I was born 1954 in Adelaide and attended St Margaret's Anglican Church, Woodville. I went to Kindergarten there then went to Christ Church Day School and then Pulteney Gammar School in Adelaide. I was a Boat Boy, Server and sung in the Choir.

When I was about 12, I decided that church wasn't for me and stopped going. My parents were wise enough not to force the issue and this time of rebellion passed. We had a wonderfully progressive priest who guided and nurtured his entire congregation and helped me particularly to begin to comprehend the wonder of the free gift of Grace.

In 1972 I went to St Michael's Theological College in Adelaide for three years, living in community. We started the day at 6.30am with Mattins followed by Eucharist at 7.30 followed by breakfast after which we finished the discipline of silence begun the night before. After breakfast was Morning Prayer followed by theological training until lunch. After a lunchtime service we either worked (cleaning, wood chopping, gardening, etc.) or had further training followed by Evensong and dinner with free time until Compline at 9.30pm.

I left there in at the end of 1975, as I felt that God was saying 'not yet'. I married the following year and went interstate truck driving for two years throughout the country. I had a bad truck accident in the Adelaide hills and was trapped in an overturned truck for a number of hours.

After recovering we moved to Melbourne and worked for CUB in their store (we had 'baros' not 'smokos') for a number of years and ended as the spare parts manager for their vehicle fleet. I went to St John's Toorak and St David's - Youth Group and Sunday school teacher. We moved to Portland in 1985 to work at the Port of Portland as Store and Cold Store Manager.

During this time acquired several yachts and sailed very regularly. Worshipped at St Stephen's - taught Sunday school - involved in youth groups-Lay reading etc. During this time I was divorced and remarried (with church blessing), Diana and I have six children between us. Left the Port and commuted 250km each day to work for Montague Cold Storage in Warrnambool. They asked us to move to Tasmania in 1995 to start a new Cold Store and we moved to Devonport. We found All Saints Church and began worshipping there very soon after we arrived.

I became a licensed Lay Reader and have been involved with all the Anglican centres in Devonport ever since. God has been good - also insistent - and that still small voice needs to be listened for. Praise the Lord.