Stuck in a Rip

A few years ago my brother-in-laws father was swimming at Whale Beach when he got caught in a bad rip. Being from Ireland he was not an experienced swimmer and quickly panicked and was struggling in the surf.
My brother-in-law, who is a strong swimmer, quickly tried to rescue his father. Strangely, his father strongly rejected his attempts at rescue, as though he was more interested in maintaining his pride, than being saved.

The Beast

In summer my friend Hamish and I would spend a lot of time "boogie" or body boarding. As our confidence and abilities grew we began the rather unusual aim of trying to catch the largest waves of the day or "taming the beast." This would consist of paddling out to the back of the surf and waiting until the largest wave we could find would arrive and then catching it.

Boulder Rolling

When I was a young teenager I used to holiday at a friends house in Jindabyne. Often this was with my good friend Hamish. Hamish and I, when we weren't skiing, would find things to do like smash trees to bits with large boulders. We also took to rolling large boulders down hills. One day, we rolled a large boulder down a hill, just outside the main road. The boulder proceeded to roll straight into the road and into the oncoming path of the traffic. Fortunately, it continued to roll straight across the road and down the hill on the other side. The next boulder we attempted to roll, ended up rolling back onto Hamish's foot and was only removed by a great deal of adrenalin and pain charged effort on our part.

At nightime it was Hamish and my responsibility to start the fire and cook all the steaks. We would sit outside in the freezing cold and look at the stars and feel the warmth on our faces.

Saharan Flood

When H and I went to Morocco after leaving Uni we journeyed west from Marrakesh into the Sahara desert. As was typical for us, but not typical for the Sahara Desert, it started to rain quite heavily. It was allegedly the first time it had rained in 50 years. Little kids were coming out of their houses and looking at the sky and wandering what this strange liquid was landing on their faces. Needless to say, we got stranded by a series of flash floods the miraculously appeared and brought to an end most of the roadwork grid of Western Morocco. I remember placing a rock next to the river to determine whether it was rising or falling - a trick which many with whom we traveled deemed the an act of genius.

Cremated Foot

When H and I were in Bali a few years ago, we happened to cross the path of a rather large Cremation taking place outside the hilltown of Ubud. Like most other Cremations, there was alot of waiting around interspersed with quite frenetic activity. What was memorable about this cremation however is that we found ourselves quite close to the funeral pyre and sticking out of it was this enormous foot. It looked like anyone else's foot except that it had an enormous gas burner aimed at it. As the fire progressed the foot began to turn inwards.

Grandad's Final List

My Grandad died when he was 94. He had a stroke while he was cutting some branches of a tree in his backyard.

In the pocket of his pants my Auntie found a list. The list were items he wanted to research next time he went to the local library. I can only remember one of the items of the list now - Cirque de Soleil. There were about 6 other items on the list I believe.

Hotel My Home

When I traveled In Europe, I organized a rendezvous with my friend John at a particular time in mid-January at a particular hotel in Amsterdam. The hotel was a family inn in a respectable part of central Amsterdam. When I got there, he had left a note stating that he had moved and had left a forwarding address. I followed the address and as I walked along a canal the environment proceeded to become seedier and seedier until it culminated into a hyper-illuminated red-light district street. Here was his new choice of hotel - the Hotel "My Home." When I knocked on its entrance, a window above me opened in an explosion of smoke and a crazy looking American girl, barely visible through the smoke and her dreadlocks, stuck her head out stating "You must be Joel!" - things went downhill from that moment.

Nude Bush-Man

In Killara, Dad would often go for bush walks in the morning before work. One morning he was walking down a bush track and a nude man came walking in the opposite direction. The nudist passed him and nodded hello as though it were the most normal thing in the world to be walking naked through the bush.

Bush Hermit

In the bush in Killara a homeless man lived for awhile. He used to walk up our street to buy milk occasionally. Some of the local kids met him and he seemed harmless enough. One day we decided to take him some cans of food. When we got there his camp had gone and we never saw him again.

Weeing in Bath

G said to H tonight "Mummy, I have a big secret......I always wee in the bath...."

Fire Chief

Gabriel said that when he grows up he will be a fireman and I will be the fire chief.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong occupied many hours in my youth. Its funny how the path the characters follow burn a similar pattern in your memory.

The Cockaluch

Gabriel refers to the cockroach in Wall-E as the "Cockaluch." He wants to get one as his "best" pet.

First Drunkeness

At Young St, my friend Robert Poole and I shared a bottle of wine during the say one afternoon. We skulled it in the bathroom and waited for the effects to kick in. We then went down to local park to lurk. Robert spent the next few hours throwing up in my bathroom.

School Fair

In my final year at primary school I went to the school dance with Abbey Crawford. I dressed as John Travolta - circa Greece. In the dance off - we were in the final few couples.

Young St

We lived in a house in 8 Young St, Warrawee. Every winter the house would flood. We would spend long nights watching the water rise wandering whether it would reach the house. My sister Amy says she still occasionally dreams of rising waters - I myself prefer tidal waves.

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.