With the end of the world now postponed to October, perhaps I should not have been surprised when a religious icon appeared to me in the most unexpected of situations.

It’s a sunny autumn afternoon in Melbourne, Australia. The cool afternoon air is filled with the sounds of traffic, sirens, tram bells, and the mêlée of a thousand conversations swirling around and tangling with one another as people negotiate their path through the busy sidewalks.

I’m making my way to a little laneway café called Manchester Press. Its rustic decor is made from recycled machinery and items that look like they might have been salvaged from the former printing press workshop the café is situated in.

Once there I order my usual caffeinated fix: a cappuccino. Australians are pretty serious about their coffee, and as such, living here has cured me of my penchant for whipped cream topped coffees drowned in flavoured syrup.

I take a seat at a wooden bench that was once a large door, then get out my laptop in preparation for a couple of hours of work.

At the table next to me a group of girls are gossiping about some Facebook drama and a girl who “totally should have known that would happen.” I’m curious about what “that” was, but her transgressions are being drowned out by the blend of rap music and coffee machine harmonics.

My cappuccino arrives while I’m searching (fruitlessly) for a wifi network. ‘Ahmed the Second’ and ‘The Comeback Kid’ are interesting network names, but they’re protected by passwords much like the Facebook girl’s transgressions were protected by noise.

I look over at my cappuccino and I’m stopped in my tracks. Holy Mother of God! The Virgin Mary has appeared in my coffee!

I look around me. It feels like this should be shared, but with whom? The server in his red hat, the chattering girls maybe? I look back at the cup, moving in to examine it a little closer. Is the Virgin Mary smiling?

Maybe she’s laughing about the fact that the world didn’t come to a crashing end at the weekend, despite the forecast of an ageing American preacher. I suspect she’s in the know about such things, but as curious as I am, I’m not about to start talking to my coffee.

I snap a few pictures of the drink. I mean, it’s not often that a deity appears in your coffee. I shoot from this angle, and that, which draws sideways glances from a man in a suit sitting at a nearby table.

“The Virgin Mary is in my coffee.” I tell him. He nods and returns to his paper, probably thinking to himself that the world is full of weirdos and he’s in no mood to engage with one today.

I look back at the cup, pick up the sugar. I’m not saying Mary wasn’t a sweet girl, but I like a little lift in my cappuccino. Then I notice that it seems like she is wearing lipstick. Lipstick on the Holy Mother of God? I wouldn’t have expected that.

Maybe she’s loosening up in these more liberal times, and you know what, a smile and a little lippy is working for her. But wait a second, what’s up with her eyes? Is she… surely she’s not… it can’t be! Is the Virgin Mary winking at me?

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Manchester Press
Believers baffled as world doesn’t end
Immaculate confection
Halloween coffee art
Friday evening latte

My brother, Peter, recently wrote a book—a self help book no less. It’s called How To Do Everything And Be Happy, and in it he explores and explains his theories and methods to seeking out happiness in our busy everyday lives. He gave me a free copy and so this is a review, a plug, and a cheer for my big brother on getting his first book published!

I don’t know whether it’s down to my age, the times we live in, or the fact I might be paying more attention than I used to, but I’ve noticed that a significant number of people I know are not exactly over excited about how life is shaping up.

These aren’t depressed people lurking like rain clouds waiting to dark on someones parade. They’re normal people who smile and laugh as much as the next person, but have somehow managed to become a little stuck in life.

Like most people they happily sought out and settled into a nice rhythm in life, steered clear of the risky and unknown, and padded their world with the comfortable, safe and predictable. The routine that they worked hard to attain looks great from the outside looking in, but for them it doesn’t seem to be quite as sweet as advertised, it’s not quite living up to the promise. Life is good, but it’s also perhaps a little boring.

I think it’s these people Peter had in mind when he wrote his recently published book ‘How To Do Everything And Be Happy.’ Yes it’s a mouthful of a title and a lofty goal too, but if nothing else it’s a good question to ask.

I’m embarrassed to say that I rarely read books, much less books that come from the self-help section of the bookstore. But when your brother gives you a book that he wrote, you’re more or less duty bound to read it.

As it happens the book was a good read, not that I expected otherwise. I enjoyed reading it while going to and from the city on the tram, and while I can’t compare it with other books of a similar genre, I can say that Pete’s approach to the subject of happiness and fulfilment was light and easy with a conversational style that made reading it as entertaining as it was engaging.

Inspired in part by the events surrounding the untimely death of his wife, Pete doesn’t have that ‘plastic fantastic’ American style that so many of those self help characters seem to have (as if I’ve suddenly become an expert!). Being a Brit he’s is certainly no Tony Robins life coach guru strutting around wowing his fans. He’s more ‘Mr Darcy‘ than Dr Phil, more like a cup of tea rather than a can of Coke. As such reading the book feels rather like you’re listening to a friendly English ‘chap’ rather than sitting in a seminar wearing a sticker that reads ‘Hello. My name is ____’.

Pete and I have very different approaches to life, we always did. He’s more of a ‘plan and prepare’ kind of character, while I adopted a more mapless ‘what’s down this road’ approach. To be honest, there have been many times in my life when I would have been far less out of breath or in a wholly less stressful situation if only I could be more like my older brother, but we’re just wired differently I suppose.

This is never more obvious than in the way we fly. Pete will arrive at the airport well before his flight, boarding cards printed, and ready to stand in line to check-in his luggage. In contrast, I’ll waltz in moments before the gate closes, wander up to the Business Class desk despite being very much an economy passenger, smile and maybe flirt a little, and always ask for an upgrade.

Nevertheless, despite our different styles and outlooks, I enjoyed Pete’s book. More than that, though, I liked reading about how my brother, a cautious character who I’ve worried about at times, is taking time to savour and enjoy the pleasure in life that too many of us keep putting off until it really is too late.

How To Do Everything And Be Happy is available on Amazon (UK and USA), iTunes, and in various other digital formats through Smashwords.com.
(Pete is very kindly offering readers of this blog a generous 50% discount if you download the ebook from smashwords.com. Simply use the discount code NE76P at the checkout.

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A BBC with interview with Peter

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How To Do Everything And Be Happy
Download a preview of the book
Brothers in arms