: About Me

COPYWRITER, SHORT STORIES, POETRY, SPEECHES

You really want to know all this? OK, here we go:

Before moving to Australia from the UK, I took a combined honours degree in English and Theology at Southampton University, and worked (with not a great deal of enthusiasm, but some success) in the computer industry, in a variety of senior sales and general management roles.

In 1986 I was the British Public Speaking Champion, and a Finalist in the British Debating Championships. The following year I was also runner-up in the European Speaking Championships in Finland. (I wuz robbed.)

I have always been actively involved in citizenship issues. In June 1983 I was the Liberal Party parliamentary candidate for Fareham in Hampshire, achieving the most successful result for the Libs in that seat in the modern era. I was also a member of the Liberal Party's national policy and representative body, the Liberal Party Council, and since moving to Australia I have maintained an interest in international relations, social justice issues, and the highs and lows of political campaigning.

I would like to end my days as Lord Yolland of Hengistbury, lounging comfortably on the red leather of the House of Lords, but sadly I suspect it won't be so.

Since moving to Australia in 1987, I have advised a number of Australian political, charitable and social organisations on their public presence, and forged a second career in advertising and marketing. Checkout www.decisionsdecisions.com.au.

I regularly broadcast on both public and commercial radio on a wide range of issues including marketing and sport, and in my spare time I moonlight as a motivational speaker and a speechwriter, and I also still make my own speeches on just about anything at the drop of a hat, providing someone's paying or I feel strongly about the topic.

I also do a lot of radio voiceover work. My mellifluous English-Aussie vowel sounds just knock 'em dead in the cheap seats.

I am sadly (very sadly) addicted to the travails of Southampton football club, collect antique maps when commissions permit it, and drink too much coffee. I love medieval plainsong.

I am 51, married to a wonderfully artistic and saintly woman, (find out more about her work with glass at http://jensglass.tripod.com) and we are blessed with a great daughter, currently 17, and a wise soul. I live in Melbourne in Victoria, which is apparently the world's most liveable city. When Seattle isn't.

My passion is ...

Southampton Football Club. Life. Everything. Family.

I know too much about ...

Nothing. And too little about a lot.

My parents always told me ...

Wear clean underwear in case you get hit by a bus and taken to hospital.

My childhood ambition ...

Was to be Prime Minister.

My favorite memory ...

The party on the streets of Southampton when they won the F A Cup, beating Manchester United, in 1976. The birth of our daughter. The first time I tasted sushi.

Why I write ...

Money. And because the printed page listens to me when no one else will.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Currently re-watching every episode of the West Wing. The writers should have won a Nobel prize. Bartlet for President say I.

My first job ...

Was making cups of tea in the beachfront cafe in Bournemouth.

My best moment ...

... is yet to come, I hope.

My inspiration ...

David Lloyd George.

Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Pain in life

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A DAY WITHOUT YOU A day without you is like A sun with no warmth A scone with no jam A dog with no bark A flower with no scent A tear with no meaning A game with no scores A tree with no shade A wave with no curl A beach with no shells A cat with no walk A walk with no wind A child with no smile A world with no dances A love with no secrets A pillow with no scent. A painting with no colours. A day without you. Is like that.

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