Chris Dowding - writer

After his Irish sojourn, Chris moved back to Australia, bought a house and settled into a career with a large engineering firm. Whilst he finds this satisfying, everyday life leaves him with little ‘to write home about’. When an Irish friend invites Chris and Kerryn to a wedding in Scotland, Chris rushes out to buy airline tickets. He travels through England and Scotland, continuing the journey of self-discovery he began in Ireland. He reunites with Tanya and Brian, his friends from Dublin. He gets lost on the seemingly endless English ring road system. He tries Yorkshire pudding, haggis and kilt-wearing. And he realises that some of his rough edges seemed to have been rubbed off. The second book, with the working title, ‘a few Tealeaves short of a Cuppa’, will be the story of Chris’ latest journey.

On Friday, my wife, Kerryn and I attended our friends’ wedding in Perth, Scotland. I put on a kilt for the first time in my life, with a fair bit of resistance. The groom had never worn one either (he wasn’t Scottish), and he wanted lots of support from his friends. Kerryn ambushed me a few months ago by ringing him and saying I was very excited about wearing Scotland’s national costume. Not funny, Kerryn. I picked the gear up from a tailor in Perth and listened carefully to his instructions about how to wear it. I had one hour to get ready; a chartered bus was going to collect us at 1.00PM. I showered at our hotel, put the kilt on. My fingers struggled with all of the buckles and fastening belts - I had to reach around behind myself to fasten each item. It took me ages to tighten the kilt and add the sporran and belt. ‘What about the shirt?’ asked Kerryn. ‘That comes afterwards, as far as I know,’ I replied. I checked myself in the mirror. The tartan stripes on the kilt seemed to run ...