Greeted by familiar voices at end of memory lane

Hard to believe I’m here more than a week already with return visits to Sydney and Canberra already fading into the background. Sydney has grown on me over the years and is now one of my favourite cities in the world.

When I first visited Australia all of 26 years ago, to me Brisbane was the place that had everything. Back then, as now, Ireland was in the midst of a recession.

Sydney offers a reflection of what Cork could be like with a decent climate and a bit of creative imagination to maximise the advantages of such a natural harbour. The city is vibrant with the vast collection of towering cranes that once dominated the skylines of Dubai and Dublin now in evidence all over the place.