Vale Norma

Julia's mum, Norma, died on September 12. She was 85, having been born on May 12, 1929. She spent the last six years of her life at Lower Plenty Garden Views care facility and was admitted to hospital a few days before her death with a non-specific infection.

Norma had four children, Robert, Adrian, Julia and Venita, and an adopted daughter, Maria. By the time of her death she had 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A celebration of her life was conducted at Le Pine Chapel, Box Hill, on September 18. It was attended by all her children, many of her grandchildren and a most of her great-grandchildren. Others included two of her sisters, Helen and Janet, and her husband of 37 years, Ron.

The Roffs were represented by Grant, Amanda, Annika and Nicholas.

The order of service started with Amazing Grace followed by a joint eulogy from her four children. It was then the turn of the grandchildren to occupy the pulpit with words of tribute. Annika spoke, as did Nick which included a reflection from Dom who is currently in Canada and obviously unable to attend.

Julia and Nick assembled an audiovisual presentation which covered Norma's time from birth to her last days. It was accompanied by Pachelbel's Cannon in D and painted a comprehensive picture of a rich and interesting life.

Music was important to Norma so the audiovisual presentation was followed by a sing-along which included a medley of player-piano songs the whole family had sung during their many car journeys.

The service finished with 'You are my sunshine'.

If the meaning of life is to love and be loved, Norma was very successful.

The printed order of service finished with a quote from Ashley Montagu which Norma would have enjoyed: "The idea is to die young, as late as possible."

Lourdes

Best funeral and wake ever. Lovely to see the collection of family and friends and enjoy the wonder of Betty's life and times. Brendan sang and Sue Roff organised a choir to sing the Dunbogan song. Fortunately, Louise Thomas was there to lead it as some of us were patchy with the words. Aunty Betty was a saint. RIP.
Grant xx

Mass of Thanksgiving and Farewell

Joan Eva (Betty) Seage
20th April 1924 – 20th August 2014

Lourdes Chapel, Lourdes Village, Killara
Monday 25 August 2014

Vale Aunty Betty

Sad news. Betty Seage died last night (Monday 19/08/14). Aunty Betty would have been 90 this year and had a long life rich with the love of her immediate and extended family. She contraced a chest infection ten days ago and was unable to recover. I'm sure the Roff family will keep the Seages, particularly Uncle Ken, close to their hearts in the coming days. We will post news on the funeral service when it becomes available. God bless Aunty Betty.

-Grant

Dom departs

Dom had a farewell family breakfast with siblings at Melbourne airport this morning - the enthusiasm on  the faces suggests it was an earlier start than usual for some.

Dom and Katie have both just finished their degrees (well some are slightly more finished than others....) and have headed off on for a working holiday in Canada. They have 2 year visas but are not sure how long they'll stay  - depends on work opportunities and how the money holds out.
Here's hoping Dom follows Zac and Lizzie's lead, and keeps the family occasionally informed of his wherabouts by putting the odd post up on the Roffreport. Have fun Dom and Katie.

Uncle Grant

I hope this works, and you may have seen this already on Face Book but here is a great photo of me, jenny and Gandalf enjoying the super 15 final at the Wicklow. Luke was there as well.

History Chest

Horses' Birthday.

So begins a year of centenary of war war war. ABC will soon show a doco story about nurses at Anzac, from their posting on Lemnos Island. Look out for  the boys below as they were probably there at the time. Jack aged 21, Fred a couple of years older. So the story goes: Dr Will Newton (b. 1873) chaperoned his half brothers, Fred and Jack Roff, into the Hospital forces to keep them away from front line duty. Fred ended up a chemist and may have been apprenticed at the time. Jack has Gallipoli on his war record, so it could be assumed he was in the troop collecting the wounded by boat to bring back to the hospitals on Lemnos.

Dr. Will Newton (centre), half-brother to Frederick Roff (L) and Jack Roff (R)

at, or en route to,  Lemnos Island, Greece 1915 as part of 3^rd AGH.

 

For more info on the 3^rd AGH go to www.anzacsite.gov.au/5environment/nurses/third-agh.html . Did not read like a pleasant winter.

Hope all is good in your worlds.

Brendan

 

Manila

Loath as I am to de-throne Andrew and his newly appointed Princess from the top of the Roff Report (easily the most widespread rag in all the land) I thought I would post up a bit about my trip to Manila! It was excellent to see Annika again - we basically spent most of the time in restaurants or bars, and tried to set new records in who could talk the most, and the fastest. I believe it was a draw, which is what everyone who loses says. We went swimming, ate good food, drank good wine, went to fun bars, markets, coffee stores and visited the driving range. I say visited because it was closed, so we retired directly to the bar. We also went to an excellent looking rooftop bar. Also closed. Thanks to Annika for being such a great host!

Prince Andrew names his princess

In a surprise announcement, one of the princes of Adelaide, Andrew, has announced his engagement to the lady Sarah Harding. Prince Andrew denies that the engagement has any relevance to his recent 30th birthday, but his press release commences with the words "So tired...."? Andrew's parents are delighted with the news and look forward to having a daughter in the family.

Prince Rowan, in an emotional statement, said that the announcement was inconsiderate considering that the World Cup and Wimbledon should have rightly taken prominence. "Call me a traditionalist" he said.

Meanwhile, insiders have expressed concern that Lady Sarah may not necessarily know of Prince Andrew's propensity to cross-dressing and a secret addiction to Guns 'N Roses.

The Nation is engrossed with the couple's engagement and we at the Roff Report wish them all the best. No date has yet been set for the marriage. Prince Andrew was heard to say; "I am still in a fog!"

Ashley

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Many strange things have happened in the Roff family over the years: Nick managed to find a university that would accept him; Milly discovered a way to be a vegetarian without ever actually having to eat vegetables; and Uncle Damian learned in his late 40's of the "serviette". However, harnessing the full magical power of the serviette appears to at times remain beyond his grasp. One day, Uncle Damian, one day. 

 

Another incredible thing happened over the weekend: Andrew "Egg" Roff' had his 30th Birthday and invited his relatives. Alaine, Zac and I made our way over for the festivities to represent the Roffs. Whilst in Adelaide, I discovered a number of things that blew my mind: 

 

1.       There is a Zac in the world taller than Zac. Zac Roff Was swiftly replaced; 

2.       There is no shortage of daggy jumpers in Adelaide;

3.       Roast chestnuts are ace;

4.       Rowan can organise an entire playlist for a lengthy party that consists entirely of Adelaide 'musicians';

5.       There is a wine called the Charblanc;

6.       The "Double Down Burger" is still available for purchase despite the best efforts of medical science to see it consigned to the dustbin of history.

 

In a viking-style raid the three of us swept in to town, pillaged all of the delicious food Cathie had to offer, plundered all of the thirst-quenching alcohol Ashley could provide and changed the course of human history by being the first people to buy a beer at the top of Mt Lofty AND THEN TAKE IT OUTSIDE TO DRINK WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY TAKE IN THE MAGNIFICENT VIEW!

 

We were treated like rock stars and on behalf of Alaine and Zac, I would like to thank all of the Adelaide Roffs for their wonderful hospitality and wish Andrew a Happy Birthday! He is a good egg.

 

Who has the next birthday?

Jaguar Shark in the Phillipines

This is the second batch of photos and video from the camera dad and julia got us. So I can lose it now and it will still be worth it. This is from a few weeks ago. Annika was the best host imaginable and she is even funnier and grown uppier than I remembered. Thanks Panic. These pics are all from Apos Island. We were there for Easter and watched Passion of the Christ at the local village projected onto a sheet. 

Daniel Stuart Roff, Barrister at Law

Daniel Stuart Roff graduated from Barrister School on the weekend. The finale of the month long intense course was a Mock Trial on Saturday. The matter was insurance fraud. Daniel and three other barristers battled it out in front of a real judge and they examined and cross-examined “real” witnesses. Daniel was confident in the court room and the Judge seemed to be impressed. Daniel made good use of the “objection” function, even challenging  a witness statement that King Street Newtown was deserted at 8.30pm on Saturday night.  Marianne, Stuart and Alaine went to the Sydney Law Courts to see Daniel in action and try on the wig!

 

Daniel begins his career as a Barrister today in a windowless “office” with a blown light bulb. Fortunately, the whole Chambers is very impressive, with many leather bound books and a rich mahogany smell.

 

The Stuart Roffs also got to catch up with Kate and Joe on their way through to the USA. It was an absolute delight to meet Samuel. He’s gorgeous, and very articulate for a two year old. Kate and Joe are still taking name suggestions for baby number two.

 

Brad Forrest

….speaking of newspapers?

Moving to Bardwell Park has given me access to Brad Forrest's columns in the local Leader newspaper. This appeared in his Tuesday 29 April column. I wonder if it will make it to the blog.

Brendan

 

 

Anzac Day

The Anzac Day service in Perth afforded us a chance to check out Jim Seage's tree. It was a good. Moment to reflect on the service to the nation of the Roff and Seage clans

Rock

Party at my place!

...actually, party at mum and dad's place. Click the invitation below for a larger version:

Everybody is welcome. Even Harry. If you're thinking of coming, let me know by leaving a comment here, emailing me at roffa [at] tpg [dotcomdot] au, or calling or texting me, mum or dad. It'll be good times!

10 Years Black

The nice report of Aunty Betty's 90th on Sunday reminded me of her and Black's common birthday, and of the 10 year anniversary of Black's passing yesterday ( 21/4/04). Jan and I called in on the East Gosford memorial wall on our recent visit and his and Eileen's plaques still look good ( apart from Black's being a bit bent, but we figured that was a metaphor for his life) . God bless both of them, and God bless Aunty Betty !!!

It's Anzac week now, and we thought we'd drop into Kings Park ( Perth) to pay our respects to Jim Seage's name on the memorial wall and his tree. 

Don't be writing the Dockers or the Force off just yet.

Rock

Samuel turns 2...

While there are a few other birthdays we should probably acknowledge, nobody throws a party like a two-year-old. This was Samuel's (a garden party brunch)...

Love from WA

Betty hits 90

Hi all,
Mum made it to the big 9-oh landmark today - 20th April!
She always gives us smile whenever we visit and always seems interested in the trials and tribulations of our lives but I'm not sure anything really registers. But the smiles are worth it!  Brendan always gets plenty of reaction and smiles with ukulele renditions of Ain't She Sweet !
Took her for a walk around the retirement village on a glorious Good Friday morning to discover a big bunch of flowers that Tony and Malle had ordered sitting on the doorstep of their old unit (Dad moved from a unit into a service apartment last year, and mum's been in the nursing home for a while) so the rest of the walk she clutched the flowers happily in her lap.

Dad unfortunately couldn't be with mum today.  He had a fall a week ago and after a few days in the SAN hospital he is now in Lady Davidson for some rehab.  Nothing too serious, but they won't let him out until he is a bit firmer on his feet.  He's a star spending much of his normal day by Mum's bedside.  A good respite for him being in Lady Davidson for a week or two.
Happy Easter to all.
Martin Jenny Adam and Tania

News from WA

In light of Dad's comments that I have "let myself go" a bit lately, I should probably announce that Joe and I are expecting.
We are due early October and are taking name suggestions...

Kate
x

Singapore

Hello! For those of you not on Facebook, I am currently in the process of moving to Singapore. I leave in a couple of weeks, and it should be pretty hectic there for a while, but then after that I would love to have visitors!! Liz has already booked tickets, and Annika is threatening to come up as well! I hope everything is well, hopefully a bit more of a chance to see everyone now that i am a little closer to home!! Zac