Brief biographical story that will explain a bit more of this 72 character.

I was born in the UK in 1959, Mum was a bombing refugee from Shepherds Bush in London, Dad grew up in Somerset- hence my visit 'home' in March.

In 1966 we emigrated to the great white land of the holy spirit. Two years in Melbourne,(mini Greece) and then up to the city of Albury on the 'mighty' Murray river. I grew up to the age of 12 in a Catholic Parish dominated by the Irish immigrants. I have a great love for the Irish, of both religious persuasions, and my blood boils whenever I hear English types slag off at them. Childhood was dominated by my love affair with books that continues to this day. Many a teacher banged the desk lid on my head as I read a book that had nothing to do with the lesson in progress.

Dad died when I was 13, and I spent a number of years with foster parents following Mums depression and mental illnesses. This exposed me to Australian farming, both sheep/cattle and apple orchards. Finally upon completion of Year 12 I commenced my nursing training.
The life of a male amongst 200 odd women I will gloss over. Remember it was the mid to late '70's and the hippy/free love generation were just ending. HIV and AIDS were still to appear....

I survived, indeed I more than survived, I returned to the practice of Roman Catholicism, my parents had converted when I was 3, and upto the age of 17 I was a regular Mass goer. I met up with the St Josephs House of Prayer Community, Goulburn (my friend Charlie who protested GWB's Canberra visit lives there) and went there after finishing my nursing training.

Community living gave me a taste for caring for the poor and disadvantaged throughout the world, aided by contact with Br Andrew (Mother Teresas' male order founder) and other social justice legends that passed thru the House of Prayer.

At the age of 22 I married Helen and for 6 years I nursed on and off, worked as a labourer, wood cutter, and also worked for the social security department of the Australian Government as a field officer for 2 years. Hence I have enjoyed a varied work career.

Since 20 years of age I had done voluntary bookshop work, and then in 1987 I began my new career as a bookseller, first in Goulburn and then for the last 15 years in Canberra.

As a sensitive new age guy back in the late '70's I wrote poetry, (useful in the seduction stakes). I used to get frustrated with the constant replacing of paper in the typewriter and got into the TRS80 microcomputer and Apple computer. HAR. HAR. HAR. I expended all my nervous energy learning how to control the beasts with all dialects of basic that I stopped writing poetry...

However, my computing skills has become a useful hobby, tho Helen rapidly learnt how to live as a computer widow. Needless to say I am as hooked as ever on the electronic medium. Nowadays it is useful in communicating ideas globally.Hence my interest in the Agonist.