25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Apr 18th 2010, 10:55 pm
#61
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 70
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Ditto
Apr 19th 2010, 12:03 am
#62
Banned
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 22,348
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Come back Slaphead!
Apr 24th 2010, 2:44 am
#63
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Westernport Mornington Peninsula
Posts: 1,761
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
We have been here 35 years now and like you it was not a desire to come here. I came because my parents moved to Peth and I moved to Sydney, having lived in Africa and NZ prior to that. I have lived here over 35 years myself and it was because I had left stuff in storage that we came here to live 
We were going to move on and then my oh got a dream job and that was it.
We were going to move on and then my oh got a dream job and that was it.
Apr 24th 2010, 10:32 am
#64
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Ballarat
Posts: 7,005
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Im wondering if he has decided to write his memories in abook and get them published so we have to buy his book.
I too am eagerly looking forward to an update.
Mandy
I too am eagerly looking forward to an update.
Mandy
Apr 24th 2010, 2:08 pm
#65
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: Beyond the Black Stump
Posts: 162
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Country Victoria use to show Coronation Street in the afternoon 15 years ago. But it was way out of date, about ten years behind.
And the only thing I miss about the Uk is plaice and chips. As far as I know you can’t get plaice in Australia. Flake and chips is just not the same.
Apart from a few quibbles (after all, nowhere is perfect), I absolutely love Australia.
I particularly love Sydney – and I still find it utterly amazing that within an hour’s drive of where I live, I can be in the city, in the mountains (with snow), have over 100 beaches to choose from, be in ancient peaceful beautiful national parks so close to the city, be in a winery region, bushwalking, having picnic at waterfalls, I love the lifestyle and the fact that I have kangaroos in my garden.
I can never imagine myself living in the UK again.
Apr 26th 2010, 11:04 am
#66
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Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Amongst Melbourne's tall gum trees
Posts: 1,323
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
This is so true. Everywhere and nowhere is really home.
I still find myself calling my parents' house in France "home" and in the same breath, I'll talk about here as "home". And they both are my homes, just in different ways.
For me, what is important is to have a "sense of place", the place you come from (country, culture, family) and the place you feel you belong can be different, as long as they exist alonside each other, and one is not better than the other, they are just different.
And as you said so well
A great description of life as a nomad...
Keep up the writing, it's inspiring. Thank you.
I still find myself calling my parents' house in France "home" and in the same breath, I'll talk about here as "home". And they both are my homes, just in different ways.
For me, what is important is to have a "sense of place", the place you come from (country, culture, family) and the place you feel you belong can be different, as long as they exist alonside each other, and one is not better than the other, they are just different.
And as you said so well
Keep up the writing, it's inspiring. Thank you.
Jun 15th 2010, 12:19 pm
#67
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Location: Gold Coast
Posts: 40
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Forgiving on ANZAC Day (a bit more of my story…)
That night, as I lay in bed I thought over the events of the day. The Regiment marching, the pipes and drums, the bars.
But the highlight of the day was an old Australian who could justifiably have shunned my girlfriend, or even abused her, and I would have had no defence. Instead he acted like a man, and a gentleman.
Sometimes our greatest action can be to forgive and move on.
That night, as I lay in bed I thought over the events of the day. The Regiment marching, the pipes and drums, the bars.
But the highlight of the day was an old Australian who could justifiably have shunned my girlfriend, or even abused her, and I would have had no defence. Instead he acted like a man, and a gentleman.
Sometimes our greatest action can be to forgive and move on.
Jun 16th 2010, 10:37 am
#68
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 181
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
a truly brilliant post--and I praise rarely.Thanks
Jun 17th 2010, 2:57 pm
#69
221b Baker Street
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Miles from anywhere, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 14,125
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
I've only just found this - and read it all the way through. I should be in bed!! But thank you for your wise comments. This should be REQUIRED reading BEFORE people get here.
Thank you.
Alistair.
Thank you.
Alistair.
Aug 11th 2010, 12:24 pm
#70
Not allowed opinions.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2009
Location: Sydney
Posts: 4,565
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Fatal Affair
I was studying, and near the end of term my wife flew off to visit her parents in the USA.
I was happy with the arrangement. I had no time for niceties. I needed to graduate.
I returned home on a very wet evening. The rain hammered down, and it was cold. On the porch I saw something move, and I thought it was a large rat. Instead it was a skinny, dirty, oilstained cat.
As I opened the door the cat ran in out of the rain and vanished in the house. I found her hiding under a sofa, shivering and unhappy. She must have been sheltering under a car, and engine oil covered her back. Her fur was soaking and matted, and she was pregnant.
I pulled her out, and we fought a battle in the kitchen, as I washed the oil off her back. My arms were covered in blood and scratches, but finally she looked more like a cat. I put the electric heater on in the living room, and walked to the shops to buy her food.
By the time I got back she had cleaned herself up, and a rather more respectable young lady was warming herself. She totally ignored me, but ate the food with obvious pleasure.
The next day I pinned notices on the wooden power poles. Found: Pregnant back and white cat.
No one ever called.
For the next week or more we had a strange relationship. When I returned from University she would run to the end of the hall to see if it was me, and then make a big show of ignoring my presence. When I was at home studying she would sit and watch me. She discovered that my desk faced north and got the sun in the afternoon. I was forced to study on the kitchen table as she slept in the warm sunshine. Every night we dined together. Her on best tinned cat food, me on kebab takeaways.
Occasionally she brushed against my leg in gratitude.
Her pregnant state worried me, but I promised her that if she could hold out until the end of my exams I would find homes for her kittens.
On the Friday I had my final exam. I went to the university, studied all day, took the exam, went for beers and then a cheap Thai meal with my fellow students.
When I got home she didn’t meet me in the hallway. I couldn’t find her. I searched the house and then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke around midnight. She was still missing.
I found her in the laundry, lying in a basket of clean shirts. With her were six kittens. She was dead, and so were all of the kittens. The shirts were soaked in blood.
I carried the small family up the garden, and in pouring rain dug a grave by torchlight.
The next day I phoned an acquaintance. A vet I had met at a party. She told me it happens sometimes.
My wife returned on the Sunday.
“Did you have any girls over to stay”, she joked, and I burst into tears.
I was studying, and near the end of term my wife flew off to visit her parents in the USA.
I was happy with the arrangement. I had no time for niceties. I needed to graduate.
I returned home on a very wet evening. The rain hammered down, and it was cold. On the porch I saw something move, and I thought it was a large rat. Instead it was a skinny, dirty, oilstained cat.
As I opened the door the cat ran in out of the rain and vanished in the house. I found her hiding under a sofa, shivering and unhappy. She must have been sheltering under a car, and engine oil covered her back. Her fur was soaking and matted, and she was pregnant.
I pulled her out, and we fought a battle in the kitchen, as I washed the oil off her back. My arms were covered in blood and scratches, but finally she looked more like a cat. I put the electric heater on in the living room, and walked to the shops to buy her food.
By the time I got back she had cleaned herself up, and a rather more respectable young lady was warming herself. She totally ignored me, but ate the food with obvious pleasure.
The next day I pinned notices on the wooden power poles. Found: Pregnant back and white cat.
No one ever called.
For the next week or more we had a strange relationship. When I returned from University she would run to the end of the hall to see if it was me, and then make a big show of ignoring my presence. When I was at home studying she would sit and watch me. She discovered that my desk faced north and got the sun in the afternoon. I was forced to study on the kitchen table as she slept in the warm sunshine. Every night we dined together. Her on best tinned cat food, me on kebab takeaways.
Occasionally she brushed against my leg in gratitude.
Her pregnant state worried me, but I promised her that if she could hold out until the end of my exams I would find homes for her kittens.
On the Friday I had my final exam. I went to the university, studied all day, took the exam, went for beers and then a cheap Thai meal with my fellow students.
When I got home she didn’t meet me in the hallway. I couldn’t find her. I searched the house and then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke around midnight. She was still missing.
I found her in the laundry, lying in a basket of clean shirts. With her were six kittens. She was dead, and so were all of the kittens. The shirts were soaked in blood.
I carried the small family up the garden, and in pouring rain dug a grave by torchlight.
The next day I phoned an acquaintance. A vet I had met at a party. She told me it happens sometimes.
My wife returned on the Sunday.
“Did you have any girls over to stay”, she joked, and I burst into tears.
Aug 11th 2010, 12:35 pm
#71
Not allowed opinions.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2009
Location: Sydney
Posts: 4,565
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
No book - i have several half writtenm but never finish them, and I doubt they would be read.
Aug 11th 2010, 5:17 pm
#72
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Morayshire, Scotland
Posts: 11
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Just great stories keep them coming please
Aug 11th 2010, 8:54 pm
#73
playing dumb
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Karachi
Posts: 138
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Fatal Affair
I was studying, and near the end of term my wife flew off to visit her parents in the USA.
I was happy with the arrangement. I had no time for niceties. I needed to graduate.
I returned home on a very wet evening. The rain hammered down, and it was cold. On the porch I saw something move, and I thought it was a large rat. Instead it was a skinny, dirty, oilstained cat.
As I opened the door the cat ran in out of the rain and vanished in the house. I found her hiding under a sofa, shivering and unhappy. She must have been sheltering under a car, and engine oil covered her back. Her fur was soaking and matted, and she was pregnant.
I pulled her out, and we fought a battle in the kitchen, as I washed the oil off her back. My arms were covered in blood and scratches, but finally she looked more like a cat. I put the electric heater on in the living room, and walked to the shops to buy her food.
By the time I got back she had cleaned herself up, and a rather more respectable young lady was warming herself. She totally ignored me, but ate the food with obvious pleasure.
The next day I pinned notices on the wooden power poles. Found: Pregnant back and white cat.
No one ever called.
For the next week or more we had a strange relationship. When I returned from University she would run to the end of the hall to see if it was me, and then make a big show of ignoring my presence. When I was at home studying she would sit and watch me. She discovered that my desk faced north and got the sun in the afternoon. I was forced to study on the kitchen table as she slept in the warm sunshine. Every night we dined together. Her on best tinned cat food, me on kebab takeaways.
Occasionally she brushed against my leg in gratitude.
Her pregnant state worried me, but I promised her that if she could hold out until the end of my exams I would find homes for her kittens.
On the Friday I had my final exam. I went to the university, studied all day, took the exam, went for beers and then a cheap Thai meal with my fellow students.
When I got home she didn’t meet me in the hallway. I couldn’t find her. I searched the house and then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke around midnight. She was still missing.
I found her in the laundry, lying in a basket of clean shirts. With her were six kittens. She was dead, and so were all of the kittens. The shirts were soaked in blood.
I carried the small family up the garden, and in pouring rain dug a grave by torchlight.
The next day I phoned an acquaintance. A vet I had met at a party. She told me it happens sometimes.
My wife returned on the Sunday.
“Did you have any girls over to stay”, she joked, and I burst into tears.
I was studying, and near the end of term my wife flew off to visit her parents in the USA.
I was happy with the arrangement. I had no time for niceties. I needed to graduate.
I returned home on a very wet evening. The rain hammered down, and it was cold. On the porch I saw something move, and I thought it was a large rat. Instead it was a skinny, dirty, oilstained cat.
As I opened the door the cat ran in out of the rain and vanished in the house. I found her hiding under a sofa, shivering and unhappy. She must have been sheltering under a car, and engine oil covered her back. Her fur was soaking and matted, and she was pregnant.
I pulled her out, and we fought a battle in the kitchen, as I washed the oil off her back. My arms were covered in blood and scratches, but finally she looked more like a cat. I put the electric heater on in the living room, and walked to the shops to buy her food.
By the time I got back she had cleaned herself up, and a rather more respectable young lady was warming herself. She totally ignored me, but ate the food with obvious pleasure.
The next day I pinned notices on the wooden power poles. Found: Pregnant back and white cat.
No one ever called.
For the next week or more we had a strange relationship. When I returned from University she would run to the end of the hall to see if it was me, and then make a big show of ignoring my presence. When I was at home studying she would sit and watch me. She discovered that my desk faced north and got the sun in the afternoon. I was forced to study on the kitchen table as she slept in the warm sunshine. Every night we dined together. Her on best tinned cat food, me on kebab takeaways.
Occasionally she brushed against my leg in gratitude.
Her pregnant state worried me, but I promised her that if she could hold out until the end of my exams I would find homes for her kittens.
On the Friday I had my final exam. I went to the university, studied all day, took the exam, went for beers and then a cheap Thai meal with my fellow students.
When I got home she didn’t meet me in the hallway. I couldn’t find her. I searched the house and then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke around midnight. She was still missing.
I found her in the laundry, lying in a basket of clean shirts. With her were six kittens. She was dead, and so were all of the kittens. The shirts were soaked in blood.
I carried the small family up the garden, and in pouring rain dug a grave by torchlight.
The next day I phoned an acquaintance. A vet I had met at a party. She told me it happens sometimes.
My wife returned on the Sunday.
“Did you have any girls over to stay”, she joked, and I burst into tears.
Aug 11th 2010, 9:31 pm
#74
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Yorkshire - Queensland - NSW
Posts: 843
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Brilliant read wish i could write like that in words with my memories 
Aug 14th 2010, 12:02 pm
#75
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Ballarat
Posts: 7,005
Re: 25 years up, and I would do it all again.
Mandy