Here pictured at her sewing machine is Vera my wife, in her sewing room. She is being supervised by the foreman "Jake" who is ever present. Vera has taught all our daughters to sew and make clothing, no doubt the grand children will be next. Donations of cloth remnants are always welcome and come from a variety of sources.

This a collection of just some of the soft rag dolls and toys that Vera made for charity last year. She also took to the island of Bali, this amount and more, also over 100 pieces of boys & girls clothing which we donated to some orphanages on the island. The next picture shows the very kindly Sisters who run the orphanage in Tuka, just outside of Denpasar.

These orphanages receive no assistance of any kind from the Indonesian Government. 

However, they are expected to pay school fees for every child, clothe and feed them throughout the year. There were 109 children at Tuka, ranging in years from birth up to 17 yrs, when we visited them. They invited us to stay for lunch and made us very welcome. They manage to do a great job, due to the generosity of the Lions Club and visiting tourists, all the children being happy and fed 3 meals a day. However, the food is heavily based on rice dishes and though low in nutrients but keep the children alive.

Another pastime enjoyed among members of our family is studying the ancient martial arts, be it for personal reasons or as a form of self defence. Children these days are starting at a very young age. Two of our grand-children are undertaking training in the martial art of Tai Kwan Do, here are Kaylee and Chelsea in training.

                           Chelsea                                                                                                    Kaylee