gold | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Relocate Sydney Gold Coast

January 15, 2016 by David Herd

Part of my personal online photo albums, as opposed to my FiveStarVagabond travel blog. The story starts in 1986.

Relocate Sydney Gold Coast

Relocate Sydney Gold Coast took place in January 1987, but lets go back a couple of months to when I was living at Newport Beach in Sydney. I had just broken up with my fiancée, beautiful Karen Smith, we were engaged and living together in a wonderful old home in Newport overlooking the Royal Motor Yacht Club. To add to my woes I had also just been sacked from a high paying job as National Sales Manager for Ricoh facsimile machines.

For the past few years I was a regular visitor to the Gold Coast so at the time moving there permanently seemed to be the right thing to do. I had many friends living in Surfers Paradise including Graham Edwards aka “Crazy” who you see in the photo above. The gorgeous girls in the photo are Sandy Palmer & Joanne Bernhardt.

My ex fiancée Karen Smith

Karen was a beautiful lady and a lovely human being, but looking back I finally realised by the mid 90s I was not cut out for “long term relationships”, and the older I get the less I need the company of others.

Paul Slaughter and Tony Murphy

Two close friends in December 1986 were helping me celebrate the move north. Tony was living in Avalon at the time and now in 2021 resides on the Gold Coast.

Not part of my travel blog just a huge chapter in my life.

Bryan Millard

Bryan lived close to me at Newport and we were regular drinkers at the Newport Arms Hotel.

Now here is a strange coincidence, one week after I posted Brian’s photo here he was convicted in Noosa for various infringements. Here is the full story.

Big Tim Bristow & Sue Ellis

Another neighbour the notorious Big Tim Bristow, read more about him here.

Now when I visit Sydney I book my hotel through this link for great room rates.

Ok, bye bye Sydney, Gold Coast here I come.

I had to return my company car so my transport consisted of my little red Moke. Do you like my impersonation of the “White Knight” at the Watson’s Bay Hotel?

Di Parkinson & Madison

Di Parkinson was my beautiful ex girlfriend from the 70s, Madison was my beautiful German Shepherd. For the first 3 months I rented a house at Carrara from my good friend Peter Lewis before buying a house at Sorrento.

Jim Cox & Larry Wilson

Jim was a friend of mine in Adelaide when I lived there in the 70s, Larry was a solicitor in Southport and was responsible for me taking up golf, I have never totally forgiven him. 🙂

Relocate Sydney Gold Coast to my Sorrento home

I bought a house at 36 Claymore Crescent and it soon became party central.

Naturally I bought a boat

A very pretty little runabout with a 150 HP Suzuki on the back.

Allison and Winnie

The girls came with me to Byron Bay to pick up my new toy. I had been taking Winnie out occasionally until she introduced me to her 18 year old girlfriend Allison, well I’m guessing you know what happened next. 🙂

Then I had to build a jetty.

Here we are christening the jetty even before it is finished, apologies for the poor photo quality.

The finished product

What a beauty it was, big enough to have a party on, and we did very often indeed.

Afternoon drinks on the Jetty

My new girlfriend on the left was Tanya Rigley, oh my didn’t she cause me some stress. On the far right is George Hoult aka the “Angry Ant”, I bumped into him outside my condo in Pattaya in December 2015. Sitting next to him is Malcolm Pearce, Mick Cottrell is standing and the little guy in the middle is my old mate Harley Bradstreet.

Jetty! What jetty, I don’t see a jetty.

It does often rain a little on the Gold Coast, and the canal my house was on was a long way from the main river. Consequently it would take quite a while for the water to subside after a heavy storm.

Fancy dress party

My great mate Bob Martin threw a party at his home near Carrara, I forget the theme, something to do with camels or Lawrence of Arabia I think. On the right is Don Wenham who sadly passed away in 2016 after a long battle with cancer.

Harley is locked & loaded

This great mate of mine loved to dress up in his combat gear, it didn’t have to be a fancy dress party, he sometimes strolled into a Surfers Paradise bar dressed like this.

Here is Marco

A Croatian friend from Sydney who had more moves than a Swiss watch, Marco always had some sort of scheme on the go, designed of course to relieve somebody of their precious savings.

Such a beautiful girl

This was one of my many parties at Claymore Crescent, sadly a few months after this photo was taken this gorgeous lost her life in a traffic accident, RIP.

Cold beers on the Broadwater

Mike Hughes was an English guy who eventually moved to Sydney. Boating was a big part of my life in my early days on the Gold Coast.

A couple of hot European ladies

Another day on the Broadwater, on the right is Tova.

Adelaide 1988

Jim Stanbury & Suzie in Adelaide, I was there for the Formula one in 1988, Jim used to work for me in Melbourne in 1970.

Come fly with me

I was in Adelaide again in 1989, Jim took me for a spin to Victor Harbour and I actually took the controls for a while.

Talking about Melbourne

This is Dion Ormond who was a successful car dealer living at Box Hill.

This id Dion’s back yard.

How many people do you now with a DC3 in their backyard? 🙂

Allison Schroeder

I clearly remember flying to Brisbane from Adelaide after the Formula one and being met at the airport by this beautiful 18 year old princess. We checked in to a hotel for 2 nights, ordered room service the first night then saw Billy Joel perform at Brisbane entertainment centre the following night November 17.

In case you are wondering how a 44 year old guy could wind up with such a young babe, quite simple really, I promised her the world and bought her an atlas. 🙂

Relaxing on the broadwater

The decision to Relocate Sydney Gold Coast was indeed a major event in my life, I would spend the next 25 years there before selling all my possessions and moving to Thailand in October 2011.

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Australian adventures

Great Ocean Road

Melbourne

Port Macquarie

Sydney landmarks

Australian seafood

Mr Wong

Remembering Melbas

Coober Pedy Opal Mine

Brisbane

My life in 2003

Pattaya live webcam

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 3 photos

Travel Tokyo Bangkok HCMC

September 1, 2015 by David Herd

Japan

Travel Tokyo Bangkok HCMC

Travel Tokyo Bangkok HCMC New York starting with Japan, I’ll list the 5 countries in alphabetical order rather than by personal preference. The photo above is Shabusen at the Ginza A terrific restaurant for Kobe beef, go at lunch time for special prices. Check out my first post in this series here.

The train system is fantastic, from Tokyo it’s a 40 minute trip to Yokohama or 3 h0urs by bullet train to beautiful Kyoto.

One square meter of land in the Ginza center is worth more than ten million yen (more than 100,000 US dollars), making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan. It is where you can find the infamous $10 cups of coffee and where virtually every leading brand name in fashion and cosmetics has a presence. To me Tokyo is all about food, food and more food, interestingly the Michelin guide has Tokyo comfortably ahead of Paris (10 three-starred restaurants), New York (7) and London (2), with a total of 350 establishments making it into the guide this time around.

Kabukicho Harajuku girls Tokyo

Kabukicho is an entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Kabukicho is the location of many host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the “Sleepless Town.” Make sure you check out my post called “Piss Alley”.

I don’t know any other person who has travelled more than I during the last 20 years. Perhaps I can provide you with a few ideas on where to go for your next holiday.

Thailand

I sold my home in Australia October 20th 2011 and have have been living in Thailand since then. My first trip to this great country was in 1980, however it wasn’t until 1997 when I started visiting 2 or 3 times each year. In the early days Koh Samui was a favourite destination, however in my opinion progress has not improved the island, it was far better before all the modern gold shops etc moved in. These days I prefer Koh Chang near the Cambodian border & of course Bangkok is fantastic with so many great bars, restaurants & shopping malls.

Chiang Mai Pattaya Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai tiger warning, the sign could not have been clearer. It was placed a metre from the cage which was at the rear of the zoo away from the other tiger enclosures. It simply said “danger, don’t go past this sign”. Looking back I have done many stupid things in my life and this certainly ranks highly in the “stupidity stakes.”

Naturally I ignored the warning and moved past the sign and put my camera lens through the wire to get a clear shot of the magnificent beast sitting quietly in the pond two meters from my lens. Within one second of taking the photo there seemed to be an explosion in front of me and suddenly I jumped backwards totally soaked with water.

I could barely hear my brother’s raucous laughter from several meters away due to the rapid beating of my heart. The 240 kilo beast had lept from the pond and hit the wire full force with all his four giant paws. My luck held as did the wire, which without exaggeration saved me from being torn to pieces.

I e-mailed the tiger zoo and inquired about this particular tiger. They told me his name was Tone, he weighed 240 kilo and was far too dangerous to allow the public to get close, he was just used for breeding.

United Kingdom part of my Travel tips five great countries photo blog.

So many places to see & so much history. I travel there most years making London my base, then visit cities & towns all over the country either by train or car. Apart from London some of my favourite places are Brighton, Bath, Glasgow & Bradford on Avon. The photo above is Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset.

London pubs Lands End Hyde Park

Travel tips. Great Britain has an excellent rail service, save up to 80% by booking your ticket before you arrive, just click here. London Underground’s Piccadilly Line provides the most cost-effective rail route between Heathrow Airport and the capital, so look for accommodation around Earl’s Court, Gloucester Rd or Knightsbridge. For more information click here.

United States of America

Another huge country offering everything from snow capped mountains to desert, beaches & exciting cities. New York of course is everyone’s favourite however hotel costs are so expensive. I really enjoy Miami with the wonderful Cuban influence, but I must say the last time I was in San Francisco I was quite disappointed by the high numbers of beggars on the city streets.

Miami San Francisco New York

Car hire and internal flights are reasonably inexpensive. In Los Angeles I always stay in Santa Monica where I enjoy the restaurants and Venus beach.

Travel Tokyo Bangkok HCMC Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City is Honda heaven, it is quite a shock when you see the number of motorbikes on the streets, crossing the road seems like a game of Russian roulette. My main memories of this wonderful country are the beautiful ladies and the terrific food. My first visit was twice in 2003 then 12 years later in January 2015. Halong Bay is a magical experience, make sure you stay overnight on one of the many boats, it’s an experience you will never forget. Vung Tau and Nha Trang are two of my favourites places in this great country.

Hoi An Chill Sky Bar HCMC 2015

Warning, when catching a taxi in Saigon stick with Vinasun or Mai Linh for clean honest low priced taxis. Many other companies are rip off merchants who will try to rob you.

Don’t under any circumstances use the company below.

Thanks for visiting my Travel Tokyo Bangkok HCMC photo blog.

Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.

Pattaya Hilton

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

For London & UK hotels there are great discounts through this link.

Please check out these fabulous posts

Gold Coast Pattaya Cinque Terre

Rio de Janeiro Singapore Eastern Europe

Bangkok Bars Tokyo Cape Town Safari

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

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Sydney Melbourne Hunter Valley

June 10, 2015 by David Herd

Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history.

Tyrrel’s Hunter Valley

Sydney Melbourne Hunter Valley

Sydney Melbourne Hunter Valley in 1996 started on the Gold Coast where I was living life to the max. The highlight was a great road trip in my Porsche 928 with good friend Ross Kennedy to the Hunter Valley, Sydney, Falls Creek & Melbourne. Also caught up with an old friend from the Gold Coast Jill McCrossan, one very sexy lady.

Talking about sexy ladies

Well Emily certainly was in that category.

Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish, also note this post contains nudity, so if you are bothered by naked humans please leave now.

Drinks at Saks

Drinks at Saks before going to the Ray White ball at the Sheraton Mirage. From the left we have a girl whose name I forget, then Phil (Swifty) Gregory, Claudia Scrupin, Duncan McGuiness, Emily and yours truly David Herd.

Little did they realise at the time but Swifty and Emily would marry and have a couple of kids.

Great photo, if I say so myself. 🙂

Such a beautiful big smile.

Saks was our main haunt

Saks was a great bar at Main Beach owned by Duncan McGuiness and Steve Solomon. Their main business was building upmarket housing estates. A couple of very nice guys who sadly went broke around 2011 and their company Solmac went into liquidation.

Saks with Eugene and Debbie.

Saks with Eugene and Debbie. This was a memorable night at Saks, I watched as Plugger Lockhart kicked a famous point to put the Swans into the Grand Final.

One of the hottest babes in 1996

I met Donna Turner in Sydney when she was 18 yo, even after various husbands and 3 or 4 children she still looks as hot as ever, especially in my kitchen. 🙂

Hot Hot Hot in Sydney Melbourne Hunter Valley

It is now 20 years later in 2016 and Donna is still a hot chick.

My favourite song from 1996

The technicolour team

Duncan McGuiness, Jim Bell, Ross Kennedy and David Herd.

At the polo

These two gorgeous babes were known as Lushy and Mushy, can’t remember their real names. 🙂

Ami and Alan Pearson.

Alan was a friend of mine when I lived in Adelaide in the 70s, he now earns his living as a musician in Airlie Beach.

Mami & Mariko

Two gorgeous Japanese girls who often called into my home in Upton St for drinks and fun.

I did mention fun didn’t I? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Everybody loves Tim Tams.

Billy James & Allison Schroeder

Billy was a well known Gold Coast real estate identity and Allison one of the sexiest chicks in town.

Allison 18 yo in in 1987

I was lucky enough to take Allison out a few times in 1987 my first year living on the Gold Coast. Although I was about 25 years older than her I used the “tried & true” technique, I promised her the world and bought her an atlas. 🙂

Visiting Tim in Sydney

Ross Kennedy and I took a road trip in my Porsche to Falls Creek for some skiing, stopping on the way at the Hunter Valley & Sydney. I knew about Rossco’s fascination with gangsters and the underworld so naturally I took him to meet Big Tim Bristow at his home in Newport.

Tim’s beast

We were there an hour or two listening to some of Tim’s stories most of which I had heard before many times. As usual Tim’s phone never stopped ringing, but there was one call Ross & I will never forget. Roger Rogerson was in many ways more notorious than Tim, he was known for being a ruthless crooked cop who shot first and asked questions later, the most famous case being where he shot and killed Warren Lanfranchi in a back alley in Chippendale.

Oaks Hotel with old friends

Derek Pugh, Ian Rich & Paul Slaughter, Pauls sister on the left and his girlfriend Clode on the right.

Falls creek, let the games begin.

We had a terrific few days, drinking too much and having some of the most spectacular falls ever seen at Fall’s Creek. Little did I realise after this 1996 adventure I would never ski again.

Melbourne

Drinks with Rossco’s friends in South Yarra, from the left Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe Jackson, David Herd aka “The Cincinnati Kid”, Craig Belcher and Johnny Mac.

Yum Cha in Chinatown

This gorgeous girl Jaqui O’Brien actually lived in my house for a few months in 1987, she then worked with me for a short time in 1998. A lovely lady until she had one drink too many, she then turned into a nightmare. Rossco came up with a classic name for her, “Jacqui Petrol”. 🙂

Rossco & DH

The high rollers have hit town. 🙂

On the subject of gorgeous girls

Meet Jill McCrossan, another super hot chick I was lucky enough to be involved with.

Felling no pain

I’m too sexy for my shirt. 🙂

A day at the beach in Coffs Harbour

We had a great couple of days at Tony Murphy’s apartment, the spa was excellent. 🙂

Both sides look great

A great view from every direction.

Meanwhile back on the Gold Coast

Natalina from the coast and Rodney Rosenfeld from Melbourne.

John Sinclair & John Cece

Both these guys moved from Adelaide to the Gold Coast, they were good friends and now mortal enemies. 🙂

Great fun in Manila

Here I am with Simone and Doug Ritchie in some club in Makati. 🙂

Pascal, Junko and Rene

Pascal was gorgeous girl, 1/2 French & 1/2 Vietnamese, Junko is the Japanese wife of my good friend Phil Thomson and Rene was a rather sexy Australian girl. 🙂

And the beat goes on

This is a rather significant photo, on the left is Larry Krausz, a good friend to all of us. It’s now 2017 and he is fighting a huge battle in Robina hospital on the Gold Coast. Larry suffered a major stroke on October 28th in Pattaya where he had been living large for almost a year. Our best wishes are with Larry, hopefully he will recover enough to lead a comfortable life.

Maybe one more look at Donna

Certainly one of the sexiest ladies ever to decorate my kitchen. 🙂

One more shot of lovely Emily

As you can see Emily was a total knockout.

New Years Eve at Mustang Sally’s.

One of my regular Main Beach haunts.

Farewell folks

Thanks for visiting my Sydney Melbourne Hunter Valley photo blog.

That’s all folks

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Check out these great posts

Fabulous Soi 11 Bangkok

French village Breil Sur Roya

Breil Sur Roya devastated

Hong Kong 2014

Bradford on Avon

Coogee Beach Australia

Pattaya Thailand 2013

Amazing Iguazu Falls

New York City

Buddhist Temple Asakusa Tokyo

Pattaya live webcam

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Istanbul Asia Meets Europe

February 26, 2015 by David Herd

Istanbul-Constantinople-Byzantium-Turkey

Bosphorus Bridge

Istanbul Asia Meets Europe

Istanbul Asia Meets Europe, experience the incredible diverse population that coexists in this huge metropolis. Minarets dot the skyline and there seems to be a noisy bazaar around every corner.

Istanbul, Constantinople & Byzantium are three of the names this ancient city has been called since it was founded in 660 BC. However Istanbul may have been inhabited as early as 3000 BC, but it was not a city until Greek colonists arrived in the area in the 7th Century BC. The city has been conquered, fought over and rebuilt many times over the centuries.

Bosphorus bridge connecting Europe and Asia was completed in 1973, it is the 22nd longest suspension bridge span in the world.

“If the world were a single state, Istanbul would have been its capital” …said Napleaon Bonaparte.

Hop on, hop off

As in many other cities around the world the best way to quickly become acquainted is to ride the ‘hop on, hop off” bus. You can buy a two day pass for about $33, great value.

Istanbul cultures nations religions

I don’t think I have ever seen a city with so many markets and bazaars, I certainly have not seen one with so many mosques, there are over 3000 here and 83,000 in the whole country.

Istanbul Asia Meets Europe

The ladies seem rather excited with their shopping.

Spice market

A fantastic area for fresh food and spices.

Fresh fish

As you would expect the Istanbul markets are chaotic and fascinating.

Fish roll

Fish sandwiches come as half loaves of bread, sliced in two and stuffed with a freshly grilled mackerel, the problem for was the little bones were still in the fish. After eating half I got tired of nearly swallowing bones so I left the rest.

The Turkish name is balık-ekmek, it’s a grilled fish fillet in a half-loaf of bread along with a scoop of alata, lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

Spice market

The Spice market is one of Istanbul’s largest.

Istanbul Asia Meets Europe

So many photo opportunities here.

Istanbul Asia Meets Europe

Everything is perfectly presented here.

New Mosque

Just outside the spice market is Yeni Cami, the New Mosque. Construction of the mosque began in 1597 with it’s reconstruction and completion between 1660 and 1665.

Live entertainment

Entertaining the crowd.

We are the Sultans

Throughout the centuries some of Turkey’s rulers gave themselves some very good names, from 1494 to 1566 we had Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1453 we had Sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror” who captured Constantinople and declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.

The Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

The Grand Bazaar

I’m quite sure the bazaar has not changed in centuries.

Nuruosmaniye Mosque in background

Located beside the Grand bazaar.

Hagia Sofia

Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum.

Webcam here

Hippodrome German Fountain

This octagonal building with water taps around was constructed in 1898. Inside the fountain, there are lovely mosaics which depicts the signatures of Wilhelm II and Sultan Abdulhamit II, the sultan of that time. This fountain was to commemorate the alliance of German Empire and Ottoman Empire against the allied powers of Russia, Great Britain,France and Japan before the World War I.

The Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I.

Blue Mosque from the other side

This amazing mosque was right beside my hotel.

Hotel Spectra

A great location 80 meters from the Blue Mosque, in fact the first photo above was taken from the hotel restaurant. The food is reasonable, the rooms are nice & the staff are very helpful. As usual I booked through Agoda and got a great deal. To clarify my take on food and wine in Istanbul, Wine is very drinkable , but the food was not to my taste, in my top 5 cities for food you have Tokyo, New York, Bangkok, Cape Town and Sydney, Istanbul would struggle to make the top 50. Here is an example to back up my comment, while paying my bill at the hotel restaurant I noticed the waiter and the barman were eating some nice looking food. I asked what is was because it did not seem to be anything on the menu. They said it is not from the kitchen here, we order from outside and they deliver, I rest my case.

Wine with dinner at the Spectra Hotel

The Turkish wine was very good indeed.

Galata Tower

On the hill in the distance is the Galata Tower, called Christea Turris by the Genoese, it’s a medieval stone tower in the Galata/Karaköy quarter of Istanbul. The boat above is a much nicer sister ship of the rust bucket that I spent 4 hours cruising on along the Bosphorus.

A couple of blocks from the Hotel Spectra

There are many interesting streets to wander near the Hotel Spectra.

The local police station

It certainly does not look like a police station.

Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul.

Nice Istanbul bar

A nice spot for a few drinks before dinner,

Thanks for visiting my Istanbul Asia Meets Europe photo blog.

Istanbul, Asia meets Europe, this city certainly has it all. The people are friendly and the city seems quite safe.

Thanks for visiting my Istanbul, Asia meets Europe photo blog.

That’s all folks

Here are some more posts to check out

Sydney Paris Bangkok

Tokyo Rio De Janeiro Budapest

London Beijing Capetown

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you

book through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Plus free cancellation .

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Pattaya live webcam

That’s all folks

A short video on Istanbul riverside.

Istanbul river cruise Part 2

Watch this video on YouTube

A nice river cruise in Istanbul

Post by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com”.

Not far west is the magnificent city of Budapest.

Budapest was united from three cities in 1873 and seven years later the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative…

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Monday, March 23, 2015

Check out my blog on the entire trip.

A stand out feature of this trip was my selection of hotels and apartments, everyone of them was in a perfect location…

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Thursday, March 26, 2015

Check out these great photo blogs.

Rio beach babes

Florianopolis Brazil

Bangkok river ferry

Fabulous HCMC

Amazing World Food

Lyme Regis Jurassic coast

Hiroshima Japan

Sydney Harbour

Lake Como Lake Garda Italy

Pattaya live webcam

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Thailand Brazil England Gold Coast

November 26, 2014 by David Herd

This is not part of my travel blog just my personal photographic history.

Thailand Brazil England

Thailand Brazil England 2009 are not included in this post, they are trips I made through this year, as well as visiting Sydney in November. Brazil was another great experience which included a fascinating tour through Rocinha Favella. My England trip included Lands End, as well as St Ives & the nice seaside village of Lime Regis.

So although Thailand Brazil England are not included in this post you can access them by clicking on the above links.

Seaway with Labrador in the background.

If I had the money this is the type of boat I would like to own.

Gold Coast Turf Club

It’s Melbourne cup day and my good friend Phil Thomson & I join the happy crowd which is a long way from Thailand Brazil England. 🙂

At the races with good friend Phil Thomson

The guy lurking in the background is Norm Jenks who is originally from Melbourne.

Carolyn Clarke, an old girlfriend from 1994.

Carolyn is a super girl with a great personality.

Semi trailer that turns into a bar.

The VB semi trailer is at the track.

My nieces Laura and Elyssa.

Here we are on Chevron eating fish and chips at Frank’s seafood shop.

Jim Bell pretending to be an important executive.

Jimmy was a border at my home for 15 years from 1994 to 2009. He tends to take himself rather seriously at times. 🙂

Dani Tobin, a real wild child.

I clearly remember one night Dani trying to climb through a gap at the top of my front gate and getting jammed. Her screams could be heard for miles.

Super high tide at home

A tide like this only happened two or three times a year, always at however.

Phil Thomson and I had the same model Lexus.

Mine was the white one, even though it was only a 1998 model it is best value car $ for $ I have ever owned.

One of my lovely Japanese borders

Tall and beautiful.

Old friend from the 80s.

The shortest lady in the black top is Teresa Hamilton-Smith who was one of my girlfriends in Sydney in 1982, that’s her daughter on the right & on the far left is her sister Lexi Hamilton-Smith. Terry is married to an English guy & now lives in the U.K.

Flashback to Teresa in 1982

At my home in Drummoyne with Helen Burke.

For some great 1982 memories just follow THIS LINK.

Huge storm at my home.

We really get some spectacular storms on the Gold Coast, this one was a beauty.

Here is my Brother Ian & family

Adam, Shane and Ian Herd with grandfather Laurie Poulton.

Tony Murphy & I have coffee

Tony & I have been friends since the early 80s, of course I now live in Thailand but when I visit the Gold Coast Tony & his wife Nikki always find a bed for me in their lovely home.

Melbas on the Park

Drinks at Melbas with old friend Lloyd Ross.

For a good hotel is a great location on the Gold Coast use THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

My brother Warren with his good friend Lenny

Sadly in 2016 we lost our good friend Lenny Schorsy after his brief battle with cancer, RIP.

I’m sorry if I misled you with the title Thailand Brazil England, it really is about my life in 2009.

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Australian adventures

Great Ocean Road

Melbourne

Port Macquarie

Sydney landmarks

Australian seafood

Mr Wong

Remembering Melbas

Coober Pedy Opal Mine

Brisbane

My life in 2003

Pattaya live webcam

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 3 photos

Flying high fifty years old

November 17, 2014 by David Herd

This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history .

Flying high fifty years old

Flying high fifty years old living in Surfers Paradise, working for Metway bank & living life to the max. A great trip to Berlin & Prague with a stopover in Bangkok on the way home. Helen & Helenka are in the photo having Birthday drinks at Broadbeach tavern, can’t remember the name of the girl on the left.

I’m also getting a great buzz re-visiting some of my fantastic years. Some of the photos contain nudity & certain comments may offend the narrow minded, so if you are in this category it’s probably best to close the page & move on.

Flying high fifty years old with my great old friend Harley Bradstreet

Harley and I have been friends since about 1968.

Female bouncer at Cocos.

This well built is the only female bouncer I have seen working in a nightclub. As you can see she took no nonsense from Harley. Then again Harley could talk underwater with a mouth-full of marbles so she may have just been trying to shut him up. 🙂

Stacy at Rio’s in Orchard Avenue

Stacey was absolutely gorgeous.

Georgie, Sonya & Dave Hamilton.

Dave was the owner of the club, a wild Scotsman who was always getting himself into trouble, mainly street fighting. Sonya was a Kiwi who was as mad as a snake. Georgie was a gorgeous blonde singer from Perth.

Steve Jones (RIP) & Dave Barnes (RIP)

Sadly both these lads have passed away, Dave in early 2016 and Steve about 10 years prior to this.

Beautiful Kelly Davis

For a few months in 1993 I was lucky enough to be taking out this gorgeous lady. This is proof that I was flying high in 1993.

Kelly Davis

Say no more.

Japanese for dinner

Great dinner opposite the casino at Broadbeach with Kelly Davis, Sandy Ansell & Helen Burke. Kelly & I went home by boat, I dropped anchor in a quiet part of the river & enjoyed one of the most memorable hours I have had with any woman in my life. 🙂

Happy friends at Marina Mirage

On the left is an American guy called Henry Geller, 2nd from the right is Tony Sweurs a guy I knew in Sydney who is now living in Belo Horizonte in Brazil.

Jill McCrossan with Tony Sweurs & Lorana from Brazil

What time can we start having fun?

Andre Buzek on Chevron Island

Andre was one of my best friends and a total party animal. He told everyone, especially the cute girls he was French when in fact he was from Prague in Czechoslovakia, sounded more sophisticated I guess. 🙂 Sadly within a years of this photo being taken he lost his life in a car accident in Cuba.

Andrea from Rio de Janeiro & Andre Buzek

One two occasions when Andre traveled to Rio de Janeiro he bought back to Australia an exotic Brazilian girl for a holiday. Andrea was fairly calm compared to the one he bought out the following year who was younger and wilder.

Flying high fifty years old with Andrea from Rio.

Here is a funny story, I had a day scheduled to visit Metway bank branches in Lismore & Ballina so I generously took Andrea with me to see some of the Australian country. We stopped for lunch in Byron Bay and were hitting it off famously. Knowing the reputation of many Brazilian girls I made sure we arrived back at my home a couple of hours before Andre finished work. Well it took no more than 10 minutes for this gorgeous tall Brazilian to shed her clothes & drag me into the bedroom. By the time Andre arrived to take her home we were composed and innocently awaiting his arrival. 🙂

Coral Knowles, Andre Buzek & Helen Burke.

One of my favorite photos, Andre’s eyes always lit up around attractive females. Also around some that were not so attractive, it never mattered to Andre as long as they were female & breathing. 🙂

Eddy Bonaventure , Jill Mc Crossan & Andre Buzek

WOW! Did we have some fun in those days? Yes we did, you better believe it. 🙂

Flying high with the Melbourne girls

The parties & barbecues seemed to never stop all through the fabulous 1990s.

Another Sunday lunch at home

A typical lunch at Upton St.

Two beautiful Koreans

I feel like a rose between 2 thorns. 🙂

The big guy is Graham LaRoche aka Biff.

Harley & Biff are with another one of the lovely Korean girls who enjoyed out parties. There is a terrific story about these two guys on my 1982 post called New Year’s Eve 1981, the Great Escape.

Another Sunday lunch at my home.

You will notice how Harley always like to dress up in his army fatigues.

My favourite song from 1993

Winnie Andre & Harley.

Winnie was from South Africa, she loved a party. Andre of course was always in the thick of the action. Harley in this photo looks a lot like Col Gaddafi.

Eugine Korin has company at Kooralbyn

Kooralbyn was a great gold course which sadly has shut down in the last few years.

Two Tonys Murphy & Bonner

This was Coffs Harbour where Murphy was working & Tony Bonner was in a motorbike rally.

Family Xmas at my home on the Gold Coast

Of course this was Xmas 1993, many of my nephews & nieces now have children of there own. Here is a Xmas gathering in 2006.

Family dinner NYE 1993 at Marinas Cove

It was so good catching up with all the family.

Catherine Bonetti NYE 1993

So many women and such little time.

Roberta Aitchison still runs the meter maids

Roberta was originally a meter maid herself, she still runs the company today in 2021.

Crazy Sonya

Sonya was a Kiwi with very few inhibitions, check out the photo below if you want to see her in her birthday suit. However please remember my warning at the start of this post, in case you have forgotten……

Sonia in all her glory

Andre is also going nuts on the slideshow, check it out before they censor it. 🙂

I told you he was crazy

I will never forget you old mate.

Sexy Suzie is on the slide show as well.

She was as cheeky as they come. 🙂

Why wait, here she is. 🙂

Just like little apples.

Sexy Jill Mcrossan

Jill was a lovely sexy lady who was always fun to be with. She now lives in Sydney and I bumped into her at Manly about 3 years ago.

Patpong Road Bangkok

On my way home from Prague & Berlin I stopped in Bangkok to meet my dear mother who was on holidays there with a friend. Naturally I had to visit Patpong for some R & R.

At Coolum with Robert Allemby

May as well finish where I started, playing a round at Coolum with Robert Allemby, is that like 15 minutes of fame. 🙂

Henry from California & Kelly David

Lunch with nice people.

Once again, so many women & such little time. 🙂

Oh well, a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. 🙂

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Jump forward 21 years and I’m still flying high, click here.

Post by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com”.

Before you go have a look at 1997 in Bali.

Post by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com”.

Australian adventures

Great Ocean Road

Melbourne

Port Macquarie

Sydney landmarks

Australian seafood

Mr Wong

Remembering Melbas

Coober Pedy Opal Mine

Brisbane

My life in 2003

Pattaya live webcam

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Australian Gold Coast is spectacular

November 9, 2014 by David Herd

Chevron Renaissance Surfers Paradise

Australian Gold Coast is spectacular

Australian Gold Coast is spectacular, semi tropical climate, 25 kilometers of beautiful beaches, an amazing skyline and lots of good restaurants & bars.

Tall building is Soul & the Hilton

Soul is a 243 m (797 ft) tall residential tower local on the corner of Cavill Avenue and The Esplanade in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has overtaken Circle on Cavill as the second tallest building on the Gold Coast, behind Q1. The building was approved by the Gold Coast City Council in October 2004 and finished construction in 2012 along with the next stage of the Gold Coast renovation project. Use THIS LINK to book a great rate at the Hilton.

Soul on Australian Gold Coast

Use this link for great deals on Gold Coast hotels

Surfers Paradise beach

The tall blue building is Q1 a skyscraper in Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast, Queensland. It lost its title as the world’s tallest residential tower to the 348 metre building The Marina Torch in Dubai on 29 April 2011.Wikipedia

Surfboat Australian Gold Coast

A surfboat is an oar-driven boat designed to enter the ocean from the beach in heavy surf or severe waves. It is often used in lifesaving or rescue missions where the most expedient access to victims is directly from the beach.

Circle on Cavill

Circle on Cavill offers great ocean views and is a good location to spend your holidays, use this link for an excellent room rate.

Light rail on the Gold Coast

Fast, efficient & hard to buy a ticket. 🙂

Cavill Avenue Surfers Paradise

Lots of action here at night.

The Oracle at Broadbeach

The twin towers of Oracle are a new addition to the Broadbeach skyline.

Melbourne Cup day at Moo Moo in Broadbeach.

Moo Moo restaurant is a great place to “people watch”, not bad for a steak as well.

Melbourne Cup day at Melbas on the Park.

Melbas has been my favourite Gold Coast bar since 1981. It was owned by the late Paul Allen one of the coasts most colourful characters.

Circle on Cavil on the Nerang River.

Thank you for visiting my Australian Gold Coast post, it was great to catch up with old friends & family.

My home

I can’t visit the Gold Coast without thinking of my beautiful home I built in 1990 and lived there for 21 years before moving to Thailand.

Here are some more posts on my wild wicked ways.

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

Australian adventures

Great Ocean Road

Melbourne

Port Macquarie

Sydney landmarks

Australian seafood

Mr Wong

Remembering Melbas

Coober Pedy Opal Mine

Brisbane

My life in 2003

Pattaya live webcam

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Home extension budget blowout

October 15, 2014 by David Herd

Doubling the size of my home

Home extension budget blowout

Home extension budget blowout was due to the many changes I made to my original plan. I wasn’t satisfied with just adding a 2nd floor. The photo above was taken just after my home was built in 1990.

Day one the job begins

From here on nothing will ever be the same.

Laying the slab

My builder Ari is the guy with the shovel, one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen.

Dad’s army take a coffee break

Ari and his guys were the hardest working tradesmen I have ever seen.

Seeing some progress with home extension

Starting to see some progress with my home extension, these guys really work fast.

Now we are getting somewhere.

I really wanted to give the home “street appeal” something it didn’t have in its original form.

Brickwork & a fancy door.

Painting the door was one of my jobs. 🙂

The tree has gotta go

It was like losing a friend, I had planted it 14 years ago.

Timberrrrrr!!!!!

There goes my beautiful tree.

Starting to look terrific

This is the point it’s all starting to look fantastic.

Laying the floor

There is no job these guys can’t handle.

The kitchen takes shape

It’s easy to be wise after the event, on the original plans a stairway was supposed to lead from that wall to the main house downstairs, for some reason we left it out which later proved to be a mistake.

Laying Terracotta tiles

The finishing touches.

The downstairs studio $250 pw.

The jewel in this home extension is this fabulous little studio completely self contained with a private entrance.

Beautiful private courtyard for the studio apartment

Quite a beautiful peaceful area for the granny flat.

Upstairs lounge & kitchen

When I look at this home extension which cost me double the original quote of $120,000 I feel it was all worth it. Uptairs consists of 3 bedrooms & two bathrooms and downstairs a separate private studio apartment.

Bedroom & en-suite

OK, so the chair should really have been dumped.

Beautiful courtyard

Quite spectacular at night.

Courtyard & front entrance

I was very happy with the entrance to my new home.

I really love the front gate & entrance

Now how good does that look?

The fabulous finished product

One of main main goals with this home extension other than creating rooms I could rent to students was to give my home more “street appeal” to help when the time came to sell. I think I certainly achieved that.

My dream home

The finished product was wonderful however I made some big mistakes in my overall scheme of things. I did not do enough research on council regulations regarding student rental, secondly I never anticipated the reaction from my feral neighbours who were always complaining to council about anything & everything. These people the Ryan family at 108 Upton proved to be cowardly & malicious. I often wondered why until a policeman friend of mine pointed out the increase in complaints from neighbours always increased after major renovations due to their uncontrollable jealousy.

Finally my biggest mistake was building such a large home which made it very difficult to finally sell. It was just far too big for the average family, without realizing it I had placed myself in a small range of under 10% of buyers. Apart from all that I was very proud & thrilled with the final product, it also gave me a great sense of achievement to design & create my dream home.

Click here for a flashback to my home in 1991.

Post by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com”.

Jump forward to 2007 just click here.

Post by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com”.

Here are some more posts on my wild wicked ways.

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Please check out these fabulous posts

Gold Coast Pattaya Cinque Terre

Rio de Janeiro Singapore Eastern Europe

Bangkok Bars Tokyo Cape Town Safari

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

Check out these great photo blogs.

Rio beach babes

Florianopolis Brazil

Bangkok river ferry

Fabulous HCMC

Amazing World Food

Lyme Regis Jurassic coast

Hiroshima Japan

Sydney Harbour

Lake Como Lake Garda Italy

Pattaya live webcam

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Home Gold Coast 1990

October 10, 2014 by David Herd

Part of my personal online photo albums, as opposed to my FiveStarVagabond travel blog.

Home Gold Coast 1990

Home Gold Coast 1990 was a great thrill for me, I also completely designed the layout & drove the builder crazy by checking the progress every day. The address is 106 Upton St Bundall, QLD Australia 4217.

This post also features many of the terrific people I crossed paths with in 1990. Apologies for the poor quality photos, it was very early day for digital cameras.

Dream home 1990 & a new boat

I was working for Metway Bank & took out a loan to build the house, the interest rate was 12.5%, can you believe it? I also still owned my previous home in Claymore Crescent Sorrento.

Followed by new girl. 🙂

Karen Greenwood was a Kiwi & we spent the next 12 months or so together.

My favourite song from 1990

Madison & my car fleet completed the set. 🙂

My best friend Madison & my Mini Moke came with me in January 1987 when we moved from Newport Beach in Sydney to Surfers Paradise.

At Coolum with Ross Radford & John Sprouster.

These two great guys were my bosses, John was GM at Macdougals Ltd at 58 Clarence St Sydney which was my first selling job in office equipment. Ross owned Sanyo Office Machines & sent me to Adelaide in 1972 then Melbourne in 1974.

Helen Burke at Coolum golf resort

This lovely lady really knew how to have fun., + she had a fabulous pair of Bazookas.

Bryan Dart, Greg Hughes & Wayne Jones

We often played golf as I was a member at Sanctuary Cove, Greg forever the village joker took my putter and had it shortened by 4 inches. Next time we played I couldn’t understand why they seemed to be laughing & giggling each time it was my turn to putt. Being a fairly average golfer I never noticed the difference. 🙂

Amanda Kathy & Christy

Three beautiful Surfers Paradise princesses.

Boating to Sanctuary Cove

Taking Kathy Amanda & Christy to a party in Sanctuary Cove at Peter Hesky’s waterfront villa.

Dave Alen at Melbas

Dave is the son of Paul Alan the owner of Melbas nightclub & restaurant.

NYE at Melbas with gorgeous Simone.

Another great year is almost over.

New Years Eve 1990

Narrelle one of the gorgeous girls working at Melbas and my old friend Harley Bradstreet.

Tony Fasio & Steve Jones, RIP.

Tony was the manager at Melbas & big Steve one of the bouncers, Steve sadly passed away far too young in the late 90s.

Surrounded my lovely ladies on New Years Eve.

Life is hard in Surfers Paradise but someone has to do it. 🙂

Happy group at my home for dinner

Tony & Narrelle & the other names I can’t recall.

Derek Pugh & I in Sydney

Derek & I worked for MacDougalls in the late 60s.

Paul Slaughter with Clode & Ian Rich.

Xmas day in Sydney with my brothers.

Ian, Bryan & Warren, the only one missing as usual was Neale.

The Herd clan at Kihilla Rd Auburn for Xmas.

Most of them now in 2014 have children of their own.

A rose between two thorns.

More like a thorn between two roses. 🙂

Tony Murphy & Graham Hughes

Cold beers at my home in 36 Ckaymore Crescent Sorrento just before moving into my new home.

The end of another exciting year.

Thanks for visiting my Building dream home Gold Coast 1990 photo blog.

After building my dream home 1990 I lived happily there until October 2011 & then moved to Thailand.

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Here are some of my most popular posts.

Pattaya live webcam

Beautiful Brazilian beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Nana Plaza Bangkok sex sin sleaze

Sexy Cherry Bar babes Pattaya Thailand

Tim Bristow Iron-Bar Freddy Tropical Joe

Atlantic Bar North Pattaya

Sexy Soi Cowboy Bangkok

Beautiful Budapest

Australian seafood

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Friends family Surfers Paradise

September 29, 2014 by David Herd

Breakfast at Main Beach

Friends family Surfers Paradise

Friends family Surfers Paradise starting with my brother Warren his lovely daughter Laura & his friend we call Mumbles. Another incredibly busy year for travel including Belem at the mouth of the mighty Amazon , Fortaleza on the north coast of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Buzios, Cabo Frio & another great trip to Tuscany & Portofino.

Two trips to Sydney including a terrific family Xmas & one trip to Melbourne for an AFL weekend. Yes, 2006 was another great year.

This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2006.

Lovely Laura

My niece Laura is a terrific singer & dancer trying to break into the big time. She won a scholarship to preform in New York which like myself she has fallen in love with the city.

My beautiful home at 106 Upton St Bundall, 4217

I designed & had my beautiful waterfront home built in 1990, I made a huge mistake in 2004 when I added a 2nd floor, it made it difficult to sell because it was too big for the average family, 500 M2 with seven bedrooms & five bathrooms. Oh well, it’s not the first major mistake in my life and it won’t be the last.

Lunch with Rossco at Omeros Brothers.

Good friend Ross Kennedy & I at Omeros Brothers, one of the best restaurants on the Gold Coast.

Lobster Morney with Rossco at Omeros Bros.

The food here is always excellent.

Dave & Janice Hoskot

Drinks on my jetty with the Hoskots, Janice is an Australian girl & Dave is American, for a number of years he was a back up drummer for Bob Dylan.

A rose between two thorns.

Asuka on the left was a lovely Japanese girl from Osaka who was studying on the Gold Coast and renting a room in my home.

Robin & Les Scheffer, Janice Hoskot & Randy Fuse.

The Scheffer’s & I were good friends for many years, but in 2013 they placed my firmly on their blacklist for various infractions, you will see some others they have also placed on the list in following photos, it’s nice to have company. 🙂

Here is a classic “black list” photo.

That’s Robin at the front & four of the other six people including myself have been banished to her & Les Scheffer’s blacklist for quite a long time, as I said before it is nice to have company. 🙂 This particular day was a happy one, I have a small tradition where for many years on Good Friday I invite friends over for lunch.

Even though I was high on Les’s black list I’m sorry to say he passed away in March 2019, RIP.

Here is our Good Friday feast.

Beautiful Gold Coast fresh seafood & leg ham, salad & freshly baked bread.

Birthday lunch for Noel Smith.

At Carmody’s restaurant at the Southport Sharks club to celebrate Noel Smith’s birthday.

Sadly we have lost Noel Smith. Les Scheffer, Ian Fraser-Smith, John Woods and Ron Collier, RIP.

Xmas lunch at Melbas with the usual suspects

Greg Craig, Mike Nidrie & Noel Smith (RIP) are all regular drinking buddies of mine at Melbas.

Beautiful smile at Melbas

Melbas always hires gorgeous girls.

Xmas lunch, the tradition continues

Xmas lunch at Melbas with Lars Shitterer & Dave Hoskot, I first started drinking at Melbas on January 1st 1982 when some friends & I flew from Sydney after a huge NYE on Sydney Harbour when my boat was peppered with falling sky rockets because I stupidly anchored in the drop zone.

Red wine at Melbas

Sudzi was one of the Melbas managers, in January 2008 we met up in Brazil for Carnival.

Dave Allen at Melbas.

Dave is a terrific fellow & is the son of the owner & founder of Melbas Paul Alan.

Melbas in Cavil Avenue

Follow THIS LINK for lots of memories on Melbas.

Jim Bell & Dave Allen

Jim Bell rented a room in my home for 13 years, that’s what I call a long term tenant.

Breakfast on Chevron Island with Brian Rawnsley.

Brian is a Brisbane guy I met in Thailand, here we are at Tigerlilly on Chevron Island one of my breakfast haunts.

The girls in our footy tipping club.

I ran a AFL tipping competition for 10 years, here we are at the end of year dinner.

And the winner is……..

My great friend Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe Jackson”.

My brother Ian’s 50th birthday.

Friends family gathered for Ian’s 50th birthday, here is Bryan another brother given one of his famous speeches.

Family breakfast on Chevron Island.

Two of my Brothers Bryan & Warren, Bryan’s wife Lynn & daughter-in-law Maisie.

This is Elliot, another little Herd.

Maisie’s cute little kid.

Les & Robin Scheffer marry at Saks restaurant.

A great venue for a wedding on the Broadwater at Marina Mirage.

Wedding guests at Saks.

Niggle Stopsgiving standing next to me is now firmly on the Les Scheffer‘s black list, his lady of 10 years beautiful Randy Fuse on the far right and he sadly are still doing battle. The name Geoff Pilkington’s wife eludes me & ?????

Sadly Les Passed away in May 2020, RIP.

I met these two lovely Japanese girls at Broadbeach.

Their names were Nemo & Nami, naturally I took them home to my house for lunch. 🙂

Vannessa & I at Tamborine Mountain.

It was not the fact she was excited to see me, it was very cold in the mountains. 🙂

Melbourne Cup day drinks at Melbas

David Robertson & Phil Thomson at Melbas on Melbourne Cup day watching all the gorgeous fillies getting flyblown. 🙂

Harley Bradstreet, one of my oldest friends.

Harley was preparing to leave Brisbane after a another disastrous business experience. When describing Harley, Larry Wilson a mutual friend once said “anyone can have a bad decade”. Which fitted Harley to a tee, over the many years I have known him this nice harmless fellow seemed to stumble from one disaster to another. On my boat on our eventful NYE in 1981 when rockets were falling from the sky, who was the first guy to get hit by one? Harley Bradstreet of course. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my friends family & others from 2006, check out the slideshow.

For a great hotel rate on the Gold Coast just book through THIS LINK.

Thanks for visiting my Friends family Surfers Paradise photo blog.

Here are some more posts on my wild wicked ways.

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks