Pegasus Post: October 18, 2016

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10 Tuesday October 18 2016 Our People PEGASUS POST Marlene Bennetts Children’s author writes book Author Marlene Bennetts, 78, has finished writing her latest children’s book, The Little Drummer Boy, to raise money for her earthquake-damaged church in Opawa. She spoke to Caitlin Miles about her roving childhood and writing her memoirs Can you tell me about The Little Drummer Boy? I was approached to write something for the church in November last year that could be ready for Christmas. I sat on it for a while wondering what I could write and Evelyn Hille said to me why not write something on The Little Drummer Boy and so that’s what I did. How long have you belonged to the Opawa Community Church? I’ve lived in Opawa for about eight and half years and belonged to the church for at least six and half I think. How long have you been writing? I have been writing for about 30 years now, children’s books and poems mostly. What made you want to be a writer? I’ve always wanted to write. I hated poetry. I was always interested in reading. We didn’t have libraries in the one-room schools so I didn’t get my first book until I was eight. It was Peter Pan – I loved that book, my grand-kids have it now. When I was growing up I used to tell my brothers stories to get them to do things for me when I didn’t want to. How many siblings do you have? I have two younger brothers. Did you grow up in Christchurch? No I didn’t. We moved roughly 15 times so it’s hard to pinpoint where I grew up. I was born in Westport, though. Why did you move so often? My father worked in sawmills, so we moved around a lot. We were in a lot of small towns that only had one-classroom schools. Most of them had basically the same text books throughout, so I would read a couple of chapters ahead before starting at a new school and the teachers would think I was really clever until they caught up to the chapter I was on. Were you a bit cheeky in AUTHOR: Marlene Bennetts has written 28 books over her 30-year career. PHOTO: CAITLIN MILES school Marlene? I had a strong character and got bored quickly I think is what it was. I ended up being prefect of my high school so I can’t have been that bad! Just a little cheeky. Was it hard moving from school to school? It wasn’t so bad when I was young. I do remember this one boy used to ride a white horse to school and every day my brother and I would have to run home because he would chase us on his horse and get it to nip at us. When I turned 11, I started to realise that my family were considered low on the social class because our dad worked in the sawmill. My dad left school at 14-and-a-half but he was very resilient. That was young to leave school. It wasn’t that uncommon back then. My parents were young when they had me. My mum was 17 and my dad was 18. Mum had all three of us before she was 21. We kind of grew up with our parents, they were like older siblings. Well, they were parents first but you know. It was great. You see I have a lot to write about for my memoirs. How will you write everything from your memory? I have kept journals for the last 30 or 40 years, I use them to write stories and poems too. I can reflect on what people were wearing during the time. How they wore their hair, things like that. I write about what I know so I recall on my memories a lot which is what I’m doing for my memoirs. THE HOME OF GOOD BAKING PREMIUM BREAD White, wholemeal, grain & honey. 3 FOR $ 5 00 GINGER SLICE A full-flavoured slice just like you’d make at home - if there was no Coupland’s! ONLY $ 3 49 ONLY Delight, Oat & $ 5 29 Raisin, Peanut, EA FAMILY BAG BISCUITS Anzac, Choc Chip, Hokey Pokey, Kiwi Shortbread, Super Choc Chip EA PURCHASE 2 X DAIRY DALE 2L MILK TO ENTER THE DRAW TO WIN 1 OF 50 PLAYSTATION GAMING PACKS! 50 WINNERS - 2 PER STORE Promotion valid 1st - 31st October 2016. Winners will be contacted Monday 7th November 2016. Terms & conditions apply. Full terms & conditions can be found at www.couplands.co.nz MILK Dairy Dale 2L varieties. $ 5 98 2 FOR or $3.19 each HAMBURGER BUNS 6pk $ 1 99 EA Promotional pricing available while stocks last from 17/10/16 to 23/10/16. Images are serving suggestions only. Open 7 days | 8 Convenient local locations Hornby • Barrington • Ferry Rd • Papanui • Riccarton • Upper Riccarton • New Brighton • Rangiora BAKERIES www.couplands.co.nz
PEGASUS POST Tuesday October 18 2016 11 to rebuild community church Did you end up settling anywhere for a while? No. Even after we got married, we kept moving around. We used to buy houses and do them up before we sold them on. So we were moving all around the North Island. Then in 1987, we heard of a wee cottage in a place called Blackball and I said, as long as I don’t have to use a long drop, I don’t mind and it had an indoor toilet so we bought it. I had never heard of Blackball in my life and we just packed up and went there. I hadn’t been in the South Island since I was nine and my husband had never been so it was pretty big. We bought the house for $10,000 – you wouldn’t dream of that now. Did you start writing when you lived there? Yes. My husband decided to retire when we moved there so he was 56. I use to have a room in the house which looked out onto the mountains where I would go to write. That was my special spot. We had our children by that stage but they were all grown up. I would just shut myself off and Hec would keep supporting me. Were there times when you wanted to give up on writing? I was 48 when I wrote my first poem called Stolen Virginity. I went to this group where people read out their poems and had them criticised by other writers. These were respected and widely published writers and I was sitting there wondering why I was there and what I was doing. I got up and read it out and came home saying to my husband there is no way I am ever going back there, I’m not writing anymore, and he managed to convince me it wasn’t that bad so I went back the next month and it was the best thing I ever did. For every acceptance letter I got for a piece, I got about 10 rejections. So it was pretty common for me to say I’m not doing this anymore and chuck it all in the bin. And Hec, my husband, would pull it all out again and convince me to keep writing. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. HER ROCK: Marlene’s late husband Hec was her biggest supporter, encouraging her to keep writing when she considered giving up several times. He was always my rock. Your husband seems like a big part of your motivation, how did you two meet? We were doing high jump and that was very different then compared to what it is now. We used to jump and fall into a pit of sawdust. So anyway, I was doing high jump and I stopped just short of the pit and tore a whole load of ligaments in my knee. I needed surgery but it was more risky back then. I had wanted to be in the Air Force but that wasn’t likely and, after that, it certainly wasn’t going to happen. So I ended up moving 800 miles (1287km) away to live with my Grandmother to work as a secretary – I was 16 at the time. Hec was working in the garage and he was 23 so it worked out. What have been some of your highlights? I wrote this poem called The Miner’s Widow and I got a letter from a man who had picked up a copy and he said he had read it crying because it was the tale of his mum. That was really touching. You received a New Zealand Order of Merit? Yes, that was a real shock and an honour to receive – I couldn’t believe it. I read the letter and wondered what I was receiving it for. I never dreamed I would get one. I just wished my dad could have been there to see it. How often do you write each day? I’m not sure how many a day, but about 15 hours a week now. I’ve taken a bit of a step back from how much I used to do but I still work away on my laptop. We welcome new patients Our team will work with you to provide excellent health care Based in New Brighton and Burwood areas for over 50 years Recognised as an innovative, quality practice Family health, catering for all ages Friendly and caring Online appointment booking Podiatrist Lesley Marsh is available on Wednesdays to provide footcare. Bin gone missing on collection day? Report within 24 hours to avoid replacement costs. Listen Live to Bring this advertisement along when you enrol with us and receive a FREE nurse appointment to assess your health needs. ? weekdays at 5.30pm For further information, phone 941 8999 or visit loveyourrubbish.co.nz 225 Travis Road | PHONE: 388 9686 Visit our website www.travismedical.co.nz On the mOve? tune in fOr yOur lOcal news
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Pegasus Post: October 18, 2016

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