sharing stories… sharing lessons… shoring up the future
Dorothy Mackellar’s classic poem ‘My Country’, comparing the landscapes and weather of England and Australia are a synopsis of this trip at present. For my three friends who have flown halfway across the world to spend six weeks in second-hand swags, the change from ‘ordered woods and gardens‘ to the ‘wide brown land‘ is what…
Just after lunch on a sultry, humid, Queensland Sunday afternoon a neighbour came wandering across our lawn. “I wonder if you can help. My tractor’s fallen into a hole”. Sandy’s old Massey Fergusson is a local legend and common sight in our neighbourhood, as he takes on the task of slashing his own and other…
My mother, Joyce Barbara Shapland, or ‘Joy’ for short was playing tennis well into her 60’s. In my thirties I thought – along with her much younger tennis partners – that she was far too old for such vigorous activity and that she should be in a wheelchair. As my 67th birthday looms into focus…
I’ll keep this short — but not without meaning. Thank you. Truly. Over the weekend, your remarkable generosity pushed us past the halfway mark of our initial fundraising goal. That milestone didn’t just happen — you made it happen. I still remember with astonishment the day, just a few weeks ago, when the very first…
The HEMA Atlas and Guide ‘Great Desert Tracks contains useful practical advice about where to go. ‘One of the most obvious things missing from a bush camp is a toilet.’ ‘However,’ it goes on, ‘with some toilet paper and a shovel you’re fully prepared…’ For most conditions it seems. The advice continues. ‘Don’t forget to…
This is a venture involving the best of Great Britain and Australia. But that sounds a bit dull. So, I set out telling people it should be the third pillar of AUKUS – that defence alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States that followed Australia’s decision to buy nuclear powered submarines from…
It’s been seven days since my last post. Seven days during which we have waited with bated breath as Alfred wandered around like an old man, seeming to forget where he was going, soaked us all and finally blew himself out well inland. There have been some places much more affected than this community. We…
If you’re reading this in the UK, cyclones probably sound exotic and vaguely tropical – even exciting perhaps. If you’re in Queensland, you’ll know all about them. They’re a bit of a nuisance. Alfred is our most recent, forming on 23 February 2025 in the Coral Sea. Townsvillers have said they’ll still play cricket…
Just finished a mammoth five days and nights that I won’t get back! It’s been all about trying to turn Land Rover 2 into a mini service station. Any desert driver will tell you a good way to avoid bogging is to let the tires down. Traction in sand is all-important and the greater the…
Between 1987 and 1990 the Australian Army’s Project Perentie led to the production of approximately 2,500 4×4 Land Rover 110 vehicles. Two of them now live in Moggill, on the edge of the Brisbane River. In October 1989 Australia’s Maintenance Engineering Agency released a Perentie Special Edition of their newsletter, aimed at the soldiers who…