If you’ve read my blog for any period of time you’ve probably noticed spelling and grammar errors here and there. My spell checker usually catches the obvious misspellings, but it’s not so great at spotting when I’ve used an incorrect homophone or made a grammatical error. In these situations most people ignore the error, feeling that it might be rude to point it out. Well, I wanted to tell you that I don’t consider it rude, in fact I consider it helpful. So, if you see an error please feel free to correct me. Read on and I tell [...] Continue Reading…

There’s something amazing about a sunny autumn day. I think it’s the perfect mixture of light and colors with a crisp air that you don’t get at any other time of year.

In truth, I’m never happy to see the arrival of autumn. It heralds the end of summer, and serves only as a fanfare for the imminent arrival of another long winter in which I’ll only be wishing for the spring.

I’m a warm weather person. A sun worshipping Englishman with carefully chosen sunglasses and an appetite for blue sky days rarely satisfied by the mean British summers that [...] Continue Reading…

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 [...] Continue Reading…

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 [...] Continue Reading…

It’s been said in the past that I am something of a hippie. Indeed, it’s true that I do burn the occasional incense stick and that I diligently recycle as much as I can. I did replace my incandescent lightbulbs with low energy cfl’s, and I do believe we should do as much as possible to take care of the earth. That aside, I’m no tree-hugging eco warrior or hardcore carbon neutral vegan pacing the earth in banana leaf sandals. However, I didn’t come to Australia to hide behind the barriers of my own comfort zone. So when a [...] Continue Reading…

The last time you heard from me I was going to Tasmania. That was back in February, when Christmas seemed like yesterday and the Australian summer holidays were still in full swing. It’s now April and some people out there in the virtual world have expressed concern for my well being; logic being, if I’m not blogging something must be wrong. Well, I’m happy to report that the lack of blogging is not an indicator of something being wrong, in fact it’s quite the opposite. In short, I’m still here, still happy, and still loving’ life down-under. It’s still [...] Continue Reading…