Shaded from the summer sun, warmed by the winter fire, this is a showpiece room. Mrs Calthorpe has taken such care to get the look just right. Here she has chosen a fashionable English baronial look, using sandstone not brick for the fireplace, choosing earthy tones and heavy tasseled gold velvet curtains. Medieval style tapestry fabric on the chairs, which she brought from the old house in Queanbeyan, and an oak leaf motif on the fine net curtains.

There are family mementoes here in framed photographs, a sword used as a fire poker and Harry’s favourite book ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’.

In the afternoons, a card table is set up for Mrs Calthorpe - Dell - to enjoy a round or two of Bridge with friends. She’s such a good player – and was in the ACT’s first interstate team to play in the Australian championships.  She often brings home small ornaments as prizes.  Some of these are up high in this room, others she has shared around with friends. 

This room comes alive on Sundays especially in winter when the fire crackles and glows and the family gathers here to relax. It’s the cosiest room in the house for reading or colouring in, for knitting or drawing, mending or sewing.

When afternoon tea is over, the scones and jam have been eaten and the trays cleared away, it is time for some music.  ‘Shine on Harvest Moon’ is always a favourite, and the song ‘Always’ pumped out on the Victor Patent pianola.

Sunday night supper is an informal meal, an easy dish the girls prepare from tinned New Zealand Toheroa soup or whitebait on pieces of toast grilled by the fire. Things liven up when Harry starts to sing songs from his youth or twirls his wife around the floor, dancing to ‘Destiny Waltz’.

Not long after we moved into our new house, my sister decided to hold a concert. We made the sitting room our stage with the dining room doors as the curtain. Our parent’s bedroom was the dressing and makeup room. We wrote out a program of piano solos, recitations, juggling, singing, acrobats and fairy dancing. We sold penny-a-twist toffees and our neighbours and friends came as cast and audience.

The first act didn’t go too well. I was playing a naughty boy called Johnny and sitting on the settee holding Tiddles our cat. Seeing all the people, Tiddles fizzed with fright, his tail fluffed up and he flew out of my arms and disappeared. Everyone thought it was very funny and roared with laughter. I had to finish the skit without the main character – and everyone thought it was funny to call me Johnny ever after.