The social event of the year, until now, was held in the Beverley Town Hall two Mondays ago. Around one hundred or so Wild Women congregated around tables of eight. The seminar's theme was "The Road Less Travelled" and the buzz was contagious. Throw into the mix a number of raffles, shopping stalls, a delicious lunch (with a glass of vino of course), three splendid women speakers, a couple of male blow-ins and last, but absolutely not least, Famous Sharron, we had the recipe for an outstanding girls' day out.
MC duties were shared by Marlene Willson and Famous Sharron. Marlene welcomed us all on behalf of the Wild Women of the West committee. The stage decorations and the table settings were stylish and simple. Each of us received a gift box with our names at our places. There was an understated elegance in the whole room. At least until Famous Sharron made her entry....More of that later.
We were so spoilt by the outstanding speakers. Priya Cooper - Paralympian, mother, partner, television reporter and commentator, journalism graduate and fabulous woman - opened proceedings. Born and bred in the Perth Hills, her mother was delighted when Priya demonstrated what was assumed to be ballerina potential when she walked on her tip toes aged twelve months. Once Priya had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a ballet career seemed unlikely.
Undeterred, Priya threw herself into life, ordinary everyday suburban life. After ballet, long jump was not considered to be an unattainable participation sport. Priya's ability to jump was a tad problematic, until an imaginative teacher suggested measuring Priya's long jump from the tips of her fingers, rather than the heels of her feet. Even so, she decided that long jump was probably not for her, due to the habit of sand finding its way into unfortunate places.
Swimming was her forte. She was fast, very fast, so fast in fact that she found herself on the Paralympics team to Barcelona at the age of seventeen. She met her nemesis on the starting blocks, a German swimmer who beat her to first place in two races. There was a third; what to do? Priya attributes her Gold medal in that race to a change in attitude - forget and move on - and the uncovering of an unswerving belief in herself.
Onto Atlanta four years later. Her final race there in her repertoire was the hundred metres butterfly. Performing the butterfly stroke was tricky for her at the best of times. Unco-ordinated breathing added another dimension. Going flat out for the first fifty metres, she realised that, having trained for the event in a twenty-five-metre pool, she was ill prepared where to take her first breath. Breathing and turning after the first fifty metres, she was convinced she was about to die. That she survived and was third was an outstanding effort. That day and that medal reinforced her belief in herself and dispatched others' opinions from her psyche.
Which worked well, in theory, until shoulder surgery between Atlanta and Sydney. Her resolve was shaken. With help, rehab and a case of mistaken identity ( a fan thought she was Louise Sauvage when she crashed her gopher into a clothing rack, in reverse) Priya bounced back, taking the Gold medal in the four-hundred metres freestyle, her final race in her final Paralympics in Sydney.
Since then she has continued to be the best she can. A chance encounter saw her meet Channel Seven's general manager and begin her television career. She appeared as a reporter and commentated at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
She continues to "never let anyone steal your dreams". Being the mother of a daughter and a son (who has cerebral palsy) has been challenging in recent years. She just achieves the best she can. And her story of crashing her gopher was side-splitting.
The blokes - John Colwill and Peter Coppin - from Beyond Gardening were next on the agenda. Their slot was both a Q and A session and a dispelling of gardening myths. Cow manure should not come with stones. Cows do not swallow stones. Veggies and fruit trees perform best with no exposure to insects. But what home gardener tends to cover their veggie patch with plastic sheets? Borers may be squashed by sticking a whipper snipper wire into their holes until you hit the jackpot. Mango trees may not perform well in cooler climes. European bees are overrated. They tend to displace our native pollinators. Water retention will continue to be a critical issue as we have just experienced the hottest and driest spring on record. And a third of clay soils will not respond to gypsum as a clay breaker. If a ball of clay dissolves in a saucer of water overnight, it will respond to gypsum. If the ball remains a ball, forget the gypsum and add river sand to the clay soil.
They may not have revealed much of their life stories, but they were entertaining, witty and straight forward. There are gardening products on the market that do not work in Western Australia, They suggested that if the advice is generic, it may not be appropriate for our environment.
My morning tea was a whirlwind of browsing the stall, taking photos and grabbing a cup of tea and a scone. Decedent. Then the day was back on.
Tanya Dupage, who is still in her early thirties, blew us away. Born in Kwinana, she was repeatedly told she would never amount to anything. She broke the mould by working at a local chemist from the age of thirteen, until she was eighteen and chemist manager. A degree in Communications followed and she was the first member of her family to attend university.
A summer camp stint in the US in 2003 led to her being named camp co-ordinator for the following two years. She volunteered during the winter at Whistler, ending up in a paid management position. Further leadership training in the US and Canada followed.
Unable to settle back in Australia, she moved to South Africa to work with underprivileged, abused and vulnerable children. This role expanded and dominated her life until 2010. She spoke of children living in neglect, violence and hunger always having smiles on their faces. She ran food programmes, youth activities and leadership building.
Everywhere she has worked, she has made a difference. Back in Kwinana, she became the youngest shire councillor, set up Dance4Africa to continue fundraising for South African children, started the Kwinana Children's Choir, boys and girls social groups and ran school programmes. She rose to CEO at the Global Good Foundation in 2012.
A Churchill Fellowship followed in 2012, allowing her to research domestic violence lasting generations within families. All this added to her knowledge of how to break the abuse cycle.
Why Kulin? Why not. A town with excellent facilities that were not being used. Enter Tanya. Since 2013, as manager of Camp Kulin, she has established school camps, weekend camps, camps for disadvantaged children, general camps for Wheatbelt children and other local programmes. The camps inject vital funds into Kulin. The camps have also been a training ground for over a hundred volunteers.
Tanya strives to spread her mantra of Dream, Hope, Believe. Through the camp activities, she builds the children's self-esteem, confidence, trust, respect, co-operation and problem-solving techniques. Tanya is all about change for the better.
How long will Kulin be able to retain her services? Tanya appears to be a gypsy, energetic, restless, moving on impulse. Maybe she moves when she considers a role finished. Except Tanya doesn't appear to regard her role as a job - rather each new position becomes her life.
Not bad for a girl from Kwinana.
Famous Sharron popped up again. Shaz is famous for being famous. This was her second gig in Beverley in three years. Fetching in pink and orange, with understated make up (!), Sharron took us on her life story - a husband picked up at RSVPCA, four kiddledewinks and a burgeoning career. Shaz excels in selfies, dancing and being famous. In addition, she has the ability to create dance moves with three willing volunteers. She brought the house down. Her advice to us all was fake it until you make it. That's how to achieve fame!
Lunch. The food was delicious, but I grabbed a glass of wine, took photos, showed off spiders and bought some divinely comfortable work sandals and another frock. Gold.
Then we met Judith Fordham. she looked nothing like her photo in our programme. But she was riveting, electric, entertaining and unforgettable. The theme of self-belief was reinforced once more.
Born into family violence, Judith's childhood memories include beatings and hiding to avoid beatings. Married at eighteen (she wanted to avoid being left on the shelf), she drifted apart from her first husband after her first child. Remarried to a violent man at twenty-six, she confused abuse with love. Pregnant with her fourth child, she fled to Canberra to start a new life.
Judith was no dumb cluck. Armed with a science degree, imposter syndrome ( pretending to know what she was doing) and being a control freak ( wanting to know what would happen next), she embarked on a law degree as she could receive funding to attend uni. Judith quipped that she either breastfed or slept during her lectures.
She became fascinated with criminal law. She joked that crime (even as a lawyer) does not pay. Her lucky break was a glowing reference from a QC for choosing a decent bottle of claret. She had actually been hired as his research assistant.
Interviews in Perth led her to her being both a barrister and solicitor and the freedom of being able to see her clients both in and out of court. Police parties, gifts of lingerie, a chief justice with no sense of humour and a male colleague who considered women lawyers were whores were the bread and butter of her life.
One client, in particular, taught her that the truth isn't always believable, so faith becomes necessary. This client was a pre-operative transsexual; e.g. a bloke preparing to become a woman. And she/he was not in the least bit attractive, which was also unfortunate. The charge against her/ him was unlawful wounding with a knife. Except she/he swore black and blue she/ he hadn't stabbed the other chap.
All the evidence was pointing to guilty. Until Judith examined the crime scene photos very, very closely. The bloke our heroine/ hero thumped had fallen onto a plastic bag with a knife in it. It was the old "fell on the knife" defence, except it was true. Still Judith was pretty nervous about the jury swallowing the story.
Until our defendant was asked to explain "gender reassignment" - she/he was dressed in a full-length frock and white gloves. He replied he was going to "cut me dick and balls off". The jury was convinced. The transsexual was acquitted! This case, beyond any other, was enough for Judith to always give her clients the benefit of the doubt.
Since then, she has been a circuit lawyer to the north-west, opened her own practice, revealed her history, published a book and become a motivational speaker. Her life partner is an ex-cop from Karratha who is also a partner in her law firm.
Her motto. Say yes.
The day drew to a close. Goodbyes, gathering our boxes and filling in satisfaction surveys. A huge thank you to the team of Marlene Willson, Samantha Fricker, Amor Moulton and Anthea Cooke. You created a memorable event. Now, keep up the good work!
And see you all at the 2016 Wild Women of the West.
In Heavenly Beverley.
The fabulous Priya Cooper after her talk
Famous Sharron - I have no words
Shaz with her dance volunteers
John Colwill appears to be having hysterics
Tanya Dupagne - the girl from Kwinana
dresses
felt creations
truffles - YUM
one brave man
bags, homewares and everything
and shoes of course
happy participants
not sure about the lass on the left
Lady Isobel (local identity) with Peter Coppin
Marlene with Shaz photobombing
Amor
a fortunate life - Judith Fordham
The last words are from Trish ( Truffles By...) As I was bemoaning my lack of height and roundness of shape, she responded that I was a black man's goddess. I was to look in the mirror every morning and repeat that I was a black man's pin up girl.
God bless you, Trish!
