I am a pretty vocal supporter of Fermoy Estate, a smallish Margaret River winery in Western Australia’s south west wine region. Margaret River is a bit of a broad term, Fermoy Estate is located on Metricup Road in Wilyabrup, about 25 km from the Margaret River township and a leisurely 20 minute drive up Caves Road, a pretty scenic drive in the region.

The 2018 shiraz is a dark red colour, this is a deep shiraz with plenty of fruit in this medium bodied wine. There are pepper overtones with a little sourness in the aftertaste to make this shiraz interesting, but it still doesn’t do it for me. When I review the tasting notes, this is a 92 point rated wine, they reckon it can be cellared right up until 2028, so it still has some potential to soften out some more.  

This shiraz has subtle oak flavours after spending 15 months in a combination of new and one year old French barriques. I reckon the tannins are still a little strong and could do with another 2 years maturation in the bottle. I will continue to purchase this shiraz, but not for drinking now instead for putting away for a couple of years.  

At 14.5% alcohol, this is a reasonably big shiraz, it has some grunt. At $30 per bottle, I don’t think it lives up to the cost and will seek something else from this winemaker. The Fermoy wine club offers a pretty decent discount at $22.50 per bottle, I enjoy supporting this winery. The Reserve shiraz is fantastic, but at $65 per bottle [$48.75 wine club members], this isn’t a regular drink, instead reserved for special occasions. 

I really don’t see why people purchase replica watches, these infringe on intellectual property, create a black market and really offer nothing to the industry. These manufacturers steal original designs and then produce low cost and low quality watches with little to no value.

Individuals purchase replica and fake versions of established brands that represent quality, craftsmanship, success and luxury – a replica, counterfeit or fake watch conveys none of these attributes and qualities. This particular example is the Steinhart GMT (coke) that is a direct rip-off of the Rolex GMT design that will set you back €490.00 or about $770 AUD. A chronograph based on the Omega Speedmaster design will cost you €980.00 ($1540 AUD). Sure they are cheap, but that is what it is, a cheap knock-off.

I would argue that if you are willing to spend that type of money on a watch then that money would be better spent on an original timepiece created by an designer and creating their own piece of history. To be fair, a Steinhart isn’t a fake per se, it is a homage watch taking the design of an iconic timepiece such as a Rolex GMT, Omega Seamaster or Rolex Submariner. As their watches bear the Steinhart name on the watch and don’t try to pass it off as a Rolex design.

I think they are pretty much on the edge in regards to design, one would think they they would be better off designing their own watches and marketing them accordingly. Steinhart’s distribution chain is centred around internet sales with no dealers but hey now have retail premises. If you look at a brand such as TW Steel, they advertise heavily online whilst minimising traditional advertising methods. At least TW Steel is an original brand, they market well for for market and they produce ok watches for their clients.

Their niche is over-sized watches and they have retail outlets, dealers and marketing for their original designs. Whilst I’m not about to race out and purchase a TW Steel watch anytime soon, I do respect their success. Not so with Steinhart, they are just a rip-off of an iconic design. I wonder how they would react if a replica watch mob would start producing fake Steinhart watches and undercutting their sales? A company should protect their intellectual property, it was their design.

I suspect they would be less than impressed and would take action. Still, plagiarism is plagiarism and can’t be defended. I really dislike knock-off products – it offers no originality. The original Rolex GMT known as the Pepsi for its blue/red bezel was the created after Pam-Am executives approached Rolex seeking a watch design for its international travelers featuring two time zones. This is what innovation is, they came up with something that the client requested, I have to respect their design engineers and stylists.

One time zone being the office back home and the time at their destination where they were conducting business is important, you can’t be late for a meeting because you got the time wrong. The Coke version was based on the Black/Red bezel colour and thus a derivative of their original design. There are numerous watchmakers producing a GMT version of their standard watch, just an upgraded movement to account for two time zones, that is good. What I don’t find so appealing is the style of the Rolex GMT, the bezel, the jubilee bracelet and the case, just come up with your own variation.

I would suggest people do a little research and make their purchase based on an original design and support up and coming or even established businesses. Micro brands are interesting as long as they have produce original designs. For me, this has nothing to do about price, you can still make an affordable purchase than could be a Hamilton, Seiko, Citizen, Mido or Tissot. I just believe in supporting original design and not plagiarism. I would purchase a Casio over a Steinhart, they are in competing markets and the style of Casio makes for a interesting watch that is utilitarian.

The only impressive thing about Paul Keating was his five o’clock shadow, he had a penchant for Armani suits and designer wear, but I felt this was a ruse designed to gloss over his deficiencies. Keating was a flawed personality, he was forever seeking legitimacy, he wanted to be the centre of attention, he wanted all the accolades for himself.

Keating suffers from not only self importance, his inflated ego blends with his legendary arrogance ensuring every news conference is all about him. Instead, Keating was all about abuse, he was known for his put downs; however, this was just a distraction for his lack of substance. What Keating really achieved is the demise of political standards, he presided over the proliferation of personal abuse and the lowering of parliamentary standards. All Keating ever did was sit up at night looking for personal slurs to level at people whilst conveniently overlooking his own glaring shortcomings.

We all know the brains of the operation was Bob Hawke who earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, as a Rhodes Scholar, Hawke’s research was based on wage determination. Keating on the other hand was a union lacky, no formal education, never had a real job outside of politics. Well, how could he? He never had any qualifications, no university studies for law, accounting or finance. Despite his working class background, Keating had no trade either so apart from flouncing around union offices, he had no actual work experience – it really showed.

I am a big fan of Omega, this relates to not only their current range of timepieces but their legacy range as well. Of their current range, the Constellation is viewed as their dress watch along with the De Ville. Both the Seamaster and Speedmaster are functional tool watches with specific roles, the Constellation is an elegant variant of their range. With George Clooney product ambassador for the Speedmaster, the Constellation is left to the elegance of Nicole Kidman to promote.  

The design hails back to the 1950s, this is a pretty decent era of style, some may argue timeless. The Speedmaster was released in 1957, the Seamaster nearly a decade earlier in 1948 with the Constellation released in 1952 as Omega’s first chronometer. On my then regular trips overseas, I frequented Omega boutiques allowing me to be given their catalog booklets. This allows me to research posts via officially published material, what is also interesting is the Omega museum and registering timepieces online at Omega.

What immediately stands out for me on the reference 2852/2853 Constellation series is the chamfered dial, sometimes known as the pie-pan dial with diamond index markers and star symbol in the lower face below the hand pivot. The Constellation was released with an automatic movement certified as a chronometer, the Manhattan style with claws on the bezel. During the quartz crisis of the 1970s to 1980s, the range was fitted with a quartz movement later reverted back to chronometer certified automatic movements.

For me, Nicole Kidman is the ultimate range ambassador and although the range has evolved over the decade, the Manhattan series with the single link stainless steel band with gold intermediate sections epitomises the modern Constellation. Significant updates included straight index markers on the dial with Roman numerals on the bezel. Whilst I won’t be purchasing the Constellation myself, I can certainly admire this timepiece for its style even if it doesn’t suit mine. 

So I ask myself when I see QAnon materials published online regarding Q drops that are supposedly written by Q [actually written by many], but who actually believes this stuff? Unfortunately this is not just weirdos in the United States anymore, with an interconnected world and social media, these crazy conspiracy theories have spread beyond the shores of the United States to most countries now.

So what is QAnon? Well, it is [according to them] a high level US government official releasing secret information regarding government brokered pedophile rings, cannibalism and child trafficking. This is all run by the Democratic Party with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros leading the organisation named the Cabal of Satanic Cannibalistic Abuse of Children. Whenever I am on social media and I see any individual writing about the cabal, I know I am dealing with a moron.

Then there was Pizzagate, this was where the Democratic Party was alleged to have trafficked children through the Comet Ping Pong Pizzeria in Washington DC in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. This was really the lead-in to QAnon. When Edgar Maddison entered the restaurant with an AR-15 and let some shots off demanding to view the basement where he alleges child trafficking was occurring, he was not only arrested, it proved there was no basement with child trafficking going on.

Down in Texas, a Congressional spokesperson demanded to see the jetty at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. The business premises are situated on the Rio Grande river separating the United States and Mexico. Where the interference originated was the unwillingness to build Trump’s border wall through their property as it would have effectively cut their property in half. They sought a court injunction to stop the construction of the wall on their property and were successful in doing so.

The anti-vaccination group pre-dates QAnon, they believe vaccines cause autism in children and have been pushing this lie since the 1990s. What is even more funny is they believe they are engaging in research by accessing a few crazy websites dedicated to the anti-vaccination cause. Research is what scientists do, they work in a lab and conduct experiments then publish peer reviewed articles, they share knowledge and outcomes. Running an anti-vaccination website filled with dubious claims is not research, this is misrepresentation of information containing clear cognitive biases.

Then there are the fake moon landing theories, despite the fact that every country in the world acknowledges the US landed men on the moon in 1969, there are still people who believe otherwise. They parrot the Van Allen Belt, the lack of stars in the photographs, the belief that the US flag is flapping in the wind or the camera technology. All this is easily explained by logic, a rudimentary knowledge of physics is all that is required.

On earth, the launch of the mighty Saturn V rocket was viewed by people on the ground and received saturation television coverage. Whilst the Apollo program were the only moon landing missions, subsequent programs such as the space shuttle missions were viewed by many. Anyone who had immigration permission to enter the United States could go to Cape Canaveral and witness a space shuttle launch from a non-restricted viewing area. People saw the Apollo and space shuttle mission launches, they can see it isn’t fake.

Almost immediately after the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks, conspiracy theorists began pedelling their lies. The whole world saw the footage of the aircraft hitting the twin towers, we saw the fires created by the jet fuel and we could see how intense the heat was. The footage of the towers collapsing was witnessed by people glued to their televisions, yet many still claimed it was the US government that set charges off under the buildings.

The Leeuwin Estate Prelude series is a pretty decent bottle of wine; it comes at the right price point for the quality. An Art series chardonnay is around $140 per bottle, at $35, the Prelude series is more value orientated, but around the $30 – $35 mark depending on where you purchase it, this is not a cheap bottle of wine. Clearly the Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are premium products rating highly at international shows and tastings.

Ok, so what makes the Prelude series a decent drop? Other than the obvious discount to the Art series., the Prelude still offers oak maturation and premium fruit. I have found the Prelude Series chardonnay to be pretty crisp whilst still offering refined oak characteristics. The Prelude Cabernet Sauvignon at $35 per bottle exudes subtle blueberry and cherry flavours whilst maintaining a pretty decent complexity of structure. All in all, I find the Prelude Series a decent drop for drinking alone or with my father whilst saving the Art Series for those special occasions.

The Woodman Point Munitions Jetty is a well known diving and fishing site, I don’t know how many times I dived here, it was plenty of times, that I know. It is a great dive in the morning when an onshore breeze is blowing, when the sea breeze came in during the afternoon, forget it,as it was skuzzed out and the visability is terrible.

So, I am scanning my memory, I liked diving here, but it had to be the right conditions though, an easterly breeze blowing across the shore. No westerly breeze, and definitely no south westers, as Cockburn Sound has all its seagrass chewed up from the dredging beginning in the 1960s, the limestone sea bottom is gone and all that is left is a powdery silt bottom.

The visibility is non-existent, the seagrass beds that once inhabited this area are long gone. The breakwater and bridge connecting Rockingham to Garden Island prevents proper flushing of the sound. So that is what wrecks the visibility at the Woodman Point Munitions Jetty, but what is good about the dive. The jetty extends out to a 9 metre depth, the pylons have excel ent sponge and cold water coral growth. This attracts marine life, this is why this site is so popular with fishers, I have never had an interest in fishing, but I can see why people go there.

So what about the upgrades? The Woodman Point Munitions Jetty was constructed back in 1903 and has only been open to the public since 1984, the life of the jetty has exceeded planning requirements. Fortunately funds have been allocated and a new platform has been designed, the concrete piles driven in 1939 will be retained due to the extensive growth and marine life it attracts. There will be a ramp to a sub deck with T type jetty end. The jetty itself will be demolished with new piles driven to support the new jetty, the old piles will be retained with the new jetty providing shade for the old piles.

The first four months of the year had been hectic with full-time work, part-time study, sailing on Saturday afternoon and family and social engagements. My first trip is usually April/May, my summer commitments are completed, the season in the Philippines has moved off the peak but the summer is still around.

I was feeling extremely fatigued especially with the burden of part-time study and the ever increasing occupational stress connected with my employment. I was taking acid reflux tablets every morning, then some throughout the day too. The stress was really causing me some grief, I was glad to be away from work, the stress declined immediately.

I finished work Thursday afternoon and boarded the Singapore Airlines flight at 1.10am early Friday morning; it was to be two weeks of freedom diving in the Southern Philippines. Arriving at 6.30 am in Singapore Changi airport, it was to be a three hour stopover before the ongoing flight to Manila on the 9:30 am arriving in Manila just past 1am.

Saturday morning I was checked out of my hotel early and down the airport, as usual flight delays pretty much wrecked the day and I arrived at Easy Divers well after dark. The resort staff were good enough to make me a large roll and provide me with a drink. The staff at Easy Divers are what makes this experience for me, they are great.

From what I learned, it is the staff that make this place special. Sure, the location is good, the rooms are decent, a great bar and restaurant. However, what makes the facility work is the quality of the staff, well trained and highly motivated. This is a great place to stay, good diving, maybe not the best in the Philippines, but it is a pretty decent place to dive.

Whilst I can’t call this remote, Easy Divers is out of the way so there is solitude on the grounds. Yes, you can get into town, but since there isn’t much there anyway, there is no point. So for me, it is easier to just hang around in the resort area, I am there for a break and not the hassles of getting around that area.

As a watch guy, I am pretty interested in the style of Baume and Mercier. I like what they have to offer and despite not owning any of their timepieces, their range is very interesting to me. This is not the best known of the watchmakers, but they have been manufacturing watches since 1830, a reasonable time period and they have some good product lines.

Their marketing interests me, but why is this so? Well, when I enter a boutique with Baume and Mercier timepieces I firstly see their advertising long before I view their watches. Despite being the lowest level brand in the Richemont Group, they exude a style and elegance I tend to gravitate to. I like the Classima range and the Clifton for me, the Hampton will not work as the rectangular shape will suit neither my wrist or personal style.

The Riveria has just been released as an integrated bracelet steel sports watch, with the renewed interest in this style of watch, this is an affordable proposition for those of us who cannot afford the AP Royal Oak, PP Nautilus, VC Overseas or the Chopard Alpine Eagle. I see the Riveria sitting in the showcase in my local jeweller so will wander in for a look. The best way to work out if the style works for you is actually place it on your wrist.

The issues between China and Australia are G2G not P2P, we have two governments that hold two totally different viewpoints. Naturally, my viewpoint is aligned to the Australian perspective – that goes without saying. I have no issues with Chinese citizens adopting a Chinese perspective, they have grown up under a communist regime and feel a degree of nationalistic pride in their country.

I certainly feel no ill will towards Chinese people, they are entitled to their opinion even if it doesn’t align with my values. What do I think of the Chinese Communist Government? I think the CCP is an evil organisation that is subjecting their vast population to a totalitarian regime. The CCP is not a government serving the people, this is a corrupt system of government that only benefits the party. The party is above the people – unbelievable.

Will we see war with China? I seriously hope not. A war will set back the Chinese people four decades of growth. There is no way I support loss of life, sending a whole population of people into poverty and turmoil. I believe the world would unite against China should they make the strategic mistake of invading Taiwan. The Chinese leadership should lock hard at what is happening in Ukraine and ask themselves if use of military force is feasible, warranted and sustainable?

I have Chinese friends, I have worked with a number of Chinese in Africa and dealt with plenty of Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysian and Chinese Filipinos when I have been in these countries. I do actually find it ironic, I do know they have a Chinese ethnic background but as they are residents of their respective countries and mostly have not even visited China. But regardless of whether these are mainland Chinese people or Chinese immigrants to these regional countries, we are all the same and I really hope no conflict is realised in our region.