17th November 2022

ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS (PART 2)

Leaning on his bedroom doorframe, I blurted out the truth: “John, you’ve always known me as your uncle, but in reality I’m your brother,” thus laying bare the astounding news that we had emerged from the same womb! Unceremoniously, he muttered a few dismissive syllables, and went back to sleep.

15th November 2022

ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS!

So there was I: the unknowing subject of deception, a decade on from emigration to the antipodes - mid-twenties gent, wavy locks, gangster moustache, burgundy flares - at the dining table nonchalantly slicing open a slim white envelope. Little did I realise the contents were to change my life irrevocably. ....

7th October 2022

(ALMOST) LOST AT SEA!

It was high noon off the Queenscliff beach, near Melbourne, Australia. The airbed I was half-dozing on had contrived to drift away from shore, into deep water; not extremely deep, but certainly deeper than me! As I stepped nonchalantly from my plastic platform, expecting to hit firm sand, all I felt was more seawater. Panic!

6th October 2022

COCKY COUNTRY

Exasperated and exhausted I slammed the door on the wagon, sweat pouring down my forehead, then walked towards the man sitting in the shade of a broad veranda. His outfit reflected the heat of the moment: khaki shorts, brown boots and bushman’s hat, leaving sun-bronzed expanses of flesh in between. ....

1st October 2022

TRAVELS WITH A TALKATIVE LADY

“I’m so Sorry, but I didn’t quite catch the last bit about the cane toad in your toilet. What was it you said again?” The old dear looked slightly dazed. She must have been in her 70s, sitting on a handy rock, perspiration rolling down her red cheeks after climbing to the peak of Uluru .....

29th September 2022

'JESUS WANTS ME FOR A SUNBEAM'

“You take over,” he said casually, as if it was part of my normal working week. “If anything happens, let me know.” He leaned back, eyes closed for a nap. I gripped hard onto the co-pilot’s controls, looking into the blue yonder, panic stricken! What if another plane comes into view? What if I can’t keep level? … What if? … What if?

10th September 2022

MINIS CAME IN A RANGE OF MODELS

So there we were, burbling clockwise around New Zealand’s southern isle, in a tiny white mini – the vehicle type - packed with camping gear and cookstoves, plus a large box stuffed with minis – the tiny skirt type - that my partner loved to flaunt! We had reached our most southerly point, one of the wettest places on Earth ....

10th September 2022

A BRUSH WITH THE LAW

My old friend Harold had a mixed relationship with the law. Some of his young mates lived on the edge; one especially cherubic-looking youngster still in his teens, wheeling and dealing in stolen goods. The young guy was caught, and spent time in jail, but the aftermath continued to lay heavy on the shoulders of Harold ....

8th September 2022

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

"jesus, that was a stupid thing to do!” I looked down at my left hand; blood streaming from the third digit; still not much pain, but I sensed it was on the way. I was in an inaccessible spot, at the bottom of a deep gully on the edge of the bush; the boss had sent me there to complete a section of fencing. ....

8th September 2022

AN AUSSIE ENLIGHTENMENT

Joe's large spread lay in the rich farmlands of Western Victoria. I joined his team as a low-ranking ‘Jackeroo’. Bob, the lead guy, was a short, blonde-haired ball of muscle; happy to teach me the trade. Next in line Tony, a lanky Italian immigrant learning on the job like me, was towards the opposite: competitive and eager to trip me up. .....

29th August 2022

SECRETS OF SYDNEY

Talaloc Takuda put his foot on the gas, as we sped away from the toll gate in his battered Toyota. As we re-united with the traffic streaming across the iconic bridge, he looked across at me and smiled: “Works every time. You’re supposed to throw a dollar into the basket to cover the toll fee, but I go through the motions without releasing the coin.”

23rd July 2022

HAIRY INFERNO IN THE BUSH!

Another simmering summer’s day on the job in South Australia. Glen and I had arranged to meet at the solitary hotel in town. It was a typical country pub: worn wooden floor with chest-high, olive-green tiled walls, beer on tap and bottles of spirits garlanding an ornately decorated mirror behind the bar.

6th July 2022

A SHARK-INFESTED GRAVEYARD!

I watched as our pilot pushed and pulled every lever in sight; a frantic bid to re-start the engine. He was perspiring profusely, his face now a reddish colour. No clue as to what was wrong! My four workmates, from dozing to wide awake in seconds, craned forward, anxiously.

28th June 2022

'COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME ...'

I had never been to Canberra before, and this was a fleeting visit. Arriving on the early Monday politician’s express, I taxied from the airport to pick up the truck, as arranged. It was all ready, fully loaded with tractor and machinery. By ten o’clock my six-wheeled friend and I were on our way, following an 800-kilometre cross-country trail back to Adelaide. ...