Hello there...
I'm Frenchbean: the original saucy little vegetable in the patch.
Some of me...
Life's too short to let happiness pass me by and second best is not an option.
I arrived in Australia from Scotland in mid-February 2005. Having given up my steady, but boring desk job, I was a bohemian for a while; a traveller, a nomad or a drop-out, depending upon your point of view.
My plan was to have no plan and to see where life took me.
It landed me in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where I now find myself feeling more settled than I've felt for years.
I've set up my own project management consultancy business and I have a contract with a Council to manage their rural projects. It's a job which uses all the skills and expertise I've built up over the years and is probably the most satisfying, rewarding, productive and exhausting job that I've ever had! I wake up and look forward to starting work.
I've moved from a flat near the beach, which turned out not to be my cup of tea (generally too hedonistic for my liking) to a huge house in the hinterland with privacy, great views and space to breathe. Most importantly it's on rich red soil, begging to be a vegetable garden.
Food!
Wherever I am, gardening is my passion - organic and edible cultivation. I aim to grow enough to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables and I try to show people that it's possible to do the same, with a little knowledge, a little time and a small plot of land. Sharing it all is part of the fun: the gardening, the harvesting and then the eating!
Once the gardening's done and the produce is harvested, you'll find me in the kitchen, creating meals, preserves, freezing and bottling the excess. Nothing goes to waste. All my food is made from the most basic ingredients, so that I can be sure what has gone into it.
We are what we eat.
What else?
- I live life with a capital 'L', because I refuse to have any regrets about missed opportunities.
- Laughter is crucial.
- Books sustain me.
Why am I here? I read The Salmon of Doubt (thank you Douglas). My main reason for hanging around is to write entries for the Edited Guide. I've written 34 solo entries to date, on topics including Real Bread Making,
The History of Toothpaste and Toothbrushes,
Visiting Tonga,
Blacktip Reef Sharks,
Dig For Victory! and The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition. And there are another seven in which I've had a hand.
I'm in the midst of writing a couple of entries. Two more have been through PR and are pending and another is being Peered at.
The five stars? All awarded by Recumbentman.
Ask me more..
Some of the places I visit (for starters)
I'm a member of the Royal h2g2 Geographical Entry Society
; and it's Members' Bar
I'm also a member of the Loyal Zoological Society
I visit discussions at The Circle
And if you want to see me, go to About links. Thank you Azahar.
What's it all about?
Thinks
you think
it can't last
it should be over by midnight
or tomorrow lunchtime at the outside
but it goes on
and nobody stops
to handle the brake
it goes on
and very soon you understand
that
perhaps it will last after all
pretty soon you get to saying to yourself
I must do something
about this
so you settle down with a good book
under the arc lamps of reality
you dissect the words
and keep them in vinegar
you take a little love
and bruise it in your palm
you take a little hope
and boil it in your fear
you laugh a little
cry a little
start to blow your nose
and you think
perhaps a storm would turn off the sun
perhaps we'll all learn to work out the facts
so you put out the flags
as you turn out the lights
and much later
about a lifetime
later
one dark night
in the cold of your bed
you sit up with a start
with a voice in your head
and you say to yourself
I must do something
about this.
Miles Gibson
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