Q & A is a new item for Baysnews and (hopefully) a regular feature each month that will introduce a member of the offshore community. No-one particularly famous – just someone interesting. Editor
Declan has courageously agreed to be our first Q&A contributor. Here he speaks with BaysNews editor, Suzanne Plater.
SUZANNE: Hi Declan. Before we start, please tell us a little about yourself.
DECLAN: Ok, I’ll start at the start. Mum’s day doesn’t start ’til she’s drained two undisturbed coffees. On April 2, 1996, I interrupted this routine and have been making amends since. Dad’s day wasn’t any more relaxing. He bounded next door to wake the neighbours, hauled mum and the new pet into the barrow, huffed and puffed down the hill, then upended the contents into the police boat which whomped to the ambulance waiting at Church Point. Not sure the juice was worth the squeeze but here I am.
SUZANNE: Lovely, thanks. Ok, question time. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
DECLAN: To me happiness is being present and experiencing something without mental interference. It’s a disconnection from the past and future so I’m able to find it in many places. Reading on the balcony while it rains, spending time with Sharni, and travelling bring me happiness. And it’s perfect because nothing need be changed.
SUZANNE: What is your greatest fear?
DECLAN: Waking up one day and realising I didn’t live. Or having a full body stroke. At any age. Jesus.
SUZANNE: What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
DECLAN: Hmmm. Sometimes I lose my temper.
SUZANNE: What is the trait you most dislike in others?
DECLAN: Strewth. I have no patience for bad manners.
SUZANNE: Which person (living or deceased) do you most admire, and why?
DECLAN: My younger sister Fay (Taylor). She’s just a beautiful person. A real charmer. Genuine and colourful. Creativity like you wouldn’t believe and an excellent artist. Very clever too and lives every day with gusto. She recently finished building a hands-free water dispensing unit for use in remote communities in Nepal (Fay isn’t a typo for Tay as it undoubtedly appears to be. Fay was a character in a show called Round the Twist. She hated the name, so it stuck).
(If the reader would like to follow Fay’s work, please check out this URL: https://www.ppfoundation.com.au)
SUZANNE: Which person (living or deceased) to you most despise, and why?
DECLAN: Haha, okay this one’s tricky. The human race has a lot to answer for and I’m not sure one person can take all the credit. Find me one who embodies the most despicable traits, and it can be them.
SUZANNE: What is your greatest achievement?
DECLAN: One time a kookaburra landed on the balcony and I kissed it. Square on the beak. Thought it was going to peck my lip off haha. (Declan kindly provided proof by way of the above photo.)
SUZANNE: What is your greatest regret?
DECLAN: There are many things I wish I did but I always arrive at the same conclusion and that’s: if I did ‘X’ I couldn’t have done ‘Y’. I’m still quite young, so in 10 years if I haven’t got around to those things I wish I did I might have more to say. I’m good for now.
SUZANNE: Which talent would you most like to have?
DECLAN: The ability to communicate flawlessly and rip an unmatched yarn.
SUZANNE: What is your motto?
DECLAN: ‘Don’t hesitate or you’ll hurt yourself’. I got that from Ant. It’s applicable everywhere.
SUZANNE: Last question. You grew up in the Bays. What is your most precious memory of your childhood or teenage years?
DECLAN: It’s a montage of childhood summers spent outdoors. Exploring the bay in bare feet, jumping off the wharf, begging the ferry drivers for a wash, building cubbies in the council clean-up, catching soldier crabs, the rope swing, walking to the waterfall, fireflies at Halloween and running amok at the fireshed dinners. We had a good gang. Raised by all the parents in the bay. Our only rule was to get out of our uniforms when we got home and be back before dark. Man, I could keep talking til next Christmas!
SUZANNE: It’s a (brilliant) wrap. Thanks Declan.
Note: This Q&A was adapted from Antionette Faure’s 1886 questionnaire. It was made famous by its first contributor, Marcel Proust, and is now known as the Proust Questionnaire. Of course.