Author: Steve

Australia Day

Steve2 Comments

How do you celebrate your national day, and do you really know what and why you are celebrating?

P1060936It’s a bit sad when you have to resort to Google to confirm what the origin of the day is all about, but that’s what I did. For the record, Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th of January each year and marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the first fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and raising of the flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. (Thanks Wikipedia)

Whilst that’s the historic significance, today I’d suggest that most Australian’s use the day to celebrate our freedom, wealth and safety, the diversity of our community, and the spirit of “mateship”, all attributes that allow us to call Australia “The Lucky Country”. That’s how we spent the day.

Whilst we don’t get hung up on tradition, we always seem to find ourselves spending the day with close friends, sharing the good weather, great food, chilled wine, stories from the year just past, and our plans ahead. Always with plenty of laughter. Where would we be without others to share Continue reading →

From Leather to Lycra

Steve4 Comments

I hate the label “mid life crisis”!

The Leather
The Leather

I don’t think I was having one when I bought the Harley at age 45, but I was probably a perfect fit for the stereo typical label. It was just a time in my life when it was what I wanted and could afford it. Did it matter that I didn’t even have a motor bike licence? Not to me it didn’t.

Hang on…..before you get all righteous, let me explain.

When I returned from Papua New Guinea in 2000, I was fortunate to get in early on the Peter Lik train………destination, world domination. I was employed by Peter as his group CEO at the time when Peter had one small photographic Gallery in Cairns, North Queensland. Within four years, Continue reading →

Weekend Warriors

Steve1 Comment

Have you every had something that you were good at and really loved, but for different reasons you lost it…or gave it away? I have.

Saxing it up
Saxing it up

That something for me was music. When I was about 14 years old I was an accomplished musician for my age, playing trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, euphonium, a little bit of piano and the electronic organ. Those talents saw me playing most weekends in an old time ballroom dance band – Ron Campbell’s Orchestra, “The Pride of the South Coast”. All was fabulous for a few years, and then I found girls. The pressure for a young adolescent boy of competing priorities got a little too much, and ultimately, I chose girls and lost the music. That loss lasted almost 15 years. When I met Anne she had no idea of my musical aptitude – all she knew was that some odd looking cases took up a whole lot of room in my wardrobe. Those cases contained my sax and trumpet. I knew I would make music again, and in the early 1990’s I did. As a family, in 1990 we moved to Papua New Continue reading →

Mu’oozings

Steve2 Comments
The young African ladies of Mu'ooz
The young African ladies of Mu’ooz

Mu’ooz in Tigrinyan (the language of Eritrea and parts of Ethiopia) means tasty and healthy, and that’s just what it was. Anne and I had dinner with 4 friends last night at the Mu’ooz restaurant in West End, Brisbane. The restaurant is a not for profit social enterprise. The aim of Mu’ooz is to create employment, training and work experience opportunities for refugee women from Africa. My favourite dish was Mbisi, which is slow cooked goat with garlic, capsicum, green chilli and herbs. www.muooz.com.au

Like any good restaurant, the food is only as good as the Chef, and that’s where “Outback Matty” comes in. I had walked past the kitchen and noticed a rugged Aussie looking bloke wearing a “MasterChef” apron. I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask him if he was one of those celebrities from the TV cooking show – I was a bit star struck! Sure enough he was, appearing in the Australian MasterChef professionals series in 2013.

Continue reading →

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Steve4 Comments
It's a nice little office
It’s a nice little office

It’s a nice little office really, but I’ve spent the past 36 years in workplaces just like this – all quite nice, but am I happy and fulfilled? Not really! Words from the Clash song immediately come to mind – “Should I stay or should I go?”. Anne’s post has already answered that question. We have decided to run away together. Whilst it will be sad to leave the close friends I have made at work, a world of opportunity awaits….and let’s face it – its only for 6 months. Continue reading →