Many readers have asked me about the name Hey Bernice! and why I chose it for my blog.
Some confusion  has arisen (and, quite rightly so!) because I’ve been referred to the famous Tonia Todman for many years (through her books, television, radio and public appearances, Tonia Todman is well-known for making cooking and décor easy to understand and to do yourself). To see more about Tonia please visit her website:
Whilst Tonia Todman is a well known crafty person, I couldn’t continue to be referred to as Tonia … I needed a crafty identity of my own!
But why Bernice ?
Would you believe it is simply a case of mistaken identity within the family?
Here is how it happened…
Mum had many aunts, named after various flowers, plants and vines (except one); whilst this is not directly relevant to the Hey Bernice! story,  I just love their names and wanted to share them with you:
Aunty Ivy – after her husband Cliff died in the war she lived with our Nanny (Nellie) and Papa (Bill) – Ivy was a real trick, and I will refer to her on occasions in my posts (Ivy was named after the evergreen climbing ornamental vine which represents fidelity and eternity – obviously not the poisonous variety, she was far from it!) .
Aunty Myrtle – Named after the Crepe Myrtle Flower. Based on the evergreen shrub that was sacred to Venus as a symbol of love.
Aunty Ruby – not named after a plant or flower but the precious stone (the one exception). Ruby was extremely popular in the early 1900’s, then took a dive, but is making a massive resurgence in the last decade and is now in the Top 10 girls names in Australia.
Aunt Gladys – Named after the Gladioli flower (made famous by Dame Edna Everage). Gladiolus is also known as the Sword Lily, due to its sword shaped leaves. Aunt Gladys had 2 daughters:
Delores – blonde and blue-eyed, and (now I will return from my name tangent)
Bernice – brunette and brown-eyed. The name Bernice is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “bringer of victory”.
On many occasions when visiting Nanny (Mum’s mother) she would mistake my sister and me for her nieces, Bernice and Delores, and call us by those names because we had similar colouring eg. Blonde and Brunette. To this day neither of us have met Bernice or Delores, but the use of their names continues by our friends and family.
It was only fitting to use an existing (alternative) name, with a story attached, and some family history to round it all off!
So, not only do you know why this blog is called Hey Bernice!, I have also taught you a little about different female names, their popularity and origins.
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