After working in the Newsagency and Coles which she likened to ‘ playing shops ,’ and the Wesfarmers office , Val did her Mission training in Melbourne and worked in WA ’ s North West . She spent two years at Lagrange , two years Governessing and facilitating School of the Air for the Bowman family in Youangarra , and one year with the Shimmons family at Peedamulla near Onslow .
Returning to Perth , Val lived with Mrs Prendergast whilst working for an office furniture company and befriended her daughter Jo , with whom she was still friends with today .
It was at this point Jo and Val made a decision that would change the course of Val ’ s life – they were to road trip around Australia .
In 1969 during the early stages of the trip , Val took a job as a barmaid at the Gascoyne Hotel in Carnarvon . It was here that Val met a handsome man with a funny name across the bar – Ellison Pickles , accompanied by his dog - Mustard . Meeting Mr Pickles and Mustard saw the end of Val ’ s trip around Australia , but the start of the rest of her life .
The pair met in September and were married by April 1970 . After moving around , the couple finally came to Perth and lived in Greenmount . It was here in 1971 they had their first child Kellie . After a relatively short stay the trio moved to Cloverdale – the house they ’ d both call home until the day they died . It is in this home that Val and Ellie had daughter Jill in 1973 and son Bradley in 1975 .
Anyone who knows Val knows she never held a Driver ’ s Licence . This inability made her a lifelong friend in Eileen Evert , who would drive Kellie , and later Jill and Bradley to school . While she was pregnant with Bradley , Val did have lessons with her niece Sandy in Chidlow , but felt sick so did not continue . Sandy went on to get her licence but Val “ wasn ’ t too keen on cars ” and never tried it again .
So how did she get from point A to point B ? She relied on two things - Transperth and Ellie .
Her lack of licence also proved to be somewhat of a running joke later in life when Doctors would let Val know she was “ no longer able to drive ” for whatever reason to which she ’ d respond , “ lucky I never started .”