Lindfield East Public School Band

When I entered 3rd Grade I auditioned for the Lindfield East Public School Band. I tried out for two instruments - the drums and the trumpet. Because I actually got a note out of the trumpet, it was decided that this would be my instrument.

Tiger Present

It is my wife's birthday in two weeks so I asked my son what he would like to buy her. His answer was a "Tiger Present," which, apparently, will also eat mummy.I asked him what he wants for his birthday and he said "Teddy Present."

Architectural Tour of Europe

When I travelled in Europe after University, I had the good fortune to travel some of the way with my Friend Mike. Mike was a recent graduate of architecture and showed me some things that I would probably have never seen otherwise. These things included - Scarpa Palace (Castle Vecchio) in Verona, Assisi, Scarpa shop in Venice and Palladio's house. All of which are worth a journey in themselves.

A Day Trip to Lake Como

When I was working in Milan, I decided to go for a day trip to Lake Como, just one hour north of Milan. It was high summer at this stage, and the clear lake was full of people in polished wooden boats. I decided to get off at a town called Lenno because of a rather attractive chateau I recognised from the Star Wars movie. After walking some kilometers to get there, I was told I could not enter because it was lunch times and the dogs needed their exercise. I could return in two hours. So I did.

Crushed

When I was in primary school there was a boy I only knew remotely, but he seemed nice enough. One day he was driving into town and his father, sister and mother were in the car in front of him. Somewhere in the city, a large unsecured concrete block dropped from a building site onto his parents car and killed his mother, father and sister instantly - it was a freak accident and he saw it all. We never saw the boy at school again. To this day, whenever I walk under scaffolding or near a construction site, I think of this inicident.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

My son is 2 years old, he is going to be a dinosaur when he grows up. A tyrannosaurus. He has promised he will eat me, his mother and his grandmother....and the cat.

The Tree in the Muir Front Yard

At the top of the tree in the Muirs front yard my cousin Angus and I placed a diary. Years later we retrieved that diary and someone had written in it.....it was the Predator.

Cutting Down Trees

When I first met my friend John I was impressed with his disregard for personal property and social limitations. His favourite party trick was to take a saw to a party and cut down one of the owners trees. I imagine this was quite tiring work.

McClures Pig

When the McClures got there pig it was very small and cute. Within a few months the 3 meter by 1 meter cage was pretty much all pig and she was not happy. To ease the situation Rod McClure used to take her for a walk around the neighbourhood with a bit of rope. One day she got out and proceeded to destroy an immaculately groomed garden that at that moment was hosting a ladies tea party.

Possum Lodge, Jindabyne

As a youth I spent some memorable times at possum lodge, a friends house in Kalkite, Jindabyne - in particular with my friend Hamish. Our job was to gather the firewood - which we became extremely efficient at by applying large boulders to brittle gum trees. One day we got too ambitious and tried to roll a very large boulder down a steep hill to see what damage we could inflict on the landscape. The boulder rolled down the hill and onto the road into the incoming traffic. Fortunately this was not a busy road. The next boulder we tried to roll got stuck on Hamish's foot.

The best restaurant ever

We found this restaurant on a backstreet in Milan purely by accident -
"Alla Collina Pistoiese". It is the best restaurant ever. I still remember the desert of freshly picked forest berries served from a desert cart. The waiters wore black tie.

Landspeeder

When I was 5/6 I had to go into hospital and get my Achilles Tendons lengthened. All I really remember is crying alot and receiving a star wars landspeeder. This landspeeder is now played with by my son Gabriel. He is too young to know the story. I am glad it has made it.

1982 With A Bullet

This was my first album. To this day these are some of my favourite songs and groups. Now I know why Notably - "Can't Get Enough", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight",

Side 1:

1. "Centerfold" (3:35) - The J. Geils Band
2. "Just Can't Get Enough" (3:36) - Depeche Mode
3. "Homosapien" (4:33) - Pete Shelley
4. "Make a Move On Me" (3:15) - Olivia Newton-John
5. "My Own Way" (3:35) - Duran Duran
6. "Dirty Creature" (3:58) - Split Enz
7. "Almost With You" (4:11) - The Church
8. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" (2:52) - Diana Ross
9. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (3:07) - Tight Fit

Side 2:

1. "What About Me" (3:28) - Moving Pictures
2. "Cambodia" (3:45) - Kim Wilde
3. "Beserk Warriors" (3:49) - Mental As Anything
4. "Golden Brown" (3:28) - The Stranglers
5. "Let's Hang On" (3:08) - Barry Manilow
6. "Mickey" (3:38) - Toni Basil
7. "Come Back Suzanne" (2:52) - Bill Wyman
8. "Body and Soul" (3:35) - Jo Kennedy
9. "Daddy's Home" (2:56) - Cliff Richard

Death Star Playset

Perhaps the greatest gift I ever received was the Death Star Playset. See for yourself. The garbage compactor was a particularly cool addition.

60 Cent Bird Stamp

For a while I was very into collecting stamps. Dad would bring stamps home from work and we would soak them in water so they could be removed from the envelopes. I had a green album.
The one stamp I coveted the most was the 60 cent bird stamp - it was a rare find. Andrew McClure was the only person who had this stamp. For it I was willing to trade almost my wholecollection and almost did. The bird is Australian King Parrot - aka Alisterus scapularis.

Brown Snakes

One particularly hot day on the farm in Cooma the adults were drenching the sheep. However, the heat was bringing the snakes out and Amy (who was only very young at the time) saw a alrge brown snake in the hay shed. Being already scared out of her wits by the snake, she then walked back to the house only to see another snake on the front step outside the house.
To this day, when she is stressed she dreams of flying snakes.

Homeless Man

When I was young, there was a homeless man who lived in the bush behind our house. He used to walk up our street occasionally to buy milk. None of our parents liked us spending time with him. We used to go and visit him in his cave in the bush. He was always friendly to us.
One day we decided to take from cans of food from our homes and give them to him.

Skateboard

When I was young I begged Dad to buy me a skateboard as my friend down the street had just got one - Andrew Mclure.
Finally, he relented and got me one - a red one.
I decided to go and try it out on the hill outside my house on Barrie St.
It was a big hill.
I probably got about half way down before the death wobbles struck. Before long I was flying through the air sans skateboard.
I landed several times in a neighbours front garden. I had a wart on my thumb that got clean knocked off.This was the only wart of I had ever had.

Sambo The Sheep

When I was young we lived on a farm for awhile in Cooma. On this farm lived a really angry sheep called Sambo. Sambo used to charge you and try to head but you whenever he saw someone. He did this because he had been raised with humans and saw them as his competitors. One day I was crossing the field with Amy and Sambo appeared out of nowhere charging at us. The fence was a fair way off and there was no way Amy would make it with a broken leg.
Then, out of nowhere, Dad appeared driving a truck and ran along side of Sambo and bowled him over with the door on the truck. Sambo was well and truly scaddadled.
We made the fence.