Growing up, my father was a constant companion, but a man of few words. We lived close to one another and for many years we would go for walks together where I would talk and he would listen. It was a cathartic process for me... someone to listen to my problems and in a way it really seemed to help. Dad never judged me or offered solutions... but was always a sympathetic ear. How I looked up to him... he was a real gentleman and a son couldn't have adored a father more.

Time waits for no man and Dad is now 85 and has for the past few years been afflicted with dementia. It just breaks my heart to visit him at the old folks home. His face lights up each time he sees me, but there is no longer a depth of understanding in his eyes. My mother passed away a couple of years ago from Alzheimers and now poor Dad has it too. It's a real challenge for loved ones to have to endure, as your parents slowly descend into a very dark place.

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Dunedin has very pronounced seasons... however this year has been an exception... summer has just gone on and on and on and we were beginning to wonder if it was ever going to rain. Our big underground water tank was almost empty and we had been counting the days before we had to order a tanker load of water. I had just planted 300 small flax and toi toi bushes to cover a newly formed bank... and we had been watering each one daily to ensure they didn't die.

The cool autumn season has finally arrived with a bang. We need to put hats and coats on now to take our dog Harry for his daily walk... the children complain a bit at first, but once we get walking, everything seems to come right and by the time we're back at the house, our jackets are often tied around our waists and cheeks are glowing.

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My wife, Vicki, and I took our children on an outing over the weekend. We bundled the kids into our people-mover and after a 20 min. trip we arrived outside the front door of Otago Settlers Museum. I just love our magical southern city called Dunedin. It was Sunday and we could park our car right next door to the museum for free. We could have spent a whole day looking over the many exhibits detailing our links to Dunedin's rich heritage. We were very impressed and even better it was entry by donation! If you're travelling to Dunedin... you must check out the Otago Settlers Museum.

One aspect which was clearly portrayed was the way we lived then as opposed to now. I could just imagine the first settlers arriving in Dunedin to an almost barren landscape. They had travelled for months on sailing ships in the knowledge that most were never to return or speak to their relatives again. The sense of making the most of the opportunity could not have been greater. There was certainly no soft landing, being forever cosseted in the ample bosom of the states welfare system as we have today. For these settlers it was find work, alternately plead for food and lodgings.

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I've listened to many quality stereo systems over the years, but even some of the best fail to appreciate the vital importance of the listening position. I enclose a shot of my system as a guideline. The image is taken from where I sit. You can see that I have placed my speakers in close proximity to the open fire in my library. The reasoning is that I am able to enjoy the warmth of the fire all the while reading and listening to music. To me this represents the perfect trio.

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I've previously written about our move to Dunedin from Auckland... well we are all really loving life down here... I like the people, geography, relaxed attitude and distinctive seasons.

Dunedin's weather is much better too, much less rain, with long hot dry summers and cooler weather where you get to wrap up snugly around open fires etc. All in all Dunedin is absolutely tops in my books. The Dunedin City Council must also like our enthusiasm for the place because... they've given us a spot on one of their websites... enjoy:

Dunedin – a sound choice for Perreaux Industries Ltd.

Here we go again... it's Christmas... please don't let the hype and ceremony get in the way, because for me, it's not about having the most lavish gifts, biggest leg of roast meat or finest laid table. For me Christmas is a time to kick back, relax with friends, family and think of others. In doing so, realising that maybe my problems and needs are not quite and big as I thought they were. It's also a time to enquire how others are getting on, get the neighbours over for a beer and a chat etc. I recall Christmases past when we were so busy running around to really appreciate the things that matter, like spending lots of time just hanging around catching up with family and appreciating for the smaller things. So do it... play cards, wash dishes together, tell stories, and most importantly... let your love for one another really shine...make it a special christmas...and come back to work in the new year feeling refreshed, relaxed, happy and rearing to go.

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Do you recall the VCR? I sure do, we still have one tucked away somewhere at home. It wasn’t that long ago that this was the standard. Now that DVD is king, my VCR tape collection tends to just sit around gathering dust.

The audio market is also undergoing a metamorphosis. Sales of CDs are in decline at the expense of downloadable music. The logic is simple, it is more convenient and purchasers don’t have to obtain an entire CD. Instead they can just select and pay for a single track.

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Open the newspaper, switch on your television and chances are you’ll find something on 'global warming'. According to a consensus of the majority of international climate scientists, global warming and its potentially catastrophic side effects is going to prove the biggest headache for mankind in the years ahead.

So where does carbon come into the equation. Vast quantities of carbon compounds are currently being created and released into the atmosphere through combustion. From the time of the industrial revolution onwards there has been an exponential increase in this activity.

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There are times when unfolding events can leave a deep impression.

For me it's an increasing awareness that there's something fundamentally wrong with the way civilization is heading. Forests and jungles are being clear-felled, land ripped up in search of minerals & water, and air polluted... All in what appears to be a frantic search for wealth.

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In November 1605, Guy Fawkes and group of conspirators made an attempt to blow up the British houses of parliament along with its ruling monarch, King James 1^st. By filling a cellar directly underneath Parliament buildings with 36 barrels of gunpowder, iron bars and firewood, Guy Fawkes audacious plot would have spelt certain death to King James 1^st had it not been uncovered in advance.

Theory has it that Roman Catholics were being persecuted under the rule of King James 1^st and if he was disposed of it would have acted as a catalyst causing an uprising amongst the Catholic faith to overthrow the ruling monarchy.

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