Madonna Barraclough’s 2022 End of Year Wrap

Harold was Irene and Bill’s 4th child, and Madonna is his daughter. Most years Madonna sends out an end of year wrap letting us know what her family has been up to. Below is that document from 2022, along with some family snaps from throughout the year.

If you do something similar, please feel free to send it through using the details on the Contact page.

For those who don’t know Madonna and her family, here’s a quick rundown (although of course, you can see all this information using the People section of the website starting here at Harold).

Ross is Madonna’s husband, and they have two children – Cleon and Lena. Madonna’s Mum (Harold’s wife) is Joan, and she’s living with, and being cared for by, Madonna and Ross.

Cleon is married to Heather, and they have three children, Jazz, Josiah and Sasha. Lena is married to Nick, and they have a son, Halen.

Madonna is a teacher, and Ross, who had a serious brush with cancer some years ago, is retired and working on his art and other creative projects.

Hi Family and friends,

I’ve included a few significant snaps of our family from throughout this year for you to view.

Family dinner shot (Madonna and Ross’s daughter Lena is front left, and their son Cleon is next to the empty chair on the right)

Ross, Mum and I are going along fine. Ross is now 5 years in remission and is departing the care of the colorectal dept at the PA Hospital. We’re very grateful for the public health system here.

I’m going to 3 days per week of teaching next year, to reduce the marking and reporting load. With over 300 students, that wipes me out for weeks on end at the end of each semester. I also need more time with Mum, as her needs increase and she needs support with eating, toileting and knowing what to do next. I would also like to resume some creative work and have more consistent exercise time. Sounds like the NY resolutions are done 🤩

Below is a beautiful photo of the extended Barraclough family with Ross’s Dad Ted in a wheelchair. This was the last day we were all able to be together with Ted, as he died on the 13 November 2022.

Cleon pushed his wheelchair around the stunning Japanese garden at the Katie Rose Cottage Hospice and Ted was able to smile despite being in the final stages of pancreatic cancer. Ted’s diagnosis was only 2 weeks prior. Ross stayed at Peregian with his Mum for 3 weeks to provide support and to farewell his Dad. Ted, more recently, is best remembered for his native Australian bird carvings.

Cleon and Heather’s family are now five, since Jazz’s brother Josiah (13 years old) joined them. Cleon and Heather gained entry for Josiah into a school that takes just 20 students. They work with animals while undergoing up to 4 hours of educational contact per day, in small groups. Josiah has is doing really well since being in this new school environment.

Our eldest grandson Jazz has had major changes to his life, starting with early admission to the Con to study a Bachelor of popular music. The day after the acceptance letter, he got his license and the day after that he got his first job at Subway. Any of you on Facebook would have read Cleon’s humorous post.

This year’s GPAC (Gerrard's Performing Arts Centre) concert (run by Heather and her sister Hayley) was fabulous. Our granddaughter Sasha danced in so many numbers I lost count. There were many great shots of the dancers in various costumes, but the one below of Sasha airborne in black is particularly special, I think. The picture on the right is of Sasha and Cleon on the day they performed at the Beenleigh Christmas Markets.

Sasha is also a keen soccer player and is playing for the Logan Lightening Club.

Lena, Nick and Halen have a nice spot with a beaut garden at Eagleby. Lena works 4 days a week for the Together Union. One of her workdays is at home, a left-over from the work-at-home phase of the pandemic.

Halen, who was 2 in Sept. is a real character and loves to socialise.

Nick runs his own mowing and maintenance business and maintains the garden at Mum’s property, which fortunately has had the same tenants since she started living here. Nick has good wood-working skills and recently built us a great looking entrance arbour. We’ve had lots of renos and are looking forward to just enjoying them soon. We also look forward to more reunions and socials on the deck in the coming year.

All the best for an enjoyable Xmas day and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Love,

Madonna and family

💗

As an aside (from Rob), Madonna and Ross hosted a fabulous luncheon get together for a group of O’Brien cousins on Sunday 22 May 2022. It was held at their home in Brisbane.

Seven families were represented with 11 cousins attending (just over a quarter of the remaining 41 of us), including:

Harold’s family – Madonna.
Cyril’s family – Maureen.
Helen’s family – Alan.
Joan’s family – Ian, Karen and Vanessa.
Frank’s family – Susan.
Gwen’s family – Kate and Rob.
Claire’s family – Sue and Simon.

There will be a gallery of photos posted up on the website at some point, but in the meantime, here’s a shot of the 11 of us. It was an excellent day – thanks again to Madonna and Ross for their hospitality.

Written by Madonna Barraclough, with additional material from Rob Landsberry, last updated 14 July 2023