Long time between Blogs

The last time I blogged I was banging on about train movies at the screening of Look Both Ways at the Melbourne International Film festival. Since then I have been out and about with the publicity tour of the film and my book A Man's got to have a Hobby. I have also come up with a new train movie,Northwest Frontier. An English film from 1958 with Kenneth Moore and Lauren Bacall. There, now that I have gotten my Bill Collins bit out of the way, on with the Blog.

The film seems to have struck a real chord with people and by and large the reaction has been very favorable. Although I must tell you that being out has confirmed a few things for me. One is that there is something about my character which suggests to people they can say whatever they think about me. There seems to be no need or semblance of politeness on their behalfs.

At a book signing in Brisbane where everything was going along quite swimmingly I was approached by a reasonable human being. She told she enjoyed my book and would like a couple of copies signed. she also said how fine Look Both Was and then asked me if I was considering an international career. Ah, well I say, we'll see what happens.

She looked at me for a moment , pursed her lips and said"Well you have an odd shaped nose...Yes it's odd. You're almost handsome from some sides but you know you could use some work"

"Oh really, you think so" I say quite politely.
'Definitely, definitely." she says enthusiastically.
We stare at each other and I nod.
"Right " she says and thrusts a card out at me,"Here this is my brother's card. he's a plastic surgeon on the Gold Coast.He should be able to do a bit for you.Tell him Carmel sent you"

I say thankyou and ask her who I should sign the books to.

In Perth I had the good fortune to lock myself out of my hotel room and having to run the gauntlett of a foyer full of South African rugby supporters over for the Tri-nations game. It would'nt have been so bad if they hadn't have been from the casting agency for big bearded Boer types of South africans. they were all immense men in big jeans , with beards like large shrubs and big booming voices. It wouldn't have been so bad ,but they seemed to know me. They waved and hooted as I walked through the foyer. I had craftily locked myself out of the room and was wearing a rather sad pair of jamy shorts and a rainbow t-shirt a friend had bought me as a joke.

As I crossed the foyer my mates from the Veldt boomed out some quite astonishing bits of advice. For a moment I tried to think where they might have recognized me from, but then happily for me it became quite clear that they thought I was Troy Coker, a former international Rugby player for Australia.

Troy/William was told he was a crap rugby player, like all Australians and that Australia had ripped off the WORLD CUP IN 1992. A team Troy Coker/William mcinnes was a mamber of. I walked back to the lifts, feeling sorry for Troy Coker more than myself and was gained some satisfaction as I enetered the lift and advised the Boers, in the words of Breaker Morant via Edward Woodwood to,"Shoot Straight you Bastards" All the beards stopped yelling and looked quite perplexed.

Riding up in the lift I remebered my Auntie Rita used to say that Edward Woodwood, if you said it quickly enough , sounded like a fart in a bath.