St Thomas. Time with friends


Sun 22 Feb 2009
Tip of the day: Baby grands belong in grand houses, not hallways.

Having made my way to the Canadian town of "London". Yep they have one too, I was warmly greeted by Troy and Tamara, guests on board Dot.Com back in November 2007. They were travelling Australia at the time, wanting to get married there were rapidly running out of time and money….

Now we were together again. They quickly established that I was to stay as long as I want, I was shortly there after seated in their favourite sports bar tucking into burger's and fries.

There was much to catch up on… Troy was an avid fisher person while on board, having lost lures, lines, hooks, sinkers, and other stuff in the endless quest to land the big one. Amongst his catch, he finally was able to list "shark", with the related photo pride of place on the mantle piece.

Luckily, in the days prior I had already started absorbing the local culture into my veins, one pitcher at a time while wedging eyes open with matches to maximise my Ice Hockey viewing. This allowed Troy and I to settle into the obvious possy on the couch for some of the broadcast action complete with Leafs jersey and local brew. Ice Hockey is religion in Canada, no its bigger than that. I mean they are more likely to go to war over Ice Hockey than border invasion.

Troy is one of the most genuine, fun loving guys I have met. Tamara is one of the nicest, caring young ladies that I have had time with. Tam is now also expecting, which added to the Canadian house hold bliss.

Downstairs, now that was another matter. Sarah, close friend of the Prevs, massage therapist she is a breath of fresh air, actually that is the wrong term. Sarah loves life, loves a chat, loves her dog and loves to leave her shit lying around. Picture a one bedroom apartment post tornado and you have a good base layer. Add a baby grand wedged in the front hall. Upon enquiry it was confirmed as a relic of an un-started music career. Never mind that, access to the apartment proper was through a small hole made with a small axe, a tomahawk perhaps it appeared on closer inspection. There, the kitchen was a mountain of Tim Hortons cups that were stacked to near the ceiling. This would not be so bad if not for the flock of chickens that had taken residence in nooks and crannies of something so awesome in scale that it compares with something that you would expect to have crawling with archeologicalists. The scratching of the chickens was entertaining at least, occasionally they would turn up something of interest, an old bike, an unmatched shoe or a distant relative lost during a visit some days ago. The television was on the always, but this was much more interesting. :-)

Never mind the tall stories, the double apartment action was good enough to rival 'Friends", and friends  I certainly had. Chilling during the self-time with a bit of Internet, courtesy of some hot spot down the road, the rest was action stations. Bowling, local restaurants, play with the dogs, a trip to the nearby icy shores of Port Stanley, a road trip to Niagara falls, dinner at the folks place. It was always wonderful, fun and lighthearted. What more could you want??

John Nayler

Digital Marketer. Sailor. Speaker





John Nayler

Brisbane, QLD

0407 15 13 11

John Nayler

In a world where it is critical to cut through the noise and stand out, John Nayler quietly delivers significant competitive advantage through an in-depth knowledge and intense fascination with content, information and the digital world. Describing his first contact with the internet in 1998 as ‘Love At First Sight’, John successfully created the laptop lifestyle before it was a buzzword, growing a highly regarded digital and media agency, inventing and commercialising products, and launching niche magazines, from aboard his boat in the Whitsunday Islands – one of the most sought after island locations in the world. Competitive advantage is a hard-contact, tactical game which can be won or lost in the digital space. John’s education and commitment to his field, and experience at the forefront of marketing and management in the IT space, delivers an innate understanding of how to position, communicate and leverage to deliver improved visibility, lead flow, and ultimately drive sales and profitability...