Team Photo on Christmas Day - including the chickens!

Well that was fun!
Christmas, New Year and finally Australia Day all came and went with much merrymaking and plenty of activities. We spent Christmas Day with our family (bar two) on the east coast of Australia, but as the celebrations fade into the background, a sense of normality is beginning to return to the land. Next week, most children will be going back to school and a millions Mum’s (and an increasing number of home Dads) will be sighing a collective sigh of relief ... as will their offspring no doubt!
After New Year, I spent the month of January working in Mosman, NSW which I always find to be a delightful affair. One of the patients I saw there pointed to the copy of Captain Scully which just happened to be on my desk and asked, “Did you write that?” When I confirmed her suspicions she confidently informed me that she’d really enjoyed the TV serialization which she’d seen on SBS TV. I was about to correct her mistake, but something held me back.
Perhaps she knew something that I didn’t know?
So ... if any SBS Producer would like to contact me about Captain Scully, you can reach me via Mosman Medical Center on Military Road in Mosman.
On the subject of books, my next book, Mentor is in it’s final pre-publication stage. Sadly, the man who inspired the book passed away recently - Kev was 92 - but I was able to get a PDF of the book to his daughter who read some of it to him in his final days. That’s a very precious memory for me.
And in the pipeline I have a children’s book which I hope to publish later this year after my grandson has proof read it. As it features some Noongar folk in the storyline, the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council are kindly reviewing it for me. In time I hope to follow up with more such stories about Kip and Maali.
Finally, I hope you all have some dreams and plans for 2019, big or small, it doesn’t matter as long as you have some. It certainly is shaping up to be a wonderful year - despite all the gloom and negativity we read in the papers and see on our screens. The stories you create by living a full life will not only change you, but will encourage others to dream big too.
May your story prove to be a GREAT story in 2019.

I’m here on the east coast of Australia working in a great Medical Center in the suburb of Mosman, in Sydney NSW. This is my fourth ‘tour of duty’ in this Practice and one that I’m truly enjoying as the team I work with are great people. Mind you, because some of the Docs are on holiday, it’s been pretty busy so I value my recovery time taking a swim down at the beach or going for long walks.
On one of those trips I was able to help out at a motor vehicle accident when a gentleman lost control of his car and skidded into a hedge. Luckily, the trees lost more bark than he did! But it was great to be able to help out and everyone at the scene did their bit really well - take a bow Nurse Alright!
The following night a storm hit the city after one of the hottest days in decades. The lightning strikes were spectacular, but by morning it was all a distant memory. Even the friendly, local Sulphur Crested Cockatoo was more interested in getting ‘his ‘daily bread’ than in the previous night’s tempest!
​I’ve also delighted in reading one of the best books to have inhabited my bedside table in years - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Townes - a beautiful book and well worth a read.
All this activity has led me to neglect the marketing of The Missing - my second Renaissance Brothers book. Still, Ihave little doubt that Mr Towles took many years to reach the summit, and indeed, I’m in no great rush but am thoroughly enjoying the process and the gentle literary ascent.
Despite the fact that the next couple of weeks are looking to be just as demanding, I’ve an inkling of an idea of how to increase my literary profile. Email me if you can guess how.