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Monthly Archives: November 2011

Cherie Time Machine

November 7, 2011
Photobooth Time Machines
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My relationship with Cherie is an unusual one. I don’t know her and I didn’t find her photos online or in a junk shop. In 1997, I wrote to New Idea Magazine about my photobooth collection and plans for an exhibition, which unfortunately never eventuated. I asked if any of their readers would like to contribute pictures. I received two replies, Cherie’s being one of them. She wrote a short note saying “I hope these help you out… please send a photo of the finished project”. I replied to say thank you, as she had included her return address in Walloon, Queensland, but as the project didn’t happen, I never contacted her again.

So after 14 years, these are Cherie’s pictures. It was too much to hope that anyone with her name was still living at the address I have, but there are a few others with the same surname living elsewhere in Queensland. Now the hunt begins to find her and tell her what happened to her cool pics. Wish me luck!

Richie Time Machine

November 7, 2011
My Family in Photobooths
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This is my handsome little brother Richard also known as Roo.  Not to be out done by his sibling, Ros, he also adopted me as his big sister. Rich was four and a half when I first arrived at the Holbrook house in January 1987. Then he looked very much as he does in the first picture. He was a little boy, full of cheeky fun, with an infectious giggle.

As a child Roo had a fascination with money and an uncanny knack for keeping hold of it. He always seemed to have more ready cash than any of us.  One of my favourite Holbrook mementoes is a paper weight of a one pound coin which Roo bought for me from the Royal Mint. It still gives me a chuckle each time I come across it.

When Roo was about 8 or 9, we were on a cross-channel ferry on our way to his family’s cottage, when we found ourselves marooned outside the French port for many hours. A snap strike had been called and drinks were on the house.  That had the adults sorted. The kids had to make their own fun. Roo and a friend made the most of the delay by rummaging through the bottoms of all the vending and poker machines to find missed coins. They collected many, many pounds. We were all astonished at how much they’d found. A year later he hadn’t spent a penny of it! Socialist, humanist Del’s worst nightmare was that Rosie would become a nun and Roo a merchant banker. Luckily he became an engineer instead.

One of the loveliest things about Roo is that he never went through the stage of being too cool to chat.  Each time, during his teenage years, that I returned to London, I feared it would be the age when he wouldn’t want to give me a hug or have me as his big sis.  It never happened and he is, at age 29, still an adorable, cuddly boy.

In the last picture, taken in 2002, you can see a thin strand of leather around Roo’s neck. On it is a Maori bone carving that I gave him in 1996. Last time I saw him in 2007, he was still wearing it.

Neufchâtel, A Leclerc Supermarché, Three Kids and a Photobooth

November 6, 2011
My Family in Photobooths, Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
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April 1994, Neufchâtel, France

Today I am wallowing in the joy of having yesterday received a most wonderful and extraordinary gift from the now grown up little girl in this picture. Rosie was married to her Mr (W)Right earlier this year. They have sent me, from the UK, a supremely polished, high-quality, printed and personalised book of their wedding photos. I was immensely disappointed not to have been able to attend the celebrations due to my illness, so was exceptionally chuffed to receive such a fine gift.

In a very twenty-first century move, they have both changed their surnames into a lovely amalgamation of their two original patronymics. Mr B. Wright and Ms R. Holbrook are now Mr and Mrs Holbright. Having been a long, long time ago, adopted by Rosie and re-christened Kitty Griffbrook, I now, too, will be changing my name, however Griffright (Rosie’s choice)to me has not quite the ring to it as Griffbright. (My suggestion). With my tangled mass of unruly hair having “fright” as part of my unofficial name is daunting to say the least, but I will by necessity, go with Rosie’s final decision!

This photo of me, Ros and her brother, Rich (Roo) was taken at a booth at a Leclerc supermarket in Neufchâtel on the 30 of April 1994. I was invited to stay at Del’s cottage in Normandy, on my way to Paris, before starting my nannying job. Also in our party with Del, Rosie, Roo and I, were Del’s delightful neighbours Val and her daughter Ella, with whom it is impossible not to have a great laugh. I regret that I didn’t get the two of them into a booth that day, too.

Lindsey Time Machine

November 5, 2011
My Family in Photobooths, Photobooth Time Machines
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This is Lindsey. As mentioned in my post Della Time Machine Linds is the hospitable hubby of the Holbrook household. For many years, he was pretty much the only man in a house full of kids and manic foreign women. Taking in boarders was Del’s thing and Linds went patiently along for the ride, come what may. There was the occasional male boarder, warmly embraced by him, as a slight antidote to the mayhem of the overwhelming majority of female guests. Like Del, he was generous and welcoming to all. He was and still is a humorous, patient Dad and an affectionate friend.

Looking at these photos I find it fun to see the strong resemblance between him and his son, Rich, who is now about the same age as Linds would be in the first photo.  I am not sure if he knows I have these booth pics of him. They arrived one day in the post from London, as a delightful surprise present from Del along with other family photobooth pics.

My Much Missed Grandma

November 4, 2011
My Family in Photobooths
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My Grandma Parkes was everything a grandmother should be. She was kind, a patient teacher (I learned numerous crafts from her), cuddly and a great cake baker. She was a professional musician all her life, working as piano accompanist to my grandfather Cecil, who played the violin. I was very fortunate to have been able to spend one night a week with both my grandparents for the whole of my final year at Loreto, Mandeville Hall. Ceramics was not offered there at that time, so I went each Wednesday night to classes at Hawksburn, a short walk from Grandma and Grandpa’s home. We invariably had chops and boiled veggies for dinner.  I loved it!

This photo of May Parkes (née Broderick) was taken in the late 1980s for a passport for a trip to New Zealand. I wish she had stepped into a photobooth more frequently as I’d love to have one or two booth pics of her as a young woman. She was a most attractive lady in her heyday.

Dental Hygiene, Babar and the Eiffel Tower

November 3, 2011
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
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April 1994, London

I was not yet ready to head home to Australia as I was keen to develop my new language skills by using them in some way. Through The Lady magazine I applied for a position as a nanny with a French couple living in London. They were planning to move to Paris in the coming month. Once established at their huge apartment, a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, I was told by my employer that the main reason I had been given the position over another candidate, was my “beautiful white teeth”. It was a compliment I’d never before received, let alone them having been the reason for my securing a job!

My charge was an 18 month old little boy named Alex. He was sweet and smart and an absolute joy to look after, especially as my work finished at 5.00 pm – no night duties, hoorah! We had fun together, going out for fruit and veggies at local shops and a regular street market, visiting the park under the Eiffel Tower three or four times a week and exploring other parts of Paris via the Metro or on foot. His room was decorated with an extremely large array of Babar the Elephant paraphernalia, posters and toys. Assuming his mother was a big fan, I commented on the theme.  Apparently it was his father’s childhood nickname. Much to his dismay he was the frequent recipient of Babar gifts, the trend having intensively accelerated after the news he was to become a daddy. On my departure for Australia, I was given one of his Babar toys as a memento, which I treasure to this day.

So here I am flashing my fabulous pearly whites. This could be another photo for a French visa or a random stop at a booth, I am no longer sure.  It was taken on 22 April 1994 when I was very close to leaving for Paris.

My Femme Fatale – Part One

November 2, 2011
My Femme Fatale, Vintage Photobooth
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1961

April 1962

December 1962

30/12/1966

Some years ago I bought a group of booth strips of the same woman.  The photos were from France.  I thought they were a brilliant find, showing the same lady through two relationships and many different fashionable hairstyles of the 1960s.  In the images of her alone, I imagine her popping into a booth on the way home from her hairdresser to record the newest “do”.  Above are four of the 14 strips.  Only seven of the group are dated.  There is no indication as to the place they were taken on any of them.  As with most of my collection, I feel a certain proprietary relationship with each sitter, especially if I have more than one  photo covering a period of time.  Thus I was delighted when my lovely lady came into my life again earlier this year, in a most surprising way, of which I will tell you more in a later post.

My Femme Fatale – Part Two

November 1, 2011
My Femme Fatale, Vintage Photobooth
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March 1968

Chronologically, this is the next of the dated booth photos of the series of 14 of my lovely French lady. This strip was cut, as you can see.  I especially love this photo as my sister was born in the same month and year.  Why does that make any difference?  I suppose I enjoy seeing what else was going on in another private world at a significant time in the life of my family, similarities and differences, another incarnation of the period. I am amused by the fact that at around the same era, my mum had a furry hat very similar to the one worn above and she was also fond of the same type of fashionable silk scarf.