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Have you ever bunged it on? Behaved like a drongo? Added mayo to a story? Lost your Reg Grundies? Join bestselling storyteller William McInnes as he offers his own take on our colourful and colloquial way with words. From the simpler times of childhood to today's testing (and unprecedented!) times, or when we're wasting time, enjoying sporting times or hitting the big time, Australians have a turn of phrase for every situation. Our love of plain speaking communicates the essence of the thing to our mates, to those in the know - and to those who should know better. Part memoir, part manifesto, this warm, witty, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny collection will have you thinking about what you say, how you say it and what that really says about us as a nation. Praise for the writing of William McInnes 'Warm and engaging . . . feels a little bit like home' Daily Telegraph 'If there is a quintessence of Australia at its best, William McInnes has distilled it' The Age 'Warm, nostalgic, funny and undeniably Australian' Sydney Morning Herald
I can't help it if I'm a boring conservative dag, but I love Christmas, always have and hopefully always will. Whatever brand of faith you fly under, even if you proclaim you don't have one, Christmas is a time of generosity, good citizenship and decency. It's the holiday where shopping centres become a sea of dazed shoppers bearing checklists as long as your arm, lunch is a neverending buffet of prawns and ham and your electricity bill is doubly struck by having to run the fan all day and keep those decorative lights blinking through the night. William McInnes, bestselling author of FATHERHOOD, WORSE THINGS HAPPEN AT SEA, and A MAN'S GOT TO HAVE A HOBBY tackles the silly season in a way only he can - telling stories brimming with good humour and nostalgia, to remind us what Christmas is all about: family.
'a funny and clever reminiscence about what happened in Australia over the past 30 years ... Told with a delightful insight and sense of whimsy.' Daily Telegraph In THAT'D BE RIGHT, much loved actor and author William McInnes gives his personal view on the things we love – sport, families, politics and the greatest spectator sport of them all, an election campaign. He takes the momentous landmarks that fascinate us, such as Melbourne Cup Day, Grand Final wins and election night parties, and brings them into our back yards. He also writes about early morning swimming carnivals, lawnmowers and sitting in the stands at the cricket with his son. THAT'D BE RIGHT is a biographical trip through Australian life with lots of yarns along the way.
William McInnes, one of Australia's best-known storytellers and actors, has turned to a subject that is close to his heart. Fatherhood is about family, about memories of his father and the memories he's creating as a dad himself, with his own son and daughter. Warm, witty and nostalgic, these tales are just like a friendly chat over the back fence, or the banter of a backyard BBQ. They will stir your own memories: of hot summer days and cooling off under the sprinkler while Dad works in the garden with the radio tuned to the sports results; that time Dad tried to teach you to drive - and then got out of the car and kissed the ground; or taking your own kids on a family road trip. Fatherhood is full of memories: the happy, the hilarious, the sad, bad, and the unexpectedly poignant moments. You will laugh, you may even cry - but you will recognise yourself and those you love somewhere in these pages.
William McInnes' bestselling memoir, A Man's Got To Have A Hobby, takes us back to the long summer holidays of the 1960s and 70s, and the last of the baby-boomer childhoods. William writes with humour and affection about his family, and especially his mum and dad, who talked to the TV set and enjoyed life in their house near the bay. William McInnes is a talented writer and a natural storyteller. A tail-end baby boomer, he recalls summer holidays that seemed to go on forever, when he and his mates would walk down to fish in the bay; a time when the Aussie battler stood as the local Labor candidate and looked out for his mates; and a time when the whole family would rush into the lounge room ...
William McInnes, one of Australia's best-loved entertainers and authors, takes a look at the Aussie obsession with sports and pop culture. A chance encounter in an auction house is the jumping-off point for William's inimitable take on our sport-obsessed nation, Australian popular culture and the artefacts and memorabilia that both make us cringe with recognition and laugh with warm affection. His trademark humour and anecdotes litter this collection, making it a true delight. These are truly Aussie stories: about us, and about the things - and the people - in our lives. **Includes BONUS CHAPTERS of two William McInnes classics: A Man's Got to Have a Hobby and Holidays and an extract from his latest hilarious and heartwarming memoir, Fatherhood** PRAISE FOR WILLIAM McINNES' WRITING 'warm, nostalgic, funny and undeniably Australian' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 'a natural storyteller' SUN-HERALD 'If there is a quintessence of Australianness at its best, William McInnes has distilled it.' THE AGE
One of Australia's best loved writers, William McInnes makes us laugh, cry and grab life with both hands. Chris Andersen loves cricket. He may not be a legend like Bradman or Boonie, but in the Yarraville West Fourths, Chris Andersen is king. He is the captain, the coach, the manager and, thankfully, a player. They are getting hard to find, players. Every Saturday in summer Chris ropes together a motley team of men and a couple of boys to turn up in their cricket whites to try and win a game. Everyone has a different reason for being there: to hear the music from a nearby house, a block out the memories of another place, to be entertained, to please their dad, or just to have a go. And everyone has a story to tell. 'Marvellous reading' - Woman's Day 'Entertaining' - West Australian 'A book about a lot more than cricket... And even though you laugh out loud, you recognise something real' - The Age 'Big-hearted novel with character, leaving the reader with the urge to stand up and cheer' - Sunday Telegraph 'An affectionate, gentle and touching tribute to cricket and blokes who play it for love, not money' - Adelaide Advertiser
From bestselling author William McInnes, a book about the languid, unending holidays of summer; it's about going away and staying at home, about sunburn, seagulls, family and friends. Remember those long, languid holidays when the only decisions to be made were what to pack in the Esky and who should get the front seat on the drive to the beach? Let William McInnes reignite your nostalgia for holidays past, and give you a taste of the boundless opportunities that await in holidays to come in this book about our love affair with life away from the everyday. This book will take you back to the holidays you had as a kid and remind you of the ones you've had with your own family or friends or ev...
Filled with stories from regular Australians about life since World War Two and woven throughout with William's own anecdotes and observations, THE MAKING OF MODERN AUSTRALIA pieces together the celebrations, sorrows and spirit of the last fifty years to offer a national picture of our past and present. Told through four main themes of romance, religion, family and home, this is our story. From the trepidation of the outbreak of armed conflict to the multicultural melting pot of postwar migration, to falling in and out of love and religion, to the changes in parenting and family relations, THE MAKING OF MODERN AUSTRALIA reveals a very personal view of our country. Inspired by the major ABC TV documentary series of the same name which is narrated by William McInnes and produced by Essential Media and Entertainment.
A novel about love, about twitchers, and about learning to trust from bestselling, award-winning author, William McInnes. This is a story about a bloke who's losing his hearing; a bird that can't fly but likes being read to; and a teenage daughter who doesn't know who to be angry at. It's about a woman living with the echo of illness finding out how much fun it can be to trust someone; a man called Murph who has a secret; and Perry Como. It's part love story, part Hot Diggity moments of discovery, whether they happen in a rainforest or while sitting on a verandah, or in somebody's heart. It's about cold outdoor showers and people not quite being complete. But, most of all, it's about giving yourself the gift to be still while you wait for the lights to change or the rain to stop, so you have time to think. For all of us, there are memories and secrets that can change our lives. If we let them.