0:03
It's the daily Talk Show Episode 442. It's Father's Day and I've got my old man in the studio. Timbo, Timbo jacket.

0:12
Yeah, my very well, very well.

0:15
It's also Tommy's birthday. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Not to take away from properties die, but it's

0:20
landed on a good day. double whammy for me. So, yeah, Happy Father's Day. Oh boy.

0:25
Happy birthday. Yeah, yeah.

0:28
It's been the case.

0:29
No, no. So Father's Day falls on the first Sunday in September every year. And it's happened a couple of times. But I wasn't a father. Last time it happened. But now I am so the attentions on my dad. I mean, you get a little bit better if there's one thing that I'm if there's one thing you've taught me, Dad, it's that I don't need to give you a present. Over the Is this true? Is it I mean? Am I reading the play

0:55
right now? Look, I think after 30 ideas, I think you're realise that that's okay. Yeah,

1:01
that doesn't give a shit about

1:03
Is it because of the reaction that you What have you given you done over the years? It can't remember.

1:08
He gave me the boys you give me cards. It might have school? Yeah, probably still got those home. drawn high. You know, I keep everything that they give me.

1:17
I bought your coffee table book before something around surfing. I bought you with DVDs on surfing?

1:21
Yeah.

1:27
Well, I could do with a few of those now to brush up on a thing.

1:30
Anyway, thanks for coming on the show. Dad.

1:33
It's pleasure. It doesn't change now that being a grandparent, what are these times? Like nowadays for you Father's Day? Ah,

1:43
probably same as they were no, really Father's Day? Well, look, I appreciate that. Now I've got boys who have actually become fathers. And that's what we need to say. I think that's that's probably the most important thing not too much about me or my reaction to Father's Day, but seeing the boys actually become fathers and, and they roll now as a as a parent, which is which is fantastic. And of course enjoying their children, which is which is even just as good.

2:10
One of my favourite things. And I remember as a kid asking you was Tell me about the olden days.

2:18
I mean, it wasn't even. It was

2:20
just like, you've already said that to me. Now. Tell me about the olden days. When I was growing up, was Father's Day. around. Has that been the thing forever? Oh, yeah. It has. Yeah, because Valentine's Day wasn't? Wasn't valid. Mark. When did Valentine's Day come into existence? Mr. 97? Because you're your dad, your father, Roy, my grandpa had lived to 100 and I used to say this, I don't know if it's true. He was born on Valentine's Day. And so it's barely my son. Grandfather reincarnated. Some say some others don't. But Valentine's Day wasn't is was only invented within these lifetime. But Father's Day not so it has been referenced

2:58
probably a marketing tool. I mean, you know, fathers I Valentine's Day, Father's Day was it was a more traditional went back a lot longer, I think. But then it became a you know, the retail people picked it up and thought, well, we'll run with this and, you know, milk it for whatever we can get. And that sort of became popular. So

3:15
I mean, for people that don't like giving presence or receiving them it's a good thing to rest on.

3:20
Bullshit.

3:22
Well, that's why I used to tell you

3:26
anything for Valentine's Day? Did Oh, yeah. Oh, God. No.

3:32
No, no, Valentine's Day never entered their head. Really? I don't think your romantic God. Yes, I mean, 40 years later, I've got to be done something right. I can be still a catch Mark happening.

3:45
Yes. My mom's in the building.

3:47
We need to get some clarification on this. How are you a romantic guy? What do you What are you doing?

3:53
Now? I'm not a romantic guy. I'm more of a sort of you know, get on get get on with the life and licencing pretty full on for us we really over the years we've had businesses to run we've had boys to bring up we've had you know school fees to pay and things like that Not that it's not part of it but I think it's sort of an Our philosophy is a little bit different to to perhaps a lot of people I think you know, you look at the shows today and these people romantically carrying on and then 12 months later they divorced or

4:28
are seeking exactly that.

4:31
You watch The Bachelor

4:32
know what was funny is I looked at this girl's Instagram last night married at first status married at first sight contestants. I know this sounds like a weird word. But she posted a photo of her in Bali. And she was with this girl and she said you know one year on Main my best the gone through a divorce. She was talking about talking married at first sight. She's talking about another contestant whatever you call them on this show. It's like it's been a big year for us. Now make your own reality TV show you got 150,000 followers now

5:05
it's a bit different. But I guess all of those followers are following along on that somewhat fake journey you

5:11
know they're buying into it. So anyway, it's all it's all made up missing. only seven Did you find out Valentine's Day.

5:17
Father's Day was a

5:19
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day to start with a struggling It was

5:23
definitely started by the Hallmark company. I believe that mean, that's an excuse that everyone uses

5:28
Google Search tell you why. There's a budget. There's literally a bunch of them at like 400 a day. Okay. I mean, it was I found I found way Valentine Scandinavia, which was 1960. Mr.

5:43
Valentine? I think that's he's the one if you already just have to, you know,

5:49
and so it was that. And so was did St. Valentine, who is St. Valentine?

5:54
All I don't really know, but he must have had something to do with love. Yeah,

5:58
you would think but man, it's maybe it was then applied later, as a thing in class is

6:04
a die. And Rudolph Valentino. Yeah. What about it? Wasn't he a film star? That was really romantic. Kim. Rudolph Valentino sounds like a polish.

6:16
Rudolph. It could have something to do with the Christmas stuff as well. Yeah, I mean, Christmas is I never got the like my grandpa, Catholics always went to church and all that sort of thing. Christmas at your house? Would you guys put the you know that you'd put the ceramic things that you'd have like Jesus and stuff? Oh, yeah. We had that.

6:39
Yeah. Joe was speaking to it. Yeah. Yeah. America Catholic. Yeah. The after the pope sort of consented to be marrying her. Then it was full on with all the Catholic Stuff that she had in the house, you bring it out. And so you were you

6:54
saying you married a Catholic? Does that? Is it fair to say that you're not? You don't really see yourself? Someone that's Catholic or?

7:01
I'm not Catholic? No, no, no, no, not at all. We,

7:05
you got married within three months of meeting mom, which mom told us a storey. And I'm sure it'd be a completely different storey than what you'd say. Now, I want to bring it back to dad, if your dad saying it is Father's Day, and your dad lived to 100, which is a fucking amazing innings. And growing up what was so your dad because I've said a couple of times. Grandpa, he was in the prisoner of war camp. He was captured in in there for two years, three and a half years, three and a half, three and a half years and then came out. Like if he didn't survive that. I wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be here. What was that like growing up with a dad that went to war?

7:46
Well, in those days, it was

7:51
thinking back as a kid, I think we're more interested in our did you shoot me one or do I know what happened? First question? Yeah, yeah. Okay. So I mean, growing, it didn't really mean a lot. I mean, Australia was a was sort of growing then it was, it was going through some some good times that people had sort of finally got over the war, things were starting to change. There's more money in the economy. People were doing different things, experimenting and doing different things with all sorts of things business and what have you. And so it didn't have a great deal of impact, other than we were sort of fascinated by, you know, the war and all that sort of thing.

8:31
Did you like did you ask him about like questions? I'd want to know. What was it like in the prisoner of war?

8:36
Oh, yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, I knew a little bit about that, because he told us but they were. They were reluctant people of his, you know, era were reluctant, really to make anything big about it. And he never did he like he said, I got on with life. When in the prisoner of war camp, he said, I'd watch what I did. I didn't I didn't make trouble. Because if you made trouble, then you you will likely to get him as he said a bit of a beating. So he was a smart guy. He was one of these guys who he taught when he told me about the war was interesting. He said I work it is very methodically get add up a list of figures before you could even put it in your calculator, you know, use that God didn't really

9:19
pass down necessarily.

9:24
You to obviously you've got some issues about that. But he could do that. But he used to he was very methodical about the way in which he did things. And he said, I would work out they had a toothbrush and that sort of thing. He worked out how many times you could use that toothbrush before and become obsolete. And so he, he used to use the sort of little games and things to play to sort of keep his mind active. And a very interesting thing about him, I learned from his 90th birthday that that one of these friends who was in the camp with him said he My father was in charge of distribution of all the food. I said he would never ever take anything himself before he made sure all the other guys had got what they needed to it. And because he was in charge of he going to the store room and get whatever you like, but he was that sort of guy. He was that sort of you know, it just very thoughtful.

10:19
so careful hitting the top right?

10:21
Okay. They did talk about they used to go out and must have done some sort of concerts because they used to go out to the villages and and maybe put on some sort of concert and they had a drum and he reckons that the local dog used to disappear every so often. And they they grabbed the dog they kill it stomach,

10:41
as in the prisoners.

10:42
Yeah, he's putting the drum and in the in the base drama, take it back to the to the to the can and then cut it up and use it, you know, to wait because all are eating basically and I said to him the city's not when I made a speech about him at the 90th birthday. I said, you know you you've you've come through life, he very rarely had anything wrong with it. He he might have had the odd cold or sniffily had a couple of new operations and that sort of thing but really basically he never anything wrong with you. And I said the best thing that you ever had was your your died in that prison Walker, which was rice and weevils. Yeah, wait, wait, wait, what they get into the rice maggots like they little were able to get into into rice into grain. And then he can eat? Can you actually eat them?

11:28
Well, we're starting to think about eating, eating

11:31
protein and

11:33
crickets and things so

11:36
but the lane has a

11:38
dog might get a little bit more interesting. So

11:40
you should say photo of him like he was bone skinny. He lost

11:45
he lost he was when he went in there. He was the old days 13 and a half stone and he came out half his body weight

11:53
600 kilometre 976 and a half stone.

11:55
And so what what do you what do you remember? What did he talk about in regards to actually him getting captured and things like

12:02
oh, well, we talked, he talked Look, he was a little bit flippant. He said, Look, what happened was they went to the Middle East. It was trauma to be honest. Yeah. I went to the Middle East to fight the what they call the Vichy French, who are the resistance fighters who side with the Germans. So they went there and they didn't take long to sort of knock over them in that sense, because they weren't well equipped. There was this World War Two.

12:26
And we're in the Middle East. Well, he went to the Middle East for just

12:29
Cairo Did you get a car

12:31
when he he actually because his father had contacts in their business over there, which was in the flower industry. He had some interesting times he told me on the leave when they were over there. He used to make contact with the people who his father did business with and they take him out into the desert where they had these Bedouin tents beautiful tents set up as a regular that was like their holiday place. carpet on the floor the whole thing and he was just traded to better ones the way I bet one 10th but big tents that they use for it is

13:03
better when the people that like living on the land or out in the

13:07
Yeah, the better ones are sort of nomadic nomadic people. I saw some when I was in

13:12
Egypt, not Egypt, New Jerusalem. When we went to Tel Aviv, Toby, yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, I think that will call it there was like you could see little congregations of a whole bunch of people that were living on the land. Yeah,

13:25
yeah. Was he picked to go to war? Like, what was it? Oh, no, no, he stays. He he volunteered. He was a he was an officer. But he was a little bit older when he went to war. And so he went over there. And he's he was in charge of what they call a machine gun battalion. So that was sort of a fighting battalion. And I used to ask him, did you kill anyone? And he would never answer that question, because I don't think he want he really wanted to even think about that at all. Anyway, so he went to the Middle East, then they were bought back to stop the Japanese. Now I offloaded a Java to protect but they didn't, what they didn't realise is that the how big the Japanese forces were, and they were just over running, I think the British made a bad calculation about at all And anyway, within two weeks, he was they were told to surrender. How many soldiers were there? Do you know there's probably a couple hundred and two or 300. And they were marched into what was basically he said, We're marching to pig pins. And I said, that's where your camp so they had to set up a camp and get organised. So that's the good thing about Australians is, is that they, they came from a fairly tough background, a lot of these guys were, you know, come from came from rural backgrounds. They are innovative, they're able to adapt. And that's the thing that kept the Australians going well, whereas he said that some of the other forces were tended not to work together as a group. And so you had you had combinations of the British and they were the local Dutch people who were colonised the area and that sort of thing. And the anyone who was resistant to the Japanese will put it into these camps.

15:04
What's amazing is that they actually just killing they just like, you guys have been captured a year over here.

15:11
What do you process if your dad is like, behind a machine? gun? What a damn Yeah, like are they running in and nothing? You

15:20
talk about the actual the

15:22
actual takeover take up? No, they were they they would have been, they would have been told through the the head of the audience and things there that I think that will probably tell by their own forces, don't resist, you know, we can't do anything about we can't get in there to help you. You're better off to surrender. Now, they didn't know I guess they didn't know then how brutal the Japanese could be. And some of those guys in that camp then went off to the Burma railroad and so forth. He was one of the lucky ones who didn't get picked to go there. Because like, most of those guys didn't come back and

15:59
say fires, you know, it's a weird thing that's holding up a fight. And I just, there's, there's like photos of when having tea, like, enemies having tea together. Would you say something? She's put a hand up? She's at school? Yes. Joanne

16:13
just didn't want to leave this this important subject without saying what Roy said when he was herded into the pig pig. He would remember that. Yes. He said, Lord, I am in your hands.

16:31
He was quite a religious person in his own way. But he never he never put that on us. I mean, he he remember him taking me to, to a Sunday school. We lived in East Ivanhoe and we had a fantastic life, therefore, we're live by the river. And that was fantastic place to be before we moved to math lies, which was even better, because it was very rural. And But anyway, he took me to Sunday school one day and at this church and I just, I just couldn't, couldn't handle it. I just was just wasn't for me. He was a he was a Methodist and the Methodist were fairly dour, you know, fairly sort of straightforward sort of people.

17:11
They they had the methods,

17:14
yeah.

17:16
By this days, and Sunday school, and Tommy, I was sorry, and I was there. When I was seeing Michael, a while ago, we, my Sunday school layer, we would hop out at about when after the first break, and go down the street and spend the money that we should have put in the donation. or late

17:39
he realised he

17:42
was what was your grandfather? Because I think you're quite an affectionate person. I feel like he was of the era that and I feel like you've even pushed beyond that. Like I've I've met some people, it's father's dads that are your age, similar time, aren't as connected emotionally, or, you know,

18:02
they weren't doing yoga.

18:03
They weren't doing these things. Do you think? I mean, I can imagine your father, like, did you hug? We know

18:09
he was. He was reserved, he was always there. But he was reserved.

18:14
He's ready for a fight.

18:16
Like, do you think it was? No, look, the war I don't believe affected him. Really, like some men who have been affected? mentally. A lot of men were just after the war, they couldn't function. He, he was never like that. But he was always a stalwart, you could always rely on him. He was that sort of guy. And so regardless of the fact that whether he had you or not, I don't I don't believe they've ever interfered with our relationship. But he was of that school, you got to go back to you know, he was def to spec in the sort of early 50s. And 60s when I grew up, and they were different people.

18:53
I was born in 1908, or 10 1909 1909.

18:57
died in 2009. Yeah, yeah. So, by the time he got to there, you know, he was quite an older guy he had made quite late in life. He, in fact, in the war, just as a matter of interest, he married before he went to the war, and his first wife left him in the war, when he was a prisoner when he was a prisoner. And this happened to quite a few soldiers, you know, their wife didn't know where they're coming back with a lie. And if these women were not that, you know, they married perhaps before he went to the war, they hadn't built a big relationship and there was had no going there had to go to the war and

19:37
your families know what was going on. Like, did your dad's family know Okay, he's he's being taken or

19:45
Oh yes, they would have known that Yeah, they had that sort of communication but they what they didn't know was how long would it be? How long would the war go? Would you just survive What do you die of a disease What do

19:58
you think about think about we can get some little antibiotics for to take your tooth out there turns into infection dead

20:05
Yeah, well look at these guys. I mean, you know, horrific i don't disagree with that. Well, that's where you can control your bowels and you just permanently diarrhoea diarrhoea you had Barry Barry other other tropical diseases also that wouldn't heal and they all they you know, they have to use. I remember that guy, where he Dunlop who is a very prominent he was a surgeon and a very prominent figure in the war. He used to have to operate using a sharp and spoon to dig out all the ulcerated flesh. Full on, isn't it? Absolutely. And I had to say no antibiotics I had to treat it with what they call it and so these guys were sick that were put under pressure to work hard to do things for the Japanese the Japanese didn't respect them. They didn't like them because the jet what the Japanese thought was bad, basically that if they would rather commit Harry Carey themselves kill themselves then be kept as a prisoner. Yeah, so

21:08
anyway, throws almost cowardly. So it

21:10
was sort of like Yes, exactly. You were you. Yes. You were you were a coward. You should you should use a sword and cages are Yeah.

21:17
Which is interesting. Because like what you were saying before Tommy of that idea of you sort of hope that the prisoner of war that I you know, having tea with the enemy, you just sticking around until it all get settled? Was it a really negative experience? Or like did did your dad come back with negative feelings towards

21:37
now he didn't because he actually was in business with Japanese after the war he traded. They had a division that he had in the business, which was sort of seeds and grains. He bought them in bulk, you know, all sorts of seeds and grains all over the world. He had to deal with the Japanese never saw him once ever, ever say anything disparaging about Japanese person.

22:01
Does he drink? No, no, not a great deal. So dad doesn't drink? I mean, I've seen you probably had a few beers in your life.

22:09
Yeah, yeah. Well, I don't know. I don't. I mean, look, I started off working in an advertising agency. Now, you know, in the 70s. That was where the drinkers were. Yeah. You know, they lived a long lunch and so did the clients.

22:23
When was cocaine big was that it was other things. 60s advertising industry? Well,

22:29
I never saw it.

22:31
I never saw it. You've never smoked a cigarette either.

22:34
No, no, I did. No, I once I saw come I tried to impress my older sisters girlfriend who I quite liked. And we went down the beach and got some Alpines. And I think I had an Alpine and I felt so bloody awful. I never never did it again. My mother used to smoke enough for all of us. She smoked camel non filter

22:56
and drank

22:57
and drank it. So that was not that that stop me from but it just impressed upon me that I didn't need to do that because I saw the consequences of what it could do to someone. What did you What have you noticed being someone who doesn't drink an Australian culture that's all about going out going to the pub MEBSN? Yeah, uh, I over the period of time. I guess what you've got to do as a younger person is to say, look, I had my share of of drinks and that sort of thing. But I never got to a point where I was out of control. And I always knew when to stop and really at the point where Okay, so I gave it up because probably once I got out of advertising and I was into landscaping and so forth, you know, what was

23:43
that transition? Like what what made you go from the advertising?

23:47
Well, it advertising the advertising was I used to sit in the meetings with the clients and look outside I think what the fuck I've been doing here you know, it was just in the process exit the will will making so much as song and dance about Okay, look down with our January products. I would General Electric we had cheese for ponds. What does that what does it change will change proponents was a big American company that made sorry, products for women like makeup and shampoo. And but there was a point there where I remember sitting in because we're account service. So we were looking after our clients. And so we sit in a boardroom with, with the creative guys and the media guys. And so I remember the director said to me one day, we're looking at a product make for many shampoo. And it was a couldn't believe it. It was a two part thing. Like a Jaffa there was a brown conditioner, and there was an orange shampoo and you check the thing together. And then you use it. So it's a shampoo conditioner. Great. And he said to me, and what do you use? Tim, what do you use as your champion? I said, Oh, I just use soap.

25:01
And I think

25:04
I knew that my days were numbered in advertising. The transition for me was I spent five, six years I went overseas came back they gave me six months leave of absence, which was really good. They didn't they didn't wanna lose, because I'm gonna leave. And I said, Now look, take you leave galaxy. So I went with one of the other guys in the agency. Were you like quite senior at that point? Or? No, but I was I was in account service, I was being paid very well for the my IY

25:31
account services. Manager. Yeah, you're looking Yeah,

25:34
account. If you want accounting cycle, that's what you think I had account director above me and then so you're responsible for the planning of the whole client strategy. And that meant you had to brief the creative people, you had to leave the media people you had to get production done and all that sort of thing. So anyway,

25:51
because obviously in 2019 people are trading decks in on the computer and all that so thing, you know, PowerPoint presentation, 3030 minutes

25:59
slides, what

26:00
are you doing? You just getting paper and Joyce?

26:05
No, no, no. Well, we had to talk.

26:11
Yeah, yeah, of course. So we had, you know, we use that we use the technology for the day really, which was, you know, guys drew things they the, the art directors, you know, that was all storyboards and things like this, then the, if they decide to go for commercial, the commercial was developed, and then you'd go to the film companies, and then you go and shoot the commercial and that sort of thing and

26:39
carry vision right.

26:42
Now, well, how much were you guys looking at the overseas market? Because obviously, globalisation with the internet is a big way. Will you constantly say with General Electric, or whatever you just executing on what their strategy in the US?

26:57
Well, this is, this is the thing you had to battle against. Because the client would come to you from gentlemen and say, Look, here's the latest from America have a look at this, I think is very good. And you look at and say, This is not for the smarter. This is for the Australian market, this is not going to work for Australia, because we're a different market. We've got different idiosyncrasies. We've got different ways of doing things. So you had to then turn it around. And, and of course, you kept a bit of it, and you try to then modify it, so to market. So

27:27
before we get into some landscaping stuff, Mr. I seven, would you be able to quickly flick me over four different images on a slack message of planets, it can't have the name in it. You just need to send me the photos of planets, but you'll know the name. Okay. And so then I'm going to give dad a bit of a quiz because he's our he's our planet x horticulturalist.

27:50
So So just as digress from landscape from, from the advertising I went to, I got out of it. And I went and I bought we started a little business with one of the guys in the art department.

28:03
Did you go on your trip or no?

28:05
Yeah, we don't trip. Oh, I went to all of Europe and then back through Asia, Bali and that sort of thing. It

28:12
was good. What did I mean in 2019? A lot of Instagram posts you sharing it and all that sort of thing. You're going away for five but did you go away for five months? or six months? Yeah. You like do you contact your family? Are you taking a first

28:27
post restart your head, your head a post and you posted a letter? Yeah. So the the communication I made I don't think I ever spoke to anyone via the phone.

28:38
Some great photos from there is a photo of you in Bali with an ex girlfriend or something? No, that was when I was

28:47
in Caledonia. I went to I went to New Caledonia with with a girl from yoga who's studying French over there. And she had an to her girlfriends and myself and her. We went to camp on one of the outer islands, which was interesting. But anyway, so I got to have advertising. I went into an art little ad graphic studio in Gribble street brand. Yeah. And we had a brick wreck shop there because the guy in the art studio was importing ships, artefacts from London, England where he was he was an Englishman. And so we had we combine that with the shop as a shop downstairs and the graphic studio upstairs.

29:27
And that's gone.

29:28
So I remember what do I remember that shop? Or am I?

29:32
Well, well and true. That's 1974

29:35
no stealing your balls. No bit. You had another shop that was in

29:41
estimate, you know, that was in that? That was a landscaping business we had we had an office in Hawthorne, right? I remember that with Damien. Yeah, I actually remember that. Yeah, Damien and I and we shared the office space. And we had a product store downstairs where we had all different types of paving different different lights and different artefacts that we could show clients as well as selling some of them. So that was another little adventure.

30:08
Isn't it? Funny thing about in, you know, 30 years time, we look back at saying about what this is. Yeah. As I you know, we had tried that thing. We had a video at the studio on the middle level, it's up top, we had the production spice. It's so funny how you look.

30:23
It sounds romantic. Like when you talk about it sound like this something so nice about I like the idea of the travelling and being disconnected and just sort of moving around.

30:34
It's a different you can't do that anymore.

30:36
You literally cannot. What was your?

30:38
What was your biggest thought then? So for the that the time of today would be we're connected with time where we feel like we're actually at home, but we're a TripAdvisor and so what was the thought? Can you remember back to what was on your mind? Then what were you?

30:56
Probably what we're going to wait at night? Yeah, we look.

31:01
We used to look for the places that would give you the four course meal. And if we get a five course meal that was even better.

31:09
So how would you find them? Would you just go

31:11
walk around these little villages and see and see the things on the shops, you know, they'd be advertising a little restaurant that you could get a four course meal for whatever it was like two bucks or something like this and or there's a five course meal for 250. So we sort of wired up and what was in the middle and that sort of thing. And so you know, all sorts of things. I mean, and then you had to look around the places and you got to be bored. We went down to Morocco with this crazy Canadian guy, actually. And he

31:37
goes,

31:40
Well, they told the storeys were going down, we met even Spain. And he said, I'm going down there, do you want to come? So we said, Yeah, so the two of us went down there on the way over us and we're driving through Morocco. And this is the days when then all of a sudden the place it appears if you didn't stop and pull these big spikes across the road and stop you man. He told us how he is travelling with this guy and and all of a sudden, he was telling me about this net and he were pulled into a service station. He said I went to grab something and came back and he was gone. And so we stopped with this guy and we went got some it came back and he was gone. With all our gear in the in the car. Nice. Hey, just pulling around the corner.

32:28
Deja vu? What's gonna happen to us? He was the guy. It was just Charlie, you got Yeah. So we travelled with him for a bit. And that was fun. And then we drove from Morocco back up through Spain, right up to Paris. And I can remember, I can remember pulling up outside the New Zealand embassy at night. And we're standing at the back of the van and cleaning our teeth. Well, the only sort of people walking walking past or sort of Brazilians and that sort of thing. So it was pretty pretty Bahamian existence in

32:55
terms of, I think what you're articulating, Josh easy go away now. And it's also how I feel about the connectivity through my phone. So it's like, I'm absorbed by my thinking around this device. And what else is happening? Well, what was it? What was

33:14
the word because you didn't have it? But what what you've got today is that you're dictated to, by your connection, you you you cannot allow yourself to be independent. It's just a fact of life. Yeah. Or you can if you think about it, and you're aware of it, but you know, everyone's rushing your first time seeing what the next thing is happening. Who's connecting them? Where are they? We weren't we weren't connected like that we were we made our own fun there if we if we want. If something happened, we'd have to go to an embassy. We'd have to go via then back home or you know, so it was a really a different it was a different world.

33:50
What was your relationship with money and how much cash did you have to bring back then to

33:54
Oh, yeah, you look you look after your money and you you were able to go and get your travellers checked you you traveler's checks and things you're pretty you know, you had to watch watch your head and all

34:03
that sort of thing. Did you have to carry more cash? Because

34:06
while you're hanging traveler's checks, and that's what the what you convert into whatever currency was the country you're in,

34:12
and Stephanie's over overseas, you get you

34:16
can just use your Apple watch or whatever. Yeah, I mean, did you have a specific amount where you like, okay, for six months? I've got

34:23
Yeah,

34:24
cost me will do the comparison of

34:28
1800 bucks, including airfare. Well,

34:32
my whole trip beats my 50. So you can say that I wasn't a big spender, but

34:39
I mean, flights I mean, that's insane. So

34:44
what year was this?

34:45
1974 1974. So

34:48
it's like, you're on like a Qantas flight or something? Yeah. Everyone smoking in the plane? I'm guessing Well,

34:54
yes. But in those days, the actual exchange of a was better than today because they were exchanging what happens today is because they cut down on the amount of air exchange outside so you're actually breathing in

35:10
the air that was they're not changing the air as much as inviting now my

35:13
just breathing it all in?

35:15
Well, that's what they call the five.

35:20
He was really a storyteller. I mean, we all

35:26
if he got him going about things he would because I had an interesting life. He had an interesting life as a family and storeys of In fact, I had I just, and I'll give it to you to read a folder that was that his cousin had written about the family and their history on the Murray River. And the rivers there were they were because they were flammable. They came out from Cornwall in the 18, mid 1800s. And our flour mill so they would set up these Mills not heated, but he's four beers would have been his grandfather's. That's right. his grandfather's they would set up the mills. They would then his father I remember him talking about his father going up the Mary on the pedal statements, and he would go up to all the inland areas and by Wait, then he would get that weight transported down by big bullet trains down to the wharf on the rivers This is when the rivers were big and running. They would then put them all away on the on the pedal stammers. And then that he would they would transport it down to where the flour mill was offloaded there and then they would make the flour from from the from the weight or, or the barley or the what it might be

36:31
when you're a kid. What were you wanting to do? What did you you see all these things happening? What was the aspiration

36:39
I was more an outdoors person. I wanted to I want to have farms, but and a friend and I used to fantasise about having farms, goat farm pig farms, we used to go out to his father's property, a huge huge property in New South Wales. And we when we do the little bit of kangaroo shooting, but then we must admit, we take those in tandem and that sort of thing and, but look in the end. And because I grew up where I did say Matt Eliza, which was people who note today wouldn't recognise it when I was there was one store, to petrol pumps, and I think a chemist and that's all they want. Just push land now, so UH, and you know, the bush and so it was great. And you're sort of very close now for the city. And, and so that the plants, the love of plants. When did that be? I think it probably came through my mother who was who was a gardener, and she loved gardens and she, she loved. We used to, we moved up and down one street metal eyes her back five times, he bought bought properties and that sort of thing. I think mother Valley got a bit frustrated, but she made money out of them. So that was all right, but she used to love gardening. And so we had the first property we had down there was about an acre and it had the most amazing set up and had no loft on it was a house that was the walls were 300 mil thick was an old farmhouse, but it was right in the middle of analyse it. And it was a beautiful property one of those walls made out of are there would have been masonry walls bring and render and that sort of thing. Yeah.

38:14
Where's the industry in metal? Like what was the you know? Well, it was a

38:20
metal eyes and then was basically a

38:23
an area for people who would have worked on the peninsula and live there was quite an affluent area. And it was for holiday people who had holiday houses down there. You know, you had it was amazing. There was the multi millionaires and there was a sort of, you know, I guess people who didn't have a lot of money

38:42
only pebbles

38:43
Yeah, but it was it was quite a will to do sort of area so

38:47
and so you might you saw your mom with the plants. What was she into? What did she love the roses? You said I feel like you're a native guy. Yeah, look,

38:54
I'm more I'm not too much a floral time version and and

38:59
outside of up personality.

39:02
A friend of mine who's landscape architect we're

39:06
swapping text last night and he said find a photograph of his Magnolia which is the flowers

39:16
right now. And he

39:21
I should do and I said Becca tix I don't think it's very it's not many flowers on that.

39:28
And and what was the outtakes? I've got it there anyway, anyway, and he said, I said, you know something about and he said, I like the frog. I said was, you know, you go for it.

39:39
All right, I got a few plants that I just want to hit you with. started the very first one he sent through and I just

39:45
describe what it looks like. Yeah. So it's like a very, it's a hipster indoor plant. Yeah, I think it's grain. And it sort of flaps down a little bit. I mean, yeah, I mean, what is that? He looks like a

40:00
Josh. butchering visuals of it. But what's that man? What do you got? What do you reckon that is?

40:06
he's just he's just pinched. That's the that's the devil's Ivy. I think.

40:11
That's the 97th favourite planet, the devil's Ivy yet?

40:15
I'll just go through this second one. Oh, yeah. I recognise that this

40:19
pot. Yeah.

40:24
Yep. Yeah. Yeah, remember dad will say the proper name. What's this one?

40:43
It's a family but it's probably

40:50
first lead with first leg of the actual plant name or

40:55
something good. Sorry. Do you let me go? Oh, that's exactly. I know the actual

40:59
and fear and terrorism.

41:02
And here we go. I can't remember. We got American we get this. This is safe. Number four. But what's this? That is just Cena. Yep. Oh, and can we do one more? final one. Here we go.

41:17
really enjoy. Little

41:20
games with pay

41:23
out all these indoor plates. Give me something decent.

41:29
Pepper rhyme or something? Is it? No, it's not a pepper.

41:32
Yeah, no, that's it's a

41:34
pilot pepper. Yes. What's what's the prejudice towards indoor plants? indoor plants.

41:41
Oh, I do like indoor plants. Yeah, yeah. But I'm just so sorry. With a hand up over there. Yeah,

41:45
yes. Yeah, yes.

41:47
He's great to go for a visit to the Botanic Gardens knows all the all the plants I mean,

41:52
I can do the same. I'm just reading

41:56
what's what's your favourite walk in Australia? What do you like to go walking? Want to say some nice plants and just Oh, I know. I know.

42:03
Well, you know, I didn't ask you

42:06
know what he told me about it all the way

42:08
down the track Should we just not have him on and just

42:11
talk about KO? Well, the crime but Botanic Gardens is lovely. But I look

42:18
there all night. Very red, isn't it? I feel like

42:20
well, then that that part of it? Yeah. Look, I enjoy walking through the Botanic Gardens. To be honest. I mean, I think it's very inspiring. I spent a lot of time there when I was studying at Burnley when I got into landscaping, to learn plants and just habits and so forth. I love the main habits. Well, how they grow what they what ties they end up by being what you know. A lot of unfortunate a lot of landscapers today don't understand plants and how they grow and what they do and what they'll leave and they end up by putting a whole row of something in that's gotta look absolutely should ask him in in a short space of time and even worse when they get bigger, so they don't understand it. So you've got to understand what plants will do and how they grow hair can use them in a garden and so forth. So So in terms of favourite walks, I don't look I don't have favourite. I love Tasmania.

43:11
It has been a

43:12
part of Tessie that we've been to grow

43:15
fav favourite kid kid

43:20
Hey, y'all have to be voting

43:26
on the plan thing bonds eyes ever got to get into

43:28
I look I like bonsai but I just don't have the time to really appreciate the work that's gone into them and I really like looking at them and I like I love the way Japanese work with with a plant material and and the architecture and so forth but I do like them yes I do. I do appreciate them yes

43:52
did one of your businesses you have bonds eyes that

43:56
like did you have a bunch of bonds eyes on display might have had them out there was

44:02
it could have been that the front a trading company with diabetes

44:07
can remember them some

44:08
Yeah, feels like bonds eyes can go either way. It can be really nice or a little bit Bogan if you don't do it right well,

44:13
exactly. And there's a there's a really there's a nice bonsai grow on Church Street in Hawthorne. He's got a lovely nursery there.

44:21
And if I was to buy one, so for the office, yeah, too much commitment for you. Is it though, like if they set it up, if they've made it all small and stuff, they've done the work in

44:30
Will you have to continue it you can't just let it go. So that means

44:34
a big factor

44:36
is what you do is you take it you say you provide a service where I if I bring it back every 12 months or whatever is required that you will maintain it look after it, you know, like you will trim the roots and you will

44:50
you will

44:53
work the branches and so forth. You could do that. I could be fun.

44:57
Just to finish off. What are some of the lines that you remember telling me as a kid because I think all fathers really

45:08
lies? Look? Probably I don't

45:15
that bamboo. Don't get any finger because it'll grow.

45:20
Oh, those sorts of lies. Yeah, yeah.

45:21
What were you thinking?

45:27
That probably came from where the you know, I used to the Japanese used to put people on racks and let the bamboo grab through their body. That's true. Well

45:36
grew. Rhett Bebo. gronk is a true I'm just feeling like

45:42
I probably told you things that I want you to do, knowing that you're probably going to do them anyway. I've got another one.

45:47
Okay. We talked about it earlier this week on the show, Colin k when you best friends. Remember when he used to come over? And he was a magician? That's bloody what I knew of him. When it comes to white Fred. Oh, man, he was have this coin. next minute. Gone. I'd be looking around the house and they're getting warmer, warmer. And I pull up this thing. And there's a coin under there the same coin. I need to know right now because I've never asked you what actually happened. The colon colon ahead and tell you to put the coin somewhere. Where did he come in and put the coin somewhere? And then come on. Oh, there's

46:19
a little bit of cooperation there going on. Yeah, tell us

46:23
what would happen.

46:24
Oh, look, I think that probably I did. I did. Plant the plant for Coinbase. Yeah,

46:30
that's a lie. Yeah, I did have to call you and say hey, can you do this? Like,

46:36
oh, no hate when he's coming. He came up for dinner quite regularly. He was a regular guest. He, he was a bachelor. And that started our magic. When we first started surfing together, that's how long we sort of went back to when I was 1213. And so he used to come over for dinner quite regularly at my mother's place when because he had a house in utilise our holiday house with these parents. And so he'd come across and have a meal with us. And so that's sort of started the ball rolling and then of course, we married and then he came across to now he's married. We don't see a lot as much of it. But

47:13
there isn't pulling these out magic. I

47:14
do remember probably the biggest lie I've told you Tommy is.

47:19
Is that moments kind of when a permission.

47:23
I can't think of a big ally.

47:26
The whole pan family buddy vine for Melvin debit. So he did call ahead and get you to hide the coin. That's serious. He did.

47:32
No, I reckon Colin was he was on it. As soon as he walked in, he would have he was you know,

47:41
magic tricks for the biggest lie was that he's dog spotted again.

47:51
Robin. Robin.

47:55
What's your favourite thing about being a dad?

47:58
I think the favourite thing is just

48:02
well, enjoying the time together with you guys. It was just fantastic. And just watching you grow up and just seeing you achieve things like little things like your sense of balance and being able to do things and just growing. So being a dad is is all about the relationship you have with with the children. Sure. Yep. And and of course, my beautiful wife. Right.

48:28
Thank you.

48:29
But just the family thing. I think it's that that's very important. That's really his

48:37
thing that sort of gives you a great deal of stimulation.

48:40
When you see Tommy and Bodie together, what does it make you think?

48:44
Oh, I think that's great. Well, what you see is perhaps, I like to think that some of the things that are imparted upon Tommy is imparted upon he in the way in which he he relates to Bodie. So I think that's all, that's all good. Really.

48:58
Yeah. And when you become a dad, do you feel that you fret you talking about the changing in friendships? Was that a big part of becoming a parent? Is the relationships around you?

49:09
Uh, well, of course, you you're more focused on your family. So you do find that, that the time that you've got with your friends changes, and that sort of thing happens. But that's a natural thing. If it's done correctly, then or you know, the right way people accepted new. Otherwise, if they don't? Well, they don't you know, but your priorities are different when you've got children.

49:32
Did you think you wanted to be a dad?

49:35
No, I didn't actually, I didn't really, it didn't really enter my head. I must admit what I did think was. And this came from the fact that my parents split up when my father was 70. And, but they never divorced. My father always looked after my mother, my mother moved to Melbourne from analysing my father stayed mad lies. He had a religion hip, eventually with another woman that lasted 30 years. But I never really thought about wanting to be a father. I never sort of thought that, but that naturally came when we married. And but I did think the thing I did think was it 111 shot at this, you know, and I guess I looked at that with my father, possibly the fact that he whitelist in the war. He had marriage and my mother that lasted quite a while but ended. I thought, well, you know, it's only one shot at it. And that's that's how you make it your best shot.

50:39
So good. I can hear you stroking the microphone over there. Just had to, you know, a lot of housekeeping.

50:51
Feels like we could chat for ages.

50:52
I will have to get you back on dead. Yeah, we've gotta go to a father's day thing, right? That's right. Yeah.

51:00
Happy Father's Day. Thank you very much. Yeah, it's the daily talk show height the daily talk. show.com is the email address. If you like plants, maybe send us through a photo of a plant. Take the guy next time Tim bows on maybe we could do a weekly segment get Timbo to look at a plant

51:17
this if you've got a garden and you don't have any idea what this plant specific plant is a lot of people move into a house and go What is that thing? Oh, definitely sky knows. I think

51:26
I think that would be I could imagine a regular segment. Every weekend banter. Get you up on what's happening in the plant? What's a good deal? Christian Mary's plant farm? We have a fan. Oh, no, not

51:43
really. Yeah. I mean, that's a popular one that was really,

51:49
really nice. facility. I mean, I'm not but

51:51
I'm not that sort of character. But I appreciate Look, he's got a great knowledge and yeah,

51:56
he's got a silly started on channel. 31. Didn't he did Oh, yeah. One I always get real up in the micro.

52:05
Who's the other was the ABC one with the big

52:07
RH Costa

52:08
Costa. Yeah. It's a big, classic plank.

52:12
Network, isn't it by buying any magazines? He plant magazines on? I've got

52:17
books on plants. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got but I don't regularly by plant makers, Joshua.

52:24
Today's hope so if you enjoyed the show, send a screengrab. Put it on Instagram. Otherwise, we'll see you on Monday. Gotcha. See you guys.