A Traveller’s Eye, A Thinker’s Heart
I like to tell stories. I like to take photos.
And I like to share them. Enjoy.
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THE WALK HOME
My heart really races each time I come home from work. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. It’s not entirely because I know my sweetheart is awaiting me. I get a pretty good workout on my way home. I get off the train at Oberwinter and immediately get on a pathway to climb home to ‘Oberwinter Heights’. In…
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ESCAPE TO THE PENINNE ALPS
Winter in Bonn was getting a tad grey so Padma, Joseph and I packed up and headed to Switzerland for a white holiday. Along the way, we picked up one of Joe’s Aussie mates, Aidan. We found an isolated chalet via AirBnB on a dead-end road at 2,000 metres near the village of Arolla in…
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MARUTI THE PIGEONPEA SAVIOUR
In the early 1980s, the Indian state of Karnataka was suffering. Its principle commercial crop, pigeonpea, was being devastated by wilt. Researchers discovered some pigeonpea seeds in the genebank of the International Crops Research Center for Semi-Arid Tropics which were resistant to wilt. The seeds were directly released from the genebank to pigeonpea specialists in…
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AN AUSSIE MEAT PIE TO SAY THANKS
I’ve been waiting 21 years to say ‘thank you’ to former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer. Today I got that chance and bought him an Aussie meat pie to show my gratitude. In 1996, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his deputy Tim Fischer acted swiftly and decisively to launch a gun buyback program.…
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THE WINE WALK
In December of 2013, Padma and I were eating snapper at the Sydney Fish Market while our mate, John Peacock, was going on and on and on and on about the fabulous wine walks which our mutual friends Marlene and Juergen Diekmann organised in the Rhinelands near Bonn. They sounded like fun but I never…
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THE BIKE RIDE TO WORK
I can’t wait to get up and go to work each day. I’ve clocked in three weeks on the new job and each morning and afternoon a most pleasant journey awaits me. My (temporary) furnished apartment came equipped with a bike. I restored some life to it as I needed a primary form of transport.…
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I’M HOME, LUDWIG
Day 27. Tbilisi International Airport. There was some commotion at our guesthouse as Joe and I awaited our pre-arranged taxi shuttle to the airport at midnight. US Vice President Mike Pence was in Tbilisi for reasons no one seemed clear about and it was causing huge traffic delays. Our taxi would be 25 minutes late.…
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THE FATHER/SON ADVENTURE DRAWS TO A CLOSE
DAY 26. Tbilisi International Airport. There is nothing more important in my life than my wife and son. And nothing more valuable to me than having quality time with Padma and Joseph. Padma and I have had 24 years of quality time together but having quality time with Joseph has been elusive. It isn’t easy…
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MADLOBA, GEORGIA
DAY 26. Tbilisi. Our last day in Georgia has been very special. Tiko invited us to her home and to meet her parents. This was special for Joseph as he could personally thank Tiko’s mother, Marian, who provided the motherly advice to help Joe overcome his bout with food poisoning. We were surprised to find…
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