Without feeling

Previous | Contents | Next Colin wasn’t his real name. ~IanMy new boss had the knack of extracting the maximum effort from me for the least possible cost, and he made the most of it, setting me subtle challenges which I felt compelled to meet. He was completely callous in ... Read more

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Progress of sorts

Previous | Contents | Next I gradually made progress towards achieving my ambition. Dave arrived every day to do odd jobs and take the cream out to the corner for collection, about a mile away. The cream was transported in a light flat-topped cart to which Mary was harnessed. The ... Read more

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Everyone was happy

Previous | Contents | Next The Hikurangi telephone exchange operated from 3.00am to 10.00pm. Only once during those first few weeks was I able to ring Jimmy Orr before he went home after night shift — and this before we had sat down to dinner. I could never be sure ... Read more

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Life at the Smiths’

Previous | Contents | Next I said I’d keep myself out of Cliff’s stories, but I find this hard to read because of the treatment meted out to cows and dogs. It’s certainly not how they were treated on Dorothy and Cliff’s farm, but a good reminder that managing animals ... Read more

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The Professor & Miss S.

Previous | Contents | Next I’ve renamed Cliff’s first employers the Smiths because that’s the most common New Zealand surname. ~ IanAnyone who could get you a job during the Great Depression was doing you a big favour, and when Nellie found one for me I was properly grateful. Nellie, ... Read more

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