Carter's Column

I seriously cannot believe how my life has turned out at times. I grew up feeling that everyone else had it better than I did, that everyone else got what they wanted and I never did. I've been abused, lied about, gone through hells some of you cannot imagine and yet today I feel more fortunate than ever and appreciating everything around me. At Titanic in Belfast These paragraphs are to show my continuing appreciation for many aspects of my life today, including my adopted country, my family and adopted families and the many new friends I've made. But this particular piece I am writing concentrates on the one person who means the most to me, who saved me from a living hell without even knowing it, who has loved me unconditionally since we met and who I am delighted to say will be my wife as of next year; Jess. At Sarah & Garth's Wedding I don't really like clichés, but when it comes to describing our relationship they cannot be avoided. It has been ...

Post 31 of my blog has been a long time coming, probably my longest between blogs so far. Much has happened in this time, yet part of the reason behind the gap is a phenomenon known as "Writer's Block". It's not that there has been nothing to write about, it's not that I didn't want to write something... I just didn't think I could write anything of particular interest. Initially I started the blog as a way of letting off steam, a cathartic release from the stresses and struggles of everyday life in England. But I have to say that I haven't often felt the need to release any stress since moving to Australia. There have been stresses, don't worry about that! But there are only so many times I can write about how great it is to live in this country before it gets repetitive. In fact for many of you that read my blogs I would wager it is already. And thus, the Writer's Block strikes. What is there for me to say? It's normal to carry a...

Stuart Broad beats Brad Haddin's bat. A rare English plus. Take nothing away from the Australian cricket team, they deserve their Ashes victory. England have been extremely poor and there isn't much for an England cricket fan that could be more painful. Until now my most painful England cricket memory was losing the Ashes 5-0 in 2006/07 made worse by the fact I was there at 3 of the games and experienced it in person. This year it is rapidly overtaking it and losing 5-0 again is almost a certainty, meaning that I would be here in Australia for 10 losses out of 10. Coming so quickly after a 3-0 Ashes victory in England where there was talk of England winning 5-0, it makes it even more painful. Generally I think I am a respectful and fair person when losing. As biased as I may be with my desire for England or Tottenham Hotspur or Macquarie University CC to win sporting events I think that my assessment of events is a fair one. In this instance, England have been out-skill...

Whenever we go out and decide to take something up, we do it with a view to being the best we can at it. We aspire to be like someone. Learning the guitar I'd want to be as good as Justin Hawkins, Slash, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen and many more. With cricket, I want to be coached by professional players and be around the best coaches and players I can. So it was by luck rather than judgement that I came to be in the presence of 3 of the top snake handlers in the whole of Australia. Death Adder Through previous blog entries, my Facebook page and me talking about it constantly you will be aware that I have been a volunteer at the Australian Reptile Park and love every minute of it. Before I made the permanent move to Sydney I had a growing interest in reptiles, snakes in particular. As this interest grew I wanted to learn how to deal with venomous snakes, especially those found in Australia. It's common knowledge that there are dangerous animals everywhere in this country,...

September already? I am just two weeks away from having lived in Australia for 6 months and it's fair to say that more has happened since I have been here than would have happened had I stayed in England. I would never have got my hands on a range of snakes, alligators, lizards and other reptiles in Devon. We don't have them in the UK and we're not expected to have any understanding of them but Australians? They are... At this time of year when things are warming up in Australia snakes tend to come out of hibernation, Humpback Whales are part-way through the Great Migration to the Antarctic and the beaches are gradually filling up with people bringing them closer to marine life. So I find it somewhat dismaying to hear of people over here that are seemingly so unaware of the nature around them that their answer is to kill an animal that happens to cross their path. When I was a kid I was petrified of sharks, snakes, crocodiles, alligators and any other dangerous animal. ...

Yet again, it's been a while since I last blogged. That must mean I've been busy? Well... Yes I have. I mentioned before that I had submitted an application to be a volunteer at the Australian Reptile Park, and unexpectedly I was successful. After being invited to a group interview at the park, I walked out with a shirt Elvis the Crocodile and a name-tag so I figured it had gone well! The initial idea was to give it a go until cricket season came along and then make a decision, but in the 3 weekends I have been there I have enjoyed handling a range of different snakes including Burmese Pythons, Diamond Pythons, Black-Headed Python, Corn Snakes, Olive Pythons and more. At one stage I was lucky enough to be in the show-pit with Ranger Mick while he performed the Venom Show with a Cane Toad, Death Adder and Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. As volunteers, we are not allowed to touch anything venomous so my role was to stand there holding the bag with the Cane Toad in, and the ...

Since my last entry, I've had a birthday, met a hero, started a full time job, had more animal encounters, entered a volunteer application for a Reptile Park, been to an Air Show and seen a partial solar eclipse. Like you do... All new territory and a lot of happiness, but there has been the occasional low too which as I've come to learn is a regular part of this illness. Ironically the person whose book made me understand the condition so much better, Former England cricketer and Somerset Captain Marcus Trescothick, played recently for Somerset against Bovey Tracey CC. My first season away from Bovey and I could have met another hero. Royal Australian Air Force "Roulettes" What I've learnt is that it can hit at any time, in any place, and that any slight negative can trigger it. What is less easy to understand is how to make it go away. The obvious answer would be to do things that make me happy but unfortunately that doesn't always happen. I'v...