{"id":102001,"date":"2025-12-28T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/?p=102001"},"modified":"2025-12-18T23:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:13:41","slug":"from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-55","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/living\/from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-55\/","title":{"rendered":"From the desk of ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>AS a child it never occurred there would be another century other than the 20th. I was born before the middle of that century. I wrote a line in a play set in 1942 which reads: \u201cWhen men, who are now boys are old, in the distant time beyond the year 2000\u2026\u201d It was prophetic. Now it is reality. Incredulously, it is 2026!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Impossible to believe, but another year has vanished into the ether. The further one gets from ones date-of-birth the faster time slips-away.<\/p>\n<p>Gifted of an extraordinarily good memory, I remember with clarity the vital vignettes of my life; the faces and the voices of those people with whom I have been allowed to share my incredible journey. Often times, looking-back through the prism of the 21st-century, the friends from my childhood once more are before me \/fond memories waken as freely I roam. The memories imbue an overwhelming joy, and do much to make some sense of who-and-what I have become.<\/p>\n<p>The wisdom of my parents, Beria and Ginger, rings in my ears, still. Now, more than ever, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities my father bestowed \u2014 and all from the sweat of his brow. My childhood in the North-eastern goldfields of Western Australia was geographically idyllic. Emotionally it vacillated. Philosophically, it was a cauldron of 28-nationalities. Their Herculean effort for survival is why Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s conduct caused me to bridle, incandescently. Gifted of every thinkable opportunity he behaved so shamefully. Only a thankless dullard would abuse such largesse.<\/p>\n<p>My father knew education was the answer to breaking the cycle. He came from Magliano, a Tuscan village \u2014 population of about 200 \u2014 in the Alpi Apuane. He was a pastore \u2014 a shepherd. The family owned a sizeable herd of milking sheep for producing pecorino cheese. He came to Australia, 1926, aged 17. He died, Kalgoorlie \u2014 aged 63.<\/p>\n<p>When it came for me to be sent away to college he sold his only asset, a house, for \u00a3250. I had no intellectual comprehension of his sacrifice. Today, I am humbled by his magnanimity. Divorced from my mother, he placed me and my sister above all else. He set me free. Were it not for his devotedness I might have ended-up in a factory \u2014 putting tops-on-mops.<\/p>\n<p>Never have I forgotten from whence I came. It was a rich melting-pot of ancient, European culture. It was a time and place the like of which the world will never know again. The flotsam and jetsam from war ravaged Europe found there way to Gwalia \u2014 147-miles north-east of Kalgoorlie. There was little to remind them of home \u2014 even the stars were different; however, they took comfort in each other, and out of the isolation they crafted a rich community. They changed the face of the Nation. Like a phoenix, I emerged from their cultural furnace.<\/p>\n<p>The theatre and the wireless have been the abiding passions. Consumed by the work, it has fired my imagination \u2014 sent me on exciting adventures; taken me to the four corners of the globe; allowed me to walk and talk with some of our most fascinating people. I have stood in the darkened wings and watched our most creative actors work their magic and cast their spells. It continues to be a most exhilarating journey.<\/p>\n<p>I send every blessing for a Happy and Peaceful New Year. Contact: <a href=\"mailto:roland@rolandroc.com\">roland@rolandroc.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AS a child it never occurred there would be another century other than the 20th. I was born before the middle of that century. I wrote a line in a play set in 1942 which reads: \u201cWhen men, who are now boys are old, in the distant time beyond the year 2000\u2026\u201d It was prophetic. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/living\/from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-55\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":102002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-102001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From the desk of ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI - McIvor Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Roland Rocchiccioli reflections on life, family, and a remarkable journey from Western Australia to global adventures.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/living\/from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-55\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From the desk of ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI - 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