Thank You for everything, Thank you for teaching me to dance Thanks you for my life long friends i made at the studio Thank you for your family as they are my family now Thank you for letting us keep you up all night with you know who...hahaha Thank you for listening to all my lifes's dramas and stories under the pergola at buffalo Thank you for nursing my children to sleep I know its taken me over a year to right this , but THANK YOU I LOVE AND MISS YOU XXXOOO

We didn't know the day had come that God would call your name In life we loved you beyond all words and in death we do the same It broke our hearts to lose you Shum but you did not go alone For part of us went with you the day God called you home You left us precious memories and your love is still our guide And though we cannot see you we feel you always at our side Our family chain is broken and nothing seems the same But as God calls us one by one our chain will link again.

Susan Clift

13 years ago

That's beautiful Cath. Dad loved deeply the people he loved and was loved in return more than he will ever know. I feel like I'm stumbling around on the dark without Mum and Dad here but I can feel their presence around me. I count my blessings every day, for we were truly blessed with the most wonderful parents. Always in my thoughts and forever held in my broken heart. Xx

The costumes. The music. The make-up. The props. The dig steps. The toe heels. The shuffles and hops. The " First place — competitor number four!" The rush to watch the "Babies on the floor!" The arabesque. The pas de chat. The point. The awful job of mopping out the joint. The mothers. The movement. The mirrors. The bar. The tap shoes. The leotards. Your full repertoire. The famous "Flap ball change and where's your face?" The silence when there's no one in the place. The firm and hard "No - Lift your head up there!" The admonished drunk retreating down the stairs. The constant rehearsal. The home after dark. The studio party. The hot Nielsen Park. The Wedding of the Little Painted Doll. The hat and cane. The smile. The parasol. The eisteddfods, Clowns, Koalas and exams. Can you still recall the steps to Dixieland? The piano. The singing. The thunder of taps. The times when you thought that the floor must collapse! Miss Shirley dancing through the whole routine. And still hear Miss Elaine's voice above the din. The anguish, joy, achievement, laughter, tears. The friendships that have lasted down the years. The memories of a golden age. The years too fast advancing. I'm proud to say I studied life at the Honeybrook School of Dancing. Written by John Fraser 1997

There's so much to say about our nana, She was incredibly strong and incredibly loving; she always put others before herself. In fact we have never known a more selfless woman. We have so much respect for our Nana and she was an integral part of our upbringing. For a woman that was so important and so loved in so many people's lives we are very grateful and tremendously proud to say she was our Nana. And what a nana she was! When we think about our memories of buffalo road with Nana and Shum, we will remember the laughter first and foremost. If you wanted to have a good time, a cup of tea and a lamington, you would go to buffalo road. Nana with her mischievous husky chuckle was the one who taught us to laugh at ourselves and to find the light in every situation. Nana didn't particularly like cooking but every day when you got home from school, there would be about 27 dinners lined up on the bench, individually name-tagged, for the hoards of people heading to Nan's for the afternoon. She would even make one for Andy, our neighbor out the back. I always remember Nana having a mountain pile of saos ready to eat when we got to her place in the afternoon, I don't know where she hid all the packets she must have gone through so many. And who can forget the bottomless chocolate drawer in the top of the fridge, despite being favored by so many little fingers? Nana seemed to have never ending patience, sitting through countless amateur performances from infancy to adulthood and encouraging us all the way. She always had time for her grandkids. Always there to comfort us, right up until the very end. We hope we have made you proud Nana and we cannot thank you enough. We will always love you with all of our hearts.

When I was too devastated to own my own loneliness, and too young to share sorrow, I was picked up and passed into Miss Elaine's hands, and I wasn't alone anymore. She took the burden of me, and gave real love instead. I had owned so many doubts and in her home she shared her belief in a life best lived with brave spirited fearlessness and a songful stride. She mended my spirit. From this gracious woman, I learnt honesty, I learnt family. And her inimitable strength of character and articulate determination are with me every time I feel overcome or lost. I am eternally grateful and ever humbled by her unconditional care. I only know how strong a person can be because she showed me. And she laughed at life so we could all see the song and dance of being human. We are the people who love us well.

Your mother is always with you ... She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks. She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She’s crystallised in every tear drop ... She’s the place you came from, your first home ... She’s the map you follow with every step that you take. She’s your first love and your first heart break ... and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, Not space ... Not even death ... will ever separate you from your mother ... You carry her inside of you ...