Red Back was my favourite beer back in the late 80s and early 90s. I stopped drinking beer for well over two decades, so it was a while between drinks.

The America’s Cup defence was an amazing time in Fremantle in the late 80s as the 12 metre yachts fought for supremacy on the water and Fremantle was pumping. Fremantle was the place to be, it was going well in Western Australia. The Sail and Anchor Hotel in Fremantle was one of my favourite pubs not only in Fremantle but in Perth. Whilst they had a decent selection of beers available, Red Back was my choice of beer in the Sail and Anchor Hotel and well advertised at the time.

Red Back is a wheat beer, the flavours are creamy and pretty well defined. This was the first craft beer in Australia, Matilda Bay Brewing Company did a great job back then. These days it isn’t easy to find Redback beer at a liquor distributor, or what we call a bottle shop. Red Back has fallen out of favour with distributors and we are all worse off because of this. It is so hard to find in Perth, then I found Redback at my local bottleshop hidden in the corner, you walk in and ask for it and the staff have trouble finding it – go figure.

The Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 is modern reissue of the 1955 manually wound 6087 chronograph. As one of the holy trinity of haute horlogerie, this timepiece deserves examination even if it is way out of my price range, this is truly an example of high-end watchmaking.

The distinctive cow horn lugs attach a calf skin leather band by Italy’s Seraplan to the stainless steel case with sapphire crystal caseback to view the 21 jewel 1142 chronograph reference. The modern reincarnation is still a hand-would movement, very interesting as the trend has been to automatic movements. Have I been to a boutique and inspected this timepiece first hand, at time of writing, the answer is no. Like so many others  the coronavirus has grounded me and I don’t have the opportunity in my place of residence.

I generally walk out of a boutique with one of the catalogs so I have a manufacturer reference to provide information, I have no Vacheron Constantin reference material right now. I now possess a half decent library of manuals to assist with writing of  technical specifications and the history of the brand. More so, I visit retailers when I am overseas as I wish to remain anonymous to a degree, the Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 is a high-end timepiece with a high-end price that is way out of my league.

When I have viewed other Vacheron Constantin timepieces face-to-face, you can see the finish that isn’t justified in print. I reckon the Historiques Cornes De Vache 1955 looks pretty special in print, so I will be excited to actually handle this equisite timepiece and strap it to my wrist. More so, I would just like to hold the timepiece in my hand and appreciate its engineering as an expression of modern art.

My tablet is probably one of my most important possessions, this allows me to be mobile and write about my experiences. I try to carry it around with me everywhere, I can snap photographs and start writing a post if I feel I have something to say. You can be just enjoying the moment, you can be sitting alone in a park and enjoying life. Without recording the moment, then it is more than likely lost so I am happy to be working on some content.

On this occasion I am sitting down the park in the town or Margaret River in the South West of Australia on a warm summer day. In a short while, I will be off to Leeuwin Estate for some wine tasting before heading over to Voyager Estate nearby to have a look at what they have on offer, as I have been to Voyager Estate before, I know the wines are fantastic and the grounds are superb. The trip back will be via Fermoy Estate where I am a wine club member and maybe Hay Shed Hill. As I am the one driving, I will have to use the spittoon but that is ok, I have to be responsible behind the wheel as I don’t want to write about experiences behind bars.

One of my favourite cricketing stories is that of former fast bowler Jason Gillespie. Along with Glen McGrath, the new ball pair were the reason behind the success of the Australian team. Unfortunately, riddled with injuries, Gillespie played 52 of a possible 92 tests after his 96/97 debut.

Teamed with Glenn McGrath as the opening partnership, the pair dominated as the opening bowlers. Whilst McGrath was known for doing just enough with the ball, Gillespie was cited with doing too much having more play and miss than any other fast bowler. Gillespie very nearly didn’t have a long test career, he was involved in an outfield collision with Steve Waugh against Sri Lanka at Kandi in 1999. Whilst Waugh sustained a broken nose, the broken leg of Gillespie threatened his fast bowling career.

On his final Ashes tour of England, Gillespie was washed up. Unable to take wickets, he was a liability on the tour and dropped after the third test at Old Trafford. He was also dropped for the Australian home series against the West Indies. Gillespie went back to South Australia taking 40 wickets at an average of 21.3. However, due to injuries in the Australian team, he was selected for the two test series against Bangladesh. Coming in as night watchman, Gillespie scored 201 not out earning both player of the match and player of the series awards.

For the upcoming home Ashes series, Chairman of Selectors Andrew Hilditch phoned Gillespie to inform him his test career was over. Amazingly, Gillespie asked if the decision was based on his last performance – brilliant. What I love about Gillespie is when an Australian batsman makes a double century, they receive a phone call and tweet from him welcoming new members into the test double century club. Not only was Gillespie a pretty decent bowler earning a best of 7/37, he was a decent defensive batsman.

It took years to set up, this wasn’t entirely my fault as a recalcitrant management did everything in their power to thwart my efforts. However, their tactics were exposed and they finally conceded they were in the wrong. Their strategy was simple, every question, every request, every action and every obstacle was erected to prevent justice. Their deceitful actions were finally defeated through a superior strategy, a comprehensive and disciplined series of maneuvers that showed them to be the amateurs that they are.

This required perseverance and patience, you could not just create an aggressive stance, you would need them to try to put one over you before you call them out. So, did they like being called out? Well no, but who would? So where does this lead us? Well, I am a little unsure. What happened next? Firstly, we should stop and reflect as to how we got here. That’s easy, I uncovered corruption, then I informed them I was aware corrupt practices were occurring.

Big mistake, I should have made an official complaint. I did take them to court where they tried to get the case thrown out. When that didn’t work, I re-engaged with discussions with them and wouldn’t you know it. They were willing to negotiate this time. So now I can go and consult as I please, as I am now protected by the provisions of the public interest disclosure act – better known as a whistleblower. They now let me come and go as I please, leave without pay is an excellent instrument for consultants.

Not only could I take them to court, it will be the Equal Opportunity Commission where I get to ask managers questions under oath. Naturally, I have already written the bulk of the questions, I have prepared the evidence to tender to court so I am assured that the answers I will ask are answered correctly on the record.

If you are down in Dunsborough, it is not far to Yallingup and just before you get there is the Caves House Hotel. I cannot recall the last time I was at the Caves House Hotel, but I recall I had a gallbladder operation the next day.

I remember copping an absolute spray from the anesthetist, he was complaining he couldn’t call me for a consult before going under. Even worse, he was unhappy he could not find a vein to give me the knockout juice.

My excuse was I had to fast for 24 hours, he informed me this didn’t include fluids but I already knew that. I was hungover, it was that simple. We had headed southerly on Saturday morning that involved a stay down at Caves House in Yallingup. They have a wonderful beer garden where live bands play, we had been around the Margaret River wine region tasting wines for the weekend having a good time. Not really the greatest pre-op preparation, but the weekend away down the Caves House Hotel was worthwhile regardless of the spray I received.

The Glashütte Original reference 1-39-11-09-81-08 SeaQ is a decent looking dive watch from the deep blue dial, ceramic bezel insert and 39.5 mm case. The finish is excellent as would be expected from a Glashütte Original.

I love the deep blue galvanised sunray dial with applied index and oversize numerals. The SeaQ alternates between index markers and roman numerals and the large pano date is tastefully done. This is unusual as I dislike date windows, mostly because I change watches frequently and I can’t read the date anyway.

For technical specifications, the 39-11 inhouse automatic movement has 25 jewels, the 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz is industry standard. The 40 hour power reserve is sufficient but I see the benefit of the 60 hour power reserve so you can take the watch off on a Friday and it still is running Monday morning.

It is not cheap, this dive timepiece will set you back around $13,900 AUD but I feel the SeaQ is way beyond the Rolex Submariner that it will no doubt be compared against. To be fair, the SeaQ should be compared against the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, the real measurement of the dive watch. This is a fantastic dive timepiece, I like the domed crystal, the sunburst blue dial and Arabic numerals on every second index, the three link bracelet is pretty decent too.

I am very much in favour of university graduates undertaking a Graduate Certificate in either a related field, or alternatively, a totally unrelated field if they are seeking to totally change career direction.

For only four units, a Graduate Certificate provides an introduction to the field as the foundation units such as critical thinking, deductive reasoning and reflection are already grounded in under-graduate qualifications. There are no real reasons for undertaking a second Bachelor’s Degree as they usually require twenty four units and the commitment is usually too great for career orientated individuals.

Once the Graduate Certificate is completed, a further four units is required for a Graduate Diploma and the best part is with the growth of eLearning platforms, there is no need to lose time off work and the learning is better embedded through immediate practice. Online discussions, group work through virtual teams and online tutorials build competence through non-traditional means. Whilst you don’t engage in face-to-face discussions, virtual discussions are peer reviewed and referenced.

Naturally, some qualifications are better suited to online learning with leadership, business administration, management, human resources, occupational health and safety, and training and development qualifications are business related courses available online. If you add a Graduate Certificate to a trade qualification then a technical skill-set is enhanced with business and management knowledge. I have always maintained that a business degree supplements technical skills; you actually have to be able to produce a product or service, the business degree enhances technical skills.

I don’t hate Rolex, that’s for sure. I don’t have one in my collection but that is just because either the style is not for me or the premium you pay for the style I prefer that is way out of my price range. What I do respect is the Rolex marketing machine, they are industry leaders in promotion, advertising and product placement.

Rolex has some pretty decent brand ambassadors from tennis ace Roger Federer to fellow tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Is Rolex the leading watchmaker? No, it is not? Is Rolex the greatest exponent of haute de horlogerie? Nope, not even close. Rolex makes solid toolwatches with in-house movements and original designs. Rolex is a relative newcomer to watchmaking, it is not a member of the holy trinity of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet or Vacheron Constantin. Neither is Rolex in the second tier of Breguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre or A. Lange & Söhne but Rolex makes decent tool watches and markets them exquisitely.

A margarita with Cointreau, now this is a time I don’t mind mixing my Cointreau. Whilst I normally drink Cointreau with ice, I store my Cointreau in the refrigerator so it is always cold and ready to drink.

According to the Cointreau website, Dallas socialite Margarita Sames blended tequila and Cointreau with lime juice to create this now world famous cocktail in 1948 whilst on holiday down in Acapulco. Other stories suggest it was Carlos Herrera, a restaurant located between Tijuana and Rosarito, right up in the north of Baja California in Mexico who came up with the cocktail. First served at the Rancho La Gloria, a restaurant opened in 1935, Herrera mixed the drink for showgirl Marjorie King who was allergic to hard liqueur, with the exception of tequila and one presumed triple sec.

• 2 ounces tequila.
• 1 ounce Cointreau.
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice.
• Salt on the glass rim.