34 | April• 2018
IT WAS EARLY IN 1981when I first
metGeorge.Irememberthedatewell
asitwasjustafewshortweeksafter
some miscreant had assassinated
John Lennon.
Iwasinmyearly30s,emerging
fromaworldoftoddlersandtantrums
andseekingacreativeoutletunre-
latedtothehumdrumofhousework
and raising little ones. My children,
thenagedthreeandfive,werejust
entering kindergarten and school life.
THE
RED
TOOL
BOX
BY BEVERLY RHODES, FIELD EDITORUnitedbyacommondesiretocreate,twoart
students form a special friendship for lifeAt 65, George had recently retired
andwasseekingarewardinghobby
forhisgoldenyears.Forbothofus,
paintingwas‘it’andwemetatalocal
TAFE painting class. Thus began a
friendshipthatwastolastfor25years
–untilthedayhedied.
Inthelate1950s,Georgearrivedin
WesternAustraliaasa‘£10Pom’
immigrant from Britain with his wife
andtwochildren.Hewasn’tatall
man but was as neat as a pin, withHEARTILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK