Since 2002, I’ve been writing here about life, the universe, and everything. My interests include genealogy, history, and the arts. More recently, since July 2023 I’ve been writing about my experiences as a below-the-right-knee amputee.
As I walked in the door tonight and turned on the television I was pleasantly surprised to see a show on SBS-TV about Sweden. As part of their “Counter Culture” series which examines the “corporate identity” of different countries, they took a trip behind the scenes at IKEA, H&M, and of course ABBA got a mention too. The central thesis for the program was that years of extreme poverty, followed by years of high affluence…
The other week, you might recall, I asked for some advice about Chinese restaurants in Sydney where they spoke Mandarin, not Cantonese. Thanks to Marcellous, who made a couple of suggestions we settled – well, I made the decision for – “Sea Bay” on Pitt Street. At about seven thirty tonight, Andrew and I met there to farewell Damien who is heading off to China in the next couple of days. As we walked in,…
As I reached into my pocket today, I wondered for a moment what I had found. Was it a ticket? Was it a brochure? No, it was a handkerchief that didn’t actually belong to me. I’d bought the suit I was wearing from a second-hand store several months ago for $25. It was one of two suits I’d bought on the day, and I was happy with the purchase of both, as they both fitted…
For the last two or three years in the run up to Christmas one of my colleagues has been in the habit of bringing in some “lollies” as a gift to the workplace. Snakes. Bananas. Teeth. Bullets. You know the stuff I mean? The stuff we all grew up with and love. Even butter-scotch which is a particular favourite of mine. He places them on the partition above his workplace in some “party bowls”. It’s…
A not entirely exceptional day. Whatever that means. After work, a mate and I caught up for a beer and a chat and quite a few laughs. We also solved quite a few of the world’s problems, told each other some heartfelt stories and enjoyed some teary anecdotes. That’s what makes life “real”, eh? When you can open up with a mate and not worry that you’ve shared too much…
It’s been a day of hard physical labour for me as I spent a few hours helping Damo move some furniture into storage. For me, that meant getting up earlier than I normally would on a Sunday, driving with him to The Shire (which is where he’s moving to after China, as it’s closer to his relocated workplace), and helping him pack a storage unit with a combination of his own and his late mother’s…