Like the title says, these are all the Posts on the TrennaMahney.com website so far.
It might be useful page to help you get a feel for the range of stories and information on the site. Also, don’t overlook the Search facility on the site – it works remarkably well.
The Posts…
Living With Your Spouse
Feb 10, 2022 2010s, Carer, Collected Wisdom, Coping, Featured, iPad Knowledge, Love and Marriage, Marfan 1 Min read
The distinctive colour was to help her find it on her iPad when the document was minimised.
As far as I can judge, our relationship was a pretty good one. It was based on love and an abundance of shared values. Nevertheless, Trenna was always looking to improve things.
About the time she wrote this I had had a fair bit of time on leave from work. I was using my leave before I retired. So I had been around a lot.
By 2017 Trenna and I had been married about 28 years. We were starting to get the
The Kitchen Tapes
Feb 28, 2022 1960s, 1970s, 2010s, Craig House, Featured, GFS, Kitchen Tapes, Marfan, Mofflyn Homes 3 Min read
Growing up in Perth in the 1960s and 70s
by Greg Mahney
Trenna always liked to tell a story. She knew that her life story was interesting and that some people could find comfort in hearing how she coped with what life threw at her.
We had talked about it for a long time and in April 2018 Trenna asked if we could record her tales. We didn’t have a firm view on what we would do with them. A book was always a possibility, but there was nothing decided.
Trenna knew in 2018 – indeed all her life – that
The First Recording
Recording #1 of The Kitchen Tapes 9 April 2018
[GM: This recording of 9 April 2018 was the very first in a series of 24 recordings]
THM: The nineteen sixties were a decade of huge change for me and … for the world.
“…so my childhood was in some ways idyllic, in some ways terrible. I didn’t know the difference between the two”
My family had started to disintegrate. I began to have my own memories of my own life. I didn’t understand what life was about so my childhood was in some ways idyllic, in some ways terrible. I
Eulogy
Mar 3, 2022 2020, Craig House, End of Life, Eulogy, Grief, Marfan, Mofflyn Homes, Mourning 14 Min read
A Celebration of Trenna’s Life – 15 January 2021
By Greg
Below is the eulogy I delivered at the Celebration of Trenna’s Life (her funeral). In due course I will do another post explaining what I wanted to achieve from the event and how friends and family helped me to organise it.
One of Trenna’s sisters, Nancy also gave a eulogy, as did Trenna’s friend, Helen. I will be publishing their words in the near future.
Eulogy
It is, of course, impossible to do justice to Trenna’s life in the small time available at a celebration like this, but brace yourselves – or
Soundtrack of Trenna’s Life
By Greg
Setting Some Context
On 15 January 2021 a celebration of Trenna’s life was held. I wanted to hand out a postcard which had a picture of Trenna and a couple of links to a playlist I developed after Trenna passed away a few weeks earlier. I then put up a Facebook post to help people to click through to the playlist.
That Facebook post appears below and I have embedded the Youtube Playlist and the Spotify below.
I hope you will take the time to listen in, read the explanations, think about Trenna, and maybe even share it with friends.
The Second Recording
Recording #2 of The Kitchen Tapes 10 April 2018
GM: OK we’re recording. It’s the 10th of April 2018.
Mofflyn
THM: Right. We’re back at Mofflyn Homes, some more things have come to my memory.
In our cottage the older children looked after the younger children. They had responsibilities.
Younger children had to be bathed by someone. I know that we shared bath water, which was a common thing to do in those days, so it’s no big deal.
“I went to kindergarten for three years”
I do remember being scrubbed sometimes because we were so dirty. Although the boys and the girls
The Recce-Vite
Mar 3, 2022 2010s, Carer, Coping, Heart and Lung Failure, iPad Knowledge, Love and Marriage, Marfan, Medical, Visually Impaired 1 Min read
A little bit of fun is better than none
by Greg
Trenna became aware at some point around 2010 that she was getting out of the house less and less – it was often pretty hard. But she didn’t want to lose touch with the city in which she lived. And she wanted some recreation and a change of scenery.
So, she invented the “Recce-Vite”. She was using French words to describe a quick look around somewhere.
A recce-vite was designed to be a short outing that was interesting and enjoyable, but which had a minimal impact on her body.
I don’t know how may
The Wellington Earthquake
Mar 3, 2022 2010s, Coping, Featured, Love and Marriage, Marfan, Medical, Travel, Visually Impaired 10 Min read
By Greg
Business Class Travel – It’s Not For Everyone
In November 2016 my then employer, Advocare Inc, gave me the opportunity to go to a mediation conference in Wellington, New Zealand.
Travel was becoming increasingly difficult for Trenna. Her eyesight was very bad and her pain management was not going well. We knew that the long flight from Perth in Western Australia to Auckland and then down to Wellington would take its toll.
On the other hand it really wasn’t feasible for Trenna to stay at home unassisted – it was just too hard. Plus, she had loved the South Island of New
The Third Kitchen Tape
Recording #3 of 24 Recorded 12 April 2018
GM: This is a recording of Trenna Mahney made on the 12th of April, 2018. Tren, let’s talk about the time you lived down near the Old Mill.
19 Mill Point Road
THM: Alright, OK, well that was 1975. I was heading to being 17, 18. I had been living previously with some of the girls I had met from GFS. I eventually had to move because my friend Rose’s mum died. Rose had to go home and look after the children, her younger siblings. She was the oldest. I had nowhere to live.
Finding
“Please allow me to introduce myself…”
About This Site and About Trenna Mahney
By Greg Mahney
A quick note before you start. If you have read the “About” page of this website you can ignore this particular post as the contents is the same as on that page. If that’s you, just scroll down.
About Trenna
You will learn a lot about Trenna as you go through the material on this website. However, if you aren’t already familiar with Trenna here is a quick primer to give you some context to what you find on the site.
Trenna Helaine Seckington was born on 11 September 1957 in Perth Western Australia.
Trenna
The Fourth Kitchen Tape
Recorded 13 April 2018
Before we Start
[GM: As the title suggests, this was the fourth of 24 recordings done at our kitchen bench in Kensington, Western Australia. As part of the preparation for putting it on this website, in February 2022, I asked our friend Helen to read through this transcript and the one from 7 June 2018. Below you will find some of Helen’s comments interspersed. My thanks to Helen for doing that.]
GM: OK, so it’s the 13th of April 2018, Black Friday. Tren, you were talking about South Perth yesterday.
THM: Oh, yes. I was giving you a breakdown of
Marfan and Other Chronic Conditions – Things That Worked for Trenna
by Greg
A Need to Cope with Life
This is a list of some of the strategies Trenna adopted to try to cope with life and her many medical issues. She didn’t have a specific list of these items. This is just the things I remember us trying.
I’m expecting (hoping?) that this post might be helpful to people living with chronic disease, and their carers. But of course everyone’s situation is different.
For most of her life she was able to reduce the impacts of many of her medical issues by managing them carefully, following medical advice, and quite a few
Moshing With Black Sabbath!
Mar 9, 2022 2010s, Coping, Featured, iPad Knowledge, Marfan, Medical, Music, Visually Impaired, Writing 8 Min read
By Greg and Trenna
Reliving the Experience
Looking through Trenna’s iPad I came across the document she wrote to review/record the Black Sabbath concert we went to along with a friend, Adrian. It was the first time I had read this piece since 2016.
It immediately brought back memories of a really fab night. I also found some of the turns of phase pretty entertaining.
I will put her writing below, in the main body of this post but also embed a PDF of her writing as it appears in her iPad.
A few things to bear in mind as you read
Andy Warhol
By Greg
I started to watch The Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix last night. It reminded me of two instances when the great artist and the great woman connected…….
Trenna at the Western Australian Art Gallery – 16 December 2012.
https://videopress.com/v/6svI2nFw?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
Starring Helen and Trenna. Melbourne 2016.
The Kitchen Tapes #5
Recorded 14 April 2018
GM: OK, so we’re here with Trenna Mahney. It’s the 14th of April, 2018. Tren, you were going to tell me about when you left Mofflyn Homes and went off to Craig House.
THM: Alright. It is a blurr. That time in my life was lost to me a little. I was well… I thought I only went to grade 1 when I was aged six at East Victoria Park Primary School, but apparently not. I was also there in grade 2 and part of grade 3.
Trying Trenna Out
My sisters and brother had all left Mofflyn Homes for
Eulogy Part 2
Below is the the eulogy delivered by Trenna’s oldest sister, Nancy Seckington-Baker at the celebration of Trenna’s life.
Eulogy
Greg has shared his story of Tren’s story. He has stressed I have 5 minutes.
We have endless, wonderful stories of our sister Trenna.
A truly life WELL LIVED.
However those stories are for another time and place.
I am here to say how incredibly thankful and grateful that we have had Tren with us in our life for 63 years.
(As Greg has told you Trenna was 2 years old when our mother passed away.) Our mother was 37 years old. Her mother, our grandmother passed
I am Stuck
Mar 23, 2022 End of Life, Heart and Lung Failure, Marfan, Medical, Mourning, Snippets and Vignettes, Visually Impaired, Writing 0 Min read
A screen shot from Trenna’s iPad
[Note from Greg: I don’t think for one moment that when Trenna prepared this piece on her iPad that she just added a nice picture to the top. I think the fact that she is standing on an island (Staten), with the rest of the world behind her (New York City) is entirely deliberate and relevant.]
Eulogy Part 3
Below is the the eulogy delivered by Trenna’s friend, Helen Rice at the celebration of Trenna’s life.
Eulogy
I met Trenna in October 1967 when I moved to Craig House a hostel for Legacy children.We bonded instantly as we were the youngest at Craig House at that time. She became my closest friend very quickly, so much so that I remember not wanting to go on a visit with my mother because I wanted to stay and play with Trenna and our dolls, we were 10 years old.
In 1972 we went seperate ways when Craig House closed down. Unfortunately the powers that
The Kitchen Tapes # 6
Mar 25, 2022 1960s, Craig House, Kitchen Tapes, Marfan, Mofflyn Homes, Visually Impaired 16 Min read
Recorded on 15 April 2018
Primary School Days
GM: OK, today is Sunday, the 15th of April 2018, I’m with Trenna Mahney, and she’s going to continue telling us about her memories of her past. Tren, last time we were talking with you you were on your way to school …
THM: I was talking about that slightly in the future, when Helen had arrived, I think. But I should go back to when I first came to Craig House.
The Great Sherbies Heist
I went to East Vic Park Primary School. I made friends there. One of my best friends was Irina, a Greek
THE Rolling Stones Concert Part 1
By Greg
The time had to come in the life of this website when I had to write about THE Rolling Stones concert. For one reason I have HUNDREDS of photos Trenna and I took at the concert, and for another, Trenna and I had such a good time.
The Very Earlier Story
Trenna told me that she was keen to go to the Rolling Stones concert, at the WACA grounds in 1973. She would have been 16 years old at the time, but tickets were the same amount as a week’s rent, and Trenna just couldn’t afford it.
The 24 February 1973 Stones
Commencing the Darwin Letters
By Greg, and then Trenna
Trenna and I lived in Darwin the capital of the Northern Territory from 1995 to 1997. Darwin, for our international readers is well and truely in the tropics.
This is our copy of Microsoft Word Version 5. It came with 5.25″ floppy disks, 6 printed manuals, and a keyboard overlay.
During that time, thankfully, Trenna took the lead in writing home to friends and relatives. Yes it was the era of letters and expensive long distance phone calls. Trenna really mastered the new Word Processing technology.
For those of a geeky disposition I think
The Kitchen Tapes #7
Recorded 19 April 2018
Meals at Craig House
GM: OK, today is the 19th of April 2018, with Trenna Mahney. Tren, can you tell me whatever you can think of about Craig House.
THM: Well, Craig House was quite posh in some ways. It was formal in that we had to dress for dinner each night.
In the large dining area there were three tables, one very big jarrah, which would have seated one at each end and about 5 or 6 people along each side. Then another one that held 8 people, and another one that held 6 people or thereabouts.
So
THE Rolling Stones Concert – Part 2
By Greg
As the title suggests, this is the second part of the story, the first part is here.
Near the Stage
So there we were, in the tongue pit with Tren’s great friend Sue, who she probably hadn’t seen for a couple of years, and Sue’s sister, Judy.
“Ahhh! You’ve got the same top as me!” Both have a black (of course) “It’s only rock n roll” singlet top. Judy has a different, but equally cool Stones top.
I look around at the scene. It isn’t long until the show starts and the tongue pit isn’t all that crowded – probably a riot control
Floor 7 1/2
… and Trenna’s Voice, Recording Kitchen Tape No. 8
By Greg, and then Trenna’s own voice
The popular-culturally literate among you will immediately be thinking “Being John Malkovich”.
What’s this got to do with Trenna?
Well….
I have decided that in most cases I’m NOT going to put the original sound recordings on this website – at least for now.
However, I thought I should put up at least one, to provide an idea of what the original recordings were like.
I decided that Kitchen Tape 8 was to be that recording. So, I thought I’ll call it Kitchen Tapes #8 1/2.