A hundred million bottles, lying on the shore...

(Well, maybe not quite that many yet.) Nevertheless, a few people have had their say, or just dropped in to say "hi". Here are some edited highlights of some of the comments. This page covers 2000 only, starting with the most recent at the top; to see previous messages, go to here for the 1999 page.

From: Bruce Rogers, Zeus Publications, of Australia; 27 Aug 99: (zeus@omcs.com.au)

"Very impressed with your website and your work. Maybe you and your visitors would be interested in a special book which is pure Australiana in the raw!...take a look at the preview at http://www.zeus-publications.com/football.html".

Bruce has been here before. The book looks interesting.

From: Philip Davey, of Frankston, Victoria, Australia; 4 May 2000:

"I have been searching the web for information on Nevil Shute and fortunately found your excellent Phillip Island site. Keith, I am researching the production of Stanley Kramer's On the Beach with the intention of writing a book. Over the last few months I have found out many interesting things..."

Philip has given me a great deal of info, and, along with more info and photos from Peter D'Abbs, I have now completely rebuilt my Mr. Norway page. There are now also additional pages for On the Beach and Nevil Shute Norway's Racing Career.

From: Ernest Kearney, of Los Angeles, California, USA; 25 Apr 2000: (ekearney@cms.dbc.com)

"I have what I believe to be a signed first edition of Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I have been trying to find examples of Ian Fleming's signature. Do you have access to any you could e-mail to me?"

Unfortunately, no. I have had a bit of a hunt on the Web, but haven't found one yet. I suggest keeping an eye on any of the second-hand book sites, particularly auction sites, which often have scanned photos of books. These sometimes show the signature on autographed copies.

From: Paul Raso, of New York, NY, USA; 22 Apr 2000: (praso405@aol.com)

"I am searching for a book I thought was named Gus and the Gremlins. Would you please tell me the plot of The Gremlins by Roald Dahl? I want to see if this is the same book for which I am searching."

Since posting this message, I have had a chance to re-read the original Dahl story. The title is simply The Gremlins, but Gus is the name of the main character, so this is probably the book referred to. The Dahl Gremlins, as per my story, were the fantasised cause of any problems to WWII RAF aircraft. A copy of the story can now be viewed on the Web - see the sites linked from my Gremlins page.

From: Ben Gesch, of Queensland, Australia; 21 Apr 2000:

"About nine months ago I had an encounter with a large panther while bowhunting near St George, Queensland. I didn't report the incident for a number of reasons but after seeing the Alien Big Cats documentary I don't feel so stupid. I was wondering how I should go about reporting the sighting and if there are any organisations I can contact or even websites I can visit about Big Cats in Australia."

Who ya gonna call? ARFRA! See my Big Cat story for more about this topic and ARFRA.

From: Sandra, of Germany; 16 Apr 2000: (sandr@gmx.at)

"My name is Sandra from Germany. I have see you page on the net. It is very Beautyful. I have a German Picnic at Hanging Rock Page. Please, sign my Picnic at Hanging Rock Guestbook. More kisses for you."

This site is excellent, but it helps if you can read German. You can also see more about this movie on my links page here.

From: Dale Haynes, of Virginia, USA; 11 Apr 2000: (vamanzzz@hotmail.com)

"I have a directory of Personal Homepages on my personal homepage so others can browse homepages that interest them, if you would like to be listed just visit me. I promote almost daily. I look forward to adding your site."

You can now find my site listed here on page 3 from the Main Directory , or under the Poetry/Writings category on the categories page.

From: Stephanie Burns, of Sydney, NSW, Australia; 10 Apr 2000:

"I like this. It's fun and personal. You've done a great job - and thanks so much for including me in the links!

Stephanie was the Facilitator for a course I attended on Facilitation Skills. Check out her Web site for info on her books - I highly recommend them!

From: David Smith, of London, England, UK; 31 Mar 2000:

"Great site - it is VERY cool. Stay in Touch!"

David is a former colleague from Australia. At the time of writing he is in the UK, and shortly on his way to the USA.

From: Greg Ray, of Newcastle, NSW, Australia; 21 Mar 2000:

"I collect various old books and mags. I've recently started mucking about with on-line auction sites and have just posted an item for auction on Sold.com. It's a wartime mag called Jest, published by Frank Johnson and subtitled 'a digest-ion of good humour'. It features a six-page story by Idriess titled The Kings Colour. Have you heard of it? Is it rare? Was the story republished elsewhere? I suppose it's a bit academic, now I'm selling it, but I've only just found your website and thought you might know something. I collect Wide World Magazine, in case you ever find any."

To answer the question, the story is not unique. It was included in The Yellow Joss, the only short-story book Idriess wrote (not counting Gems, a compilation of extracts). Joss was published in 1934. A pity they often didn't date those mags - it may have been an original appearance. I have taken the liberty of copying the scan of the magazine cover - see it here. Let me know if you want to talk to Greg about Wide World.

From: Edward Fletcher, of Cheltenham, England, UK; 17 Mar 2000:

"I would like to introduce myself as a researcher of the genus adansonia [Boab trees - see Bradshaws and Boabs]. this consists of compiling a comprehensive information and slide/photograph library on all aspects of the genus adansonia. my research enables me to give talks to the british cactus and succulent society branches. the society is purely amateur and is engaged in promoting a greater understanding of these wonderful plants. therefore i would like to inquire if you would have available information and pictures of boabs that i could use for my talks. there will be no commercial use of the material. if you require additional information i would be pleased to forward your requirement with a copy of my summary the genus adansonia. i would appreciate your assistance on the above inquiry."

To answer the question, some sites with info and pictures of Boabs I found while researching the article were: Spirit of the baobab, Australian Boab Tree and Boab trees - purchase. I now have a correct e-mail address for Edward; anyone wishing to pass on further info can contact me, and I will forward it.

From: David Wade, of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 13 Mar 2000:

"Interesting site. I was looking for "odd" things about Australia for a book I am writing. Keep up the good work. Your site is clear, uncluttered and loads easily and fast. Unlike [some other] sites. I'll be back."

Thanks, David - and thanks for finding a typo, too. It will be fixed with this upload!

From: Stan Kaplan, of New York, NY, USA; 3 Mar 2000:

"Roald Dahl has a reputation for having been an anti-semite. Can you comment on that one way or the other? If yes, what in particular did he do of an anti-semitic nature? If not, how did he get this reputation?"

Can't help much on this one - apparently the standard Dahl biography claims this, and has a number of references. I have certainly never noticed any hint of this in the Dahl books I have read. If you do a search on "Dahl" and "Semitism" at Alta Vista, you get some references. Refer also the Dahl biography at Amazon, and the major Dahl sites. My links to them are here.

From: Dan Telfair, of New Mexico, USA; 3 Mar 2000: (dantelfair@aol.com)

"Great web site! It is not often that I learn something new about Nevil Shute Norway, but I have to admit that I encountered a few new nuggets on your site. Regards from the Land of Enchantment."

Dan was the organiser of the 1999 Nevil Shute Centennial Celebration. He is now gearing up for the next International Nevil Shute Society celebration, OZ2001 - yes, in Australia. For more info, refer here.

From: Jeremy Millar, of somewhere; 3 Mar 2000:

"hey have you seen the movie the gremlins?? i'm having an argument with my brother about it. he says in the movie when they turn bad they turn green and scaly. and i say they are still furry. can you help??"

Beats me. It's been a while since I saw the movie. Let me know if you can help. These are very different to the Roald Dahl gremlins in my story.

From: Karl & Monika Gallant, of Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia; 27 Feb 2000:

"Just looking through the web for home pages and saw your link. Liked your web site! Here is the link for our site if you have the time."

From: Claire, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 26 Feb 2000:

"I would like to say how much I enjoy reading your columns in TableAus. They always give me something to think about. I've only been a member of Mensa for about 8 months but it's been a great experience. I look forward to your next topic."

From: Barry Ring, of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 25 Feb 2000: (VBAR@bigpond.com)

"Keith, it looks good. It's the first time I have walked around it."

Barry was once my boss. He is now "retired", and an author among other things. If you want circuit boards produced, drop him a line!

From: Leon Leahy, of Ireland; 15 Feb 2000:

"God has offered you an Invitation to Heaven. It's His Son Jesus Christ, if you accept Him, by Faith. You will have accepted Your only Way to Heaven. Call on the Lord Jesus Christ, and You Will be Saved. - Acts 16:31. Seek And You Will Find - Matthew 7:7."

From: Tim Golding, of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; 10 - 16 Feb 2000: (timg33@hotmail.com)

"I have most of Ion Idriess's books, several x2, even x3 (don't ask) in various conditions. I'm not a dealer nor even a particularly avid collector but have been accumulating Jacks efforts since about 1980. Give me an idea of your needs and we can take it from there. Ditto Clune and Pinney, if you're interested too. Come to think of it Peter Pinney deserves his own page. When I finally stop dithering I might just do that. Did you ever find out more about PP? A mate, John Borthwick, did a compendium of his travels, published by UQP, called The Road to Anywhere. ...as Sava said, PP's war diaries are available through UQP too. I think what I like about PP is his refusal to conform after WW2 and return to Oz to collude in the post-war dream. Rather, he made real the nonconformist and larrikin that so many of us fantasise we are, and strode out for a decade or more. Writes well too, and funny. He gets more brazen the further he wanders. UQP seems to deal through Penguin. Signaller Johnson's Secret War is available at Penguin at www.penguin.com.au so I suppose PP's other war diaries are available too."

Refer Sava's message below. UQP is University of Queensland Press. UQP titles should be generally available at other Web bookshops in Australia. The Road to Anywhere may also be available directly from John Borthwick - I can pass on messages if required. Tim also corrected his earlier mail - there was a reference to The Circumference of the Knowable World. This was actually John Borthwick's book about his own travels.

From: sweetsexy, of New York, NY, USA; 31 Jan 2000:

"nice site. not too much but maybe too little. now please tell me where to go to sign up for densa. thanks anyway."

From: Ralph Penglis, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 31 Jan 2000:

"I've got a question. What was the name of the actress that Roald Dahl married?"

For the answer, go here!

From: Doug Ford, of Australia; 23 Jan 2000: (dford2176@aol.com)

"I have several copies of Gold Dust and Ashes and also a copy of Lasseter's Last Ride. I am interested in getting a First edition of Gold Dust and Ashes because it was written about an ancestor of mine (C.J. Levien)."

Anyone interested in trading copies, let me know or get in touch with Doug.

From: Jenny Wells, of Ottawa, Kansas, USA; 20 Jan 2000: (tweety2000jenny@netscape.net)

"i was searching for country music trivia - it was all fascinating."

From: Anthony Wright, of Ottawa, Canada; 17 Jan 2000:

"You have an interesting site. Hello from Canada: the land of polar bears, mounties, maple syrup, hockey, and frigid winters."

From: Antonella Gambotto, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 15 Jan 2000: (hotsecretarial@hotmail.com)

"Just to notify you of URL change. Keep up the excellent work!"

Antonella is a Mensan and a published author. Find out all about her work at her Web site.

From: Kay De La Rue, of Uganda, East Africa; 12 Jan 2000: (kaydelarue@hotmail.com)

"Im from guernsey in the Channel Islands. Are your family originally from here? Not many De La Rue's in the world."

One more thing that should go up on the site some day - A De La Rue genealogy. Our family is descended from a Thomas De La Rue from Leicestershire, England, who migrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1849. He was my great-great grandfather; my great-grandfather James also came out on the ship - he would have been about 20, the eldest of 10 children. Hard to believe that they were Protestants! I understand that the original De La Rues in France were Huguenots, and left France for England during the religious wars, with many settling in the Channel Islands. The only De La Rues that my wife knew before we met came from the Channel Islands - to the best of my knowledge the only De La Rues in Australia not descended from Thomas. I am also interested that Kay spells the name in three words with all capitals - I had thought that that form was introduced in Australia.

From: Sam Marshall, of Australia; 12 Jan 2000: (mysam2@hotmail.com)

"Great website, keep up the good work, Love Sam xxxxxxxxxx"

From: Sava Pinney, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 5 Jan 2000: (sava_pinney@hotmail.com)

"I have just stumbled on your letters page out of the blue after doing a search on the name of my dad, Peter Pinney. The letter from: Andy, of 4 Dec 98 mentions Peter, who was a popular Australian travel/adventure writer in the 1950's. Dad had around 12 books published over the years, most well known probably: Dust on my Shoes, Who Wanders Alone and Anywhere but Here. Later he wrote for television and published his war diaries, mentioned by Andy, with UQP. Just thought I'd say hi to yourself and Andy - if he is still around, and wish you a great new year. If anyone is interested in dad's works please feel free to contact me."

Here's another Australian author worthy of some Web site space! I have since read two of Pinney's books, and can highly recommend them.

From: Andrew Meek, of Australia; 4 Jan 2000:

"My Father has often talked about how as a child, his favourite book was The Red Chief, by Ion Idriess. He also says that he has tried to find this book, but was never successful. I saw on your web site that you were also trying to collect Idriess books. I am wondering if you have any idea where i might be able to purchase this title. Thankyou very much for your time."

For answers to this and other questions see my new Ion Idriess "General Information" page.

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Updated: 29 Nov 2000

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