bradshaw for her 80th birthday on 14 August 2019. My friend Denise...

FamilyPersonal stories

Thomas family stories

Nana Thomas (Mum's mother) gave me these stories about family life in her household of bringing up five children. Pam is my mother,...

FamilyPersonal stories

Helen Thomas – family stories

Helen Thomas (nee Watts) was my grandmother (my mother's mother). Here's the story of her early days before she married Allan Thomas. More...

FamilyPersonal stories

Zelda Bradshaw – family stories

Zelda Bradshaw was my Nana (my father's mother). When I was a journalism student (back in 1992) I asked her to share her...

FamilyPersonal stories

Allan Thomas – family stories

Allan Thomas (Poppa) was born in 1909. He grew up and farmed on Thomas Road. Here's some more background about his early life....

FamilyPersonal stories

Ian Bradshaw – family stories

I sat down with Dad in the early 1990s to capture some of his life story. I had recently learnt shorthand at Journalism...

FamilyPersonal stories

Pam Bradshaw – family stories

Here's Mum's story (up until around 1992, when I sat down with her to record her memories). I was born in Morrinsville on...

FamilyPersonal stories

Pam’s early memories of life in the Thomas Family

The first thing I remember as a child is that secure feeling.  If Mum was rattling around the kitchen I always felt that...