Intro and extra clarifications by Greg, the rest by Tren
As I’ve said previously … In Trenna’s iPad she has written summaries of each year. As you will see from what she has written she has gleaned the information retrospectively from a wide range of sources.
As I reproduce them on this site I’ll take the opportunity to clarify and expand on some of the stories. Trenna wrote these summaries (and there … Read the rest ... “1990”
By Greg
This is just a short anecdote to cover an incident at Craig House that I don’t think made it into The Kitchen Tapes recordings. As those oral histories were never completed that isn’t all that surprising.
We both just ran out of puff.
“Now everybody – pay attention!” Matron was her usual stern self, or maybe even a bit more on edge this morning. She continued.
“This picnic is organised by the legatees, … Read the rest ... “The Keaver Stich-Up – a Kitchen Tapes Extra”
By Greg
I’m publishing this post on 23 December 2022, exactly two years from when Trenna passed away.
I debated with myself whether to put anything on the site to commemorate the specific day, but then recalled an idea I have been meaning to get around to for a long time.
A “Celebration of Trenna’s Life” was held on Friday 15 January 2021. I gave the main eulogy but I also asked Trenna’s sister Nancy, and … Read the rest ... “Eulogy – The Movie”
By Trenna’s sister Barbara, with an introduction from Greg
In 2018 Trenna asked her sister Barb to jot down her memories of Craig House. Barb is six years older than Trenna. It was at exactly the same time as Trenna and I were recording Trenna’s stories and I have no doubt it was as part of Trenna’s research in preparation for writing her own story.
Barb subsequently sent the notes that appear below, and when … Read the rest ... “Barb’s Craig House Memories”
By Tren, with a little help from her friends.
Another document from Trenna’s iPad. I think she has collected thoughts and snippets of information together to help her and I put her story together.
The original document was entitled “1965-1972 Craig House” and it was in a folder called “Tren Family Chronology & Memoirs”. It was created in March 2014, and last modified on 1 October 2018 – a few months after the last of … Read the rest ... “Trenna’s Rough Notes on Craig House”
[ GM: Note before we start. In these recordings of Trenna’s early years I can hear that she almost puts herself into a trance like state, as if she was channeling a very young, and a very different Trenna. She gave this whole account speaking quite fast and with almost no breaks.]
[GM: In this recording, perhaps more than others Trenna has retold stories she has already covered (although there is also new material). Trenna and … Read the rest ... “The Kitchen Tapes No. 13”
[GM: I found this perhaps the hardest transcript (as well as the hardest recording), both because of the sad content, and it shows how Trenna blocked out a few years from when her dad died until she went to Craig House. I don’t think when we started the conversation that either I or Trenna had any idea where it would lead.]
GM: Today is Saturday, 5th of May 2018. We’re talking with Trenna Mahney.… Read the rest ... “The Twelfth Kitchen Tape”
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 … Read the rest ... “The Kitchen Tapes # 6”
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 … Read the rest ... “The Kitchen Tapes #5”
GM: OK we’re recording. It’s the 10th of April 2018.
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. … Read the rest ... “The Second Recording”
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.
It is, of … Read the rest ... “Eulogy”
[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 … Read the rest ... “The First Recording”
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 … Read the rest ... “The Kitchen Tapes”