I’ll never forget seeing Alan walk past the shop where I worked, staring at his reflection in the window.
So, when he came into the store to ask me for a date, I didn’t give him the time of day.
But Alan was stubborn. He simply walked around the block and asked me again!
I later found out it was me he’d been staring at through the window. We married four years later when I was 20.
Organising and funding a wedding during WW II wasn’t easy.
Believing in the tradition of having something old, new, borrowed and blue, I borrowed a cream satin gown from my Aunt Bessie – it counted as something old too! Everybody wanted to help me out! I did buy a new veil and we had glass bluebirds on top of our traditional fruit wedding cake.
During the war there was not much fabric available.
My mother, Kathleen, put a bridesmaid’s dress together with leftover material. My floral arrangement was made of flowers picked from the same tree Alan used to give my mum a bouquet when we first started dating.
We married in a church in Sydney. My brother-in-law, George, took me to the altar as my father had died when I was three.
Guests bought us modest gifts because times were tight and Mum prepared a traditional wedding breakfast from nothing.
Our first dance was to music from a record player – then Alan and I caught a train to Queensland.
We had been married for 64 years before Alan died. He always said the best decision of his life was walking around the block and asking me for that first date a second time.,
,(A)After that we held a reception for several people at Mum’s home nearby.,
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,(B)It was specially made for me by a relative.,
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,(C)Fortunately, Mum managed to buy a dress for me.,
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,(D)We were going to honeymoon there.,
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,(E)When I finally agreed he couldn’t believe it.,
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,(F)Although we didn’t have money to spare, we did our best.,
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,(G)However, Alan came in and asked me for a date.,
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,(H)Many of our guests therefore made their outfits from curtains.,
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,(I)Unimpressed, I’d sighed to myself that he must really admire himself.,
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,(J)In reality, it wasn’t possible.,
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Part 2: Between Birth and the World Championship Match (6 points)
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,,(a)Garry Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein in 1963 in Baku to an Armenian mother and Russian Jewish father. He first began the serious study of chess after he came across a chess problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution. His father died of leukemia when he was seven years old. At the age of twelve, he adopted his mother’s Armenian surname.,
,,(b)From the age of 7, Kasparov attended the Young Pioneer Palace in Baku and, at 10, began training at Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school. At the age of 13, Kasparov won the Soviet Junior Championship in Tbilisi in 1976, scoring 7 points out of 9. He repeated the triumph the following year, winning with a score of 8 ½ out of 9. He was being trained by Alexander Shakarov during this time.,
,,(c)In 1978, Kasparov participated in the Sokolsky Memorial tournament in Minsk. He had been invited as an exception but took first place and became a chess master. Kasparov has repeatedly said that this event was a turning point in his life – to play chess professionally. He has also said that after the victory, he thought he had a very good shot at the World Championship. After several other successes, he won the World Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund, West Germany in 1980.,
,,(d)After this, Kasparov wanted to challenge World Champion Anatoly Karpov, but first he had to qualify in the Candidates Tournament. He defeated the exceptionally tough Alexander Beliavsky in his first match of the tournament. His next match, against Viktor Korchnoi, due to be played in Pasadena, California, was threatened by politics. Korchnoi had fled the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, and at that time was the strongest non-Soviet player.,
,,(e)Various political manoeuvres prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi, and Kasparov gave up the match. However, Korchnoi allowed the match to be played in London, and Kasparov won. His final Candidates match was against Vassily Smyslov. Smyslov had been the 7th World Champion in 1957, but later years saw his willingness to fight for wins greatly diminished. Kasparov won the match 4 –0. He had finally earned the right to challenge Karpov for the title.,
Part 3: A Few Facts about Iceland (7 points)
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,The official language is Icelandic, which is considered a Nordic language. It has not changed much from the first settlers of Iceland. Danish and English are mandatory languages to learn, and the literacy rate is over 99 %, which is the highest percentage in the world. Many people are known by their first names, as opposed to their surnames; for example, Horoson means the son of Horo; this can make it difficult to look someone up in the phonebook.
The majority of Icelanders are of Lutheran faith, although there are other believers throughout the region, such as Catholics, Mormons, Baptists as well as Muslims.
Iceland is a republic, with a written constitution and a parliamentary government. The head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote and serves a term of four years. The leader of the parliamentary government is the prime minister.
Because it is an Atlantic island, one of the Iceland’s food staples is fish; other popular food includes lamb, cured meat and dairy products. Various types of meat will always be found in buffets and private homes alike.
There is a popular saying in Iceland, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.” The weather can vary greatly due to its proximity to the ocean. Northern Iceland summer temperatures don’t get much warmer than its winter temperatures; Southern Iceland can get considerably warmer, sometimes reaching as much as 30 degrees Celsius.
The main exports are marine products, aluminum, machinery, software and woollen goods. Most of the exports go to the European Union, Japan and the United States.,