An ode to my grandfather – Soldier Settler Vineyard

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I posted recently about my natural mother and her struggle with dementia. I mentioned in that post that I was privileged to have wonderful adoptive parents; however, in that post, I did not mention my grandparents, who on my father’s side were truly the kindest and most generous people you could ever wish to meet. As grandparents ourselves, their example is one we can only hope to match as to surpass them would be impossible.

My grandfather, who to this day remains the person I most admire,  was a World War 1 veteran, who took the opportunity to be part of the soldier settler scheme in the Riverland of South Australia. It was a vexed scheme with stories of true hardship and few of success. I am pleased to say my grandfather’s was one of moderate success. In part, I am sure, his pre-war education at Wagga Agricultural School was the major reason for this. Continue reading →

The Family Business Case Competition, Burlington Vermont

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It snowed and snowed!

Assembling our team in Vermont had been a challenge (Getting to Vermont).  The weather and flight delays meant our team weren’t able to get together to do their final preparations until less than 24 hours before their first presentation.

When I landed in LA, I found our WhatsApp phone group for our team had been in overdrive. One of our team members hadn’t even left Adelaide and found his flight was cancelled. He discovered it by accident and had to hurriedly rebook.

Church Street Burlington

Then, around lunchtime on my first full day in Burlington, WhatsApp lit up again as another team member got caught in the bedlam that is the San Francisco customs hall and missed her connection. The impact was a delay of more than 24 hours and a very rattled team member. Not an ideal start.

Fortunately, being in the US meant I could chat with her as she worked through options to get to Burlington.

Eventually, and much later than planned, she, our last team member, arrived. I met her at the hotel reception, or the card table, as we affectionately referred to it (The hotel was being renovated, and reception was crammed in next to a lift, pretty much on a card table) and helped her settle. By that time, it was less than 24 hours until the delivery of our first case presentation in the competition. It was far from ideal preparation; however, with the team all in the same room, they could at least put the finishing touches on their first presentation. Unlike subsequent cases, they”d had a week to prepare so. Subsequent presentations were given to the team just 4 hours before they were to present. Continue reading →

Getting to Burlington, Vermont

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As summer finally came to Adelaide, I was setting myself for a predawn flight to Sydney before flying to Los Angeles and then onto Charlotte and finally Burlington, Vermont, my destination for the Schlessinger Grossman Family Business Competition, where I was coaching a team of MBA students from Adelaide University.

This trip was going to confound my basic mantra of Slow Travel. I was flying out early  on a Sunday and returning 9 days later with a collective 3 plus days of travel.

Step one was preparing to travel to the other side of the world where the weather is completely different. It’s a challenge to get your head in the mind set  of a freezing cold winter when it’s quite the opposite where you are.

How to pack, what to pack? Nothing too hot for my travel as planes are notoriously warm, but with the knowledge that when I arrive in Burlington, it will likely be freezing. Marino wool socks, my Scarpa Boots, jeans and trusty Ralph Lauren jacket. In my carry-on were my Adel Uni polar fleece, my gloves and beanie. My beanie was fleece-lined.

I booked Premium Economy for the Sydney – LA and return leg and was lucky to get an upgrade to Business for the Adel – Syd leg. It meant an extra carry-on allowance but I always take the minimum on to the plane. I have luggage in the hold so an extra piece of carry on is just a hassle.  I say this because I am paranoid about having my carry-on near. Using my backpack means that I can either store it directly overhead or under the seat in front. I know I could get more in a roll-on bag, but as I was to see more than once on my flights, roll-ons were required to be stowed and not accessible during the flight. That would have done my head in!

Continue reading →

The Beatles – my most listened to in 2023

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Like everyone who subscribes to Spotify, at this time of the year, we receive the wrap of our listening for the year. I have posted on this topic in the past. It’s always interesting to see what I have listened to and what I listened to most.

There is always Springsteen with Born to Run, usually in my most listened to songs. In 2023, it was no different, however, it was my continued love of The Beatles and Paul McCartney that showed through. Band on the Run was among my most listened to songs; it’s the crashing guitars as the song breaks from its intro to the main song that I always notice, no matter how often I listen to it.

In 2023, The Beatles were my most listened to band.  On reflection, it was no surprise. I regularly pick one of their albums or songs to listen too. Often, I will listen to their albums from start to finish or from the start to Revolver or Sgt Peppers to Let it Be. Continue reading →

Port Douglas

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Four Mile Beach from the Coastal Path

We went to Port Douglas to escape the cold of an Adelaide winter. Our escape to North Queensland was well timed as Adelaide’s winter seemed to want to cling on.

It had also been a very hectic few months. We had been consumed by family matters. There were no major crises but just a series of bumps. We hoped Port Douglas would be the remedy and weren’t disappointed. It was hard not to immediately be aware of North Queensland’s relaxed lifestyle. All pretension is lost. It’s so refreshing compared to the angst of city life. I have a running theory that the further you are from the centre of the city the more relaxed lif is. 

I hadn’t been to Port Douglas since 1987, which was the year the infamous Christopher Skase opened The Mirage. On that occasion, I had a spare day on a work trip in Cairns and, with a work colleague, drove up. My chief recollection was having a Mocka Pie. You can still get them, but in 2023 Port Douglas is a thriving tourist town where Mocka’s  Pie Shop is a modern bakery just off Macrossan Street.

There are no dress codes, except that restaurants and bars seem to demand men wear a shirt!

We arrived in the evening and so didn’t take in the sites of the coast drive from Cairns airport to Port Douglas. It’s a drive of about 55 km and an hour’s duration.

When we planned this trip in December 2022, we were Northern Queensland novices. We had a basic understanding that the choices were Cairns, Palm Cove or Port Douglas.  We decided against basing ourselves in Cairns, and so I asked a friend about Port Douglas or Palm Cove. Continue reading →