WORDS OF WISDOM FOR SURVIVAL IN 2015 FROM OUR MENTOR

Very adaptable, latte- sipping  cuddly  cat.  Johnson Photograph.

QUEEN PLAYS DRUMS-MOVE OVER SUPERSTAR GENE KRUPA

Members of the volunteer workforce at the Nightcliff Uniting Church Op Shop in Darwin are innovative and have many hidden skills . At Christmas time , Mary Penton, described as the Op Shop Queen , revealed that she can play the drums when a set of the musical instruments arrived on the premises as part of preparations for services at the church . There being no drumsticks with the kit , she improvised . Using wooden coathangers , she beat out a lively rhythm on the drums , see above . On December 10, 2011, Mary celebrated her 90th birthday and the Op Shop crew staged a special function to mark the event . At it a lighthearted ditty , composed by artist Shirley Downing, another skilled Op Shop hand , was rendered to the tune of  Sydney’s Hornsby Girls' High School song, where Mary and Shirley were both star pupils . During WW11 Mary was initially employed   inspecting  materials bought for the Forces . As a member of  the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force , she made a helicopter flight in the early 1950s.