Sitting in damp January in virus hobbled Sydney I ponder the year ahead and see the same view. Outside work for Kate and I, school and community bus respectively. Very curtailed circumspect humble returns, survival at least. How my fortunes have ebbed and flowed. I first enjoyed success, which I define as income beyond a wage, with Graftons. Five y...

It was late 1981. NSW faced petrol shortages due to 'industrial knuckle' as Kurnel refinery workers went on strike. So like some people who really needed it, I hoarded petrol. This photo is in the photo gallery of my book, illustrating the chapter 'Starting Again' about my foray into live production that started in 1980. I'd left Barratt Lighting a...

My brothers and I had zero interactions with relatives - there were none that our parents chose to know. They were all back in the United Kingdom in any case. The notion of grand parents, aunties and uncles was simply never discussed. It was just us and them, and they split up when I was 6 in any case. It meant that my upbringing conveniently avoid...

At the inflection point Australian government planners were scouting every cold store and ice rink, to plan for a possible 150,000 pandemic deaths in 2020. Police chiefs were meeting with defence planners to strategise the breakdown of society. It looked like an apocalypse. I planned for the worst, bulk purchased 3 months supplies across ...

My daughter would follow me around like a puppy. We are very close, and I'm always having little heart leaps thinking of her, now mid 30's, down in Wollongong running that little church with Nathan. Her kids are my grand kids. I'm super fortunate! Had we not had the ectopic pregnancy, I'd have a 37 year old too, probably a son, I fantasise. I'...

n 1985 we wanted a child. Then one horrible afternoon up at the Chatswood shops, Caroline went down. Sarah stood there crying. As the ambulance raced them to Royal North Shore I got the call. She had an ectopic pregnancy – a fertilised egg implanted itself in one of the fallopian tubes. Emergency surgery done and she was left to recover ina materni...

After you have your book ready to roll, you enter the tedious phase. For me this was firstly about whether to self publish, or to find a publisher. The discussions I had revealed a publisher would 'legal' the manuscript and I know that would demolish a couple of chapters. I know those chapters won't produce a writ of defamation because I'd previous...

It's November 2020, the year that is seared on us. I'm fortunate with work, health, love and a welded-on optimism that keeps me happy. Best of all, I am now packing and mailing my book every day to people who have often contributed more than the cover price, helping the beneficiary which is CrewCare. 'I'm writing a book!' a guy tells me, before int...

I completely skipped talking about our CX TV studio in my book! Between 2011 and 2017 we had some amazing fun in there, shooting a weekly show 'The Hump' every Wednesday, and doing heaps of video reviews of (usually boring) inanimate lumps of equipment. This is one of my fav videos, featuring the very brilliant Jason Allan who was at the time our M...

With Caroline and I lurching towards marriage, we doted on her daughter Sarah and started planning our own production business. This picture shows my mate Glenn Bolton with his then gf Jane. Glenn's band Top Kat was where I learned to mix sound, usually at their Friday residency at the Chatswood Charles Hotel. It was the start of new-wave, punk was...

Back in 1993 I had to confront the truth and grit of journalism. Rick Doolan called and asked me to come out to his house. To talk before he died. Over the past 30 years, the obituaries, the funerals and the grind of our trips around the sun wore me down a little. Four years ago I stopped going to every funeral I reported on, sometimes having ...

Did a few years as the personal lighting director to Leslie Walford, a flamboyant, gay interior designer. He had a society column in the Sydney Morning Herald, and a large shopfront in Double Bay. Lovely guy, he ran the Art Gallery Christmas Party. The committee included Bronwyn Bishop, we would have agonisingly detailed planning meetings.

Photo's by Bob King. Click to see Gallery.

He's on one of my ACT Concert W's, 5' x 3' x 3' and 110kg. 2 x 15" drivers. MASSIVE low end! (Click to see more). Pix by Bob King

Security guy at right is now quite deaf...... (Pic by Bob King) 

An outdoor gig we did with The Saints. He has a nice carton of goon....... (Click to see more). Pix by Bob King

In 1997 we took ENTECH to Melbourne, and had an excellent event despite much organisational chaos. We were full of ourselves, Caroline and I. Having the big guy from PLASA visit the show, wanting to buy it. Swimming in money. Upgrading the BMW. Buying the second house up the road to use as our global HQ. It was too much, too soon, and we started be...

My current gig is Community Transport, driving older clients around. We help other community organisations like Addison Road Food Pantry. They distribute and sell food, often things near expiration date but also fresh fruit and vegetables. This day I took five boxes out to deliver. One went to an indigenous family, grandma, daughter, five kids and ...

Back in 2011, long after I'd sold ENTECH to a big-box tradeshow conglo, they co-located it with SMPTE. That is the film and TV tradeshow. Both were in decline, so they reasoned running them together would save money. They could have shared the savings with their clients by dropping a little of the exorbitant rent but no - they trousered it. And bot...

My book doesn't dwell on a crappy upbringing, but sure does tell it like it was. I just saw this - a report that Balquhain at Blackheath has been sold. It was re-purchased by a Fairfax, as that family first built it as their weekender. We had a lovely weekend there a few years ago with our very good friend Cat Strom and her husband Rick. At th...