Looking back over what was experienced in WW2, and this is an Australian perspective, I have to call upon the well-known sentence of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities"... "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." So many menfolk, in particular, were absent. War over-shadowed every aspect of life, though in essence, the theatres of war had not yet engulfed Australia, but to prevent that calamity, our service members had to leave our shores and engage in battles which would ultimately prove successful. I was born during this period and remember vividly the darkened rooms at night; whispered voices as the Postmaster knocked on neighbours' doors bringing them the worst of news regarding their lived ones; the stoical stance of women who never murmured anything which would cause we children to be sad or afraid, though what their silence cost them was a heavy price. Young mothers and Aunts entertained us while Grandfather shushed us while bent over the radio to catch the latest news. Incidentally, I still remember every word of "Chicory chick, challah, challah..." which a cousin and I sang at the tops of our voices. Speaking of music, if Chicory Chic could rightly be described as music, the most beautiful music was composed during these dark days. I drank in the beautiful melodies and haunting words, little understanding just what they meant. It was wonderful when sons, husbands, fathers came home on leave. It was as if the sun had shone again. But sadly, we children would awaken only to find that the sun had retreated and our fathers were, all too soon, once again far away. Food was not in abundance and rationing had been imposed. However, once again, our Mothers and Grandmothers were creative with very little by way of ingredients. By those standards, today we are very spoilt. One very important aspect of that era was the empathy and sharing which neighbours had for each other. They cared, they shared, they survived the worst of times. As I look at the world today, I have to wonder, will people look back and see the best of times, or shall our attitudes and lack of empathy create the worst of times? It is up to us! Beloud