EDITOR’S NOTE
The Railway Man is based on a true story and played out by Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Twenty years after the end of the Second World War, a man is trying to live and love as best he can while managing the memories and trauma. He had been captured in Singapore and sent to work on the Burma Railway – or “Death Railway”, as it’s often called.
It gave me a lot of food for thought. For example, the theme of “just following orders” – 80 years later and I feel it’s still being used as an excuse. We are programmed to think that others know better, are more informed or more important than us. But, I think it’s our duty to question and not blindly follow – it’s not a choice.
It’s a very complex issue, as is the other key message in the movie, which is “forgive but don’t forget”. My grandmother, who was 103 when she died and had lived through two world wars, the great depression and much more, wasn’t very good at either. She had a memory like an elephant, as they say – and she never forgave.
If you’re keen to create some lovely new memories, and use up those air miles that have been building up, have a read from page 120. One of our team who lives in South Africa has put together her favourite places to visit there. It’s an amazing country!
Making sure you’re comfy is always important, so we’ve also got a great spread on bedrooms, as well as a competition to win fabulous sheets and a mattress!
It’s also International Women’s Day this month (8 March), and we have a couple of interesting profiles of women juggling high-profile day jobs and motherhood – one in the cruise industry, the other an international golfer.
As we enter spring and (hopefully) a fresh start, I hope you have fun exploring new avenues – and always remember to question!
It’s funny how things work out. A few days before I was to go to Kranji for a service marking the 80th Anniversary of the Fall of Singapore, I watched the perfect movie almost by mistake.
REBECCA BISSET Editor-in-Chief