Happy Commonwealth Day 2024!

Today was a special day for my family.

I hope it's OK to share my enthusiam on LinkedIn - I am not on any of the social-books, insta-bytes or snap-toks - and this is the closest I get to a blog. I am also celebrating my birthday today, and so indulging in my second ever LinkedIn article. I hope you enjoy the read and some of the ideas are helpful for you and your family.

Firstly - some background that was floating around my head... both literally & figuratively:

• Last night I enjoyed a whiskey night at Perth Cathedral with a great bunch of people - something different to celebrate my birthday and another lap around the sun.
• Waking up today - I found out it marks the solemn occasion of the 2nd Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's passing from this world.

Yesterday I found out from ABC Radio National that the UK apparently doesn't have a national day of celebration[0]. Just "bank holidays". That is so sad (and boring!).

• I've never been in the UK for one - though it sounds like a bit of a snooze-fest.
• Is it the UK celebrating bankers taking time off!? Literally a bank holiday? Wikipedia confirms that is what these dubiously named national days are called. I can't it make more sense than that.
• And given it involves banking, my interest in finding our more about it is waning rapidly. I'm sure I must have something wrong.
• Where is the fun!? ... I mean banking is OK I guess.
• But I reckon the UK is pretty awesome too.
• I reckon it really deserves to be celebrated better.
• Perhaps the bankers can share one of their many national holidays to celebrate the UK.
• Or better still - to celebrate that gift of the UK to the world: the Commonwealth!
• If correct - that's a real shame. The world needs more celebration - especially at the moment. Don't you think?
• I am of Australian, British, Irish & Scottish heritage - so I reckon that gives me license to give the UK a friendly gee-up and get a bit more enthusiastic about it's cultural & industrial exports...

So...

Over the last couple of years I've enjoyed spending a bit of time in the UK, getting my head out of technology & the future... and a back into history.

My daughter has also just discovered Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl & Willy Wonka. Wonderful memories.

I remembered a quote from Roald Dahl years ago along the lines of "Parent's have a moral obligation to their children to be sparky". I love that.

I hope I haven't confused it with Spike Milligan. God rest the souls of both of these geniuses.

I hope they have not been cancelled. I am sure there's some outrage somewhere. If so, please glue your hands to the pavement before posting here. Have a laugh.

Anyway I felt the call to celebrate for the UK.

So I dutifully did 13 seconds more internet research and apparently there already is a "Commonwealth Day". It happens in March apparently. So this year either Australia missed the memo or I've been wiped out with family & work. Probably both.

• Either way I decided why not declare today a belated celebration with my little family.
• I figure the UK has done a bit for the world... you know: Magna Carta, the Industrial revolution, the Westminster system of Government, separation of powers, Balfour declaration, the Commonwealth of Nations.
• The Battle of Britain - the indescribable courage of young men flying with minimal training & no sleep to protect London.
• Alan Turning. Bletchley Park. Decoding Enigma.
• Integral contributions to winning World War II.
• Scotch Whiskey. High Tea. Roald Dahl. The BBC World Service.
• And on and on.
• Dr Who. Daleks. Exterminate. James Bond. Rolls-Royce. Mini.
• Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, most of Fleetwood Mac.
• The Verve. Urban Hymns. Lucky Man.
• London buses. Red telephone booths. Post boxes. Black cabs.

So much to celebrate. And no time like the present! So I woke up early, had a cup of tea (of course), and got to it:

• I started with putting the finishing touches a major tech project with a fantastic client & team over in Botswana. Mission accomplished!
• Wonderful to deliver this project in cooperation with Australia's wonderful Commonwealth cousins in Africa - it is going to do so much for economic & educational uplift, and was discovered by an Australian company. I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to play a small role progressing it with great teams across Australia & Africa.
• After that satisfying result - I went to church with my family - and discovered that today happens to be the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Queen of Heaven - today also marking the second anniversary of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
• I have been in a reflective mood. It is a Sunday. I rarely have any free time these days. I can't remember when I last sat down and wrote some proper english prose. Probably during my studies. Not sure this counts as proper English.
• Oh yeah - there's another contribution from the UK.
• The English language! Aah yes - the ocean I swim in - standardised as the canonical language enabling Computer Scientsts & Software engineers to collaborate on concepts globally & easily across cultures... and building things like the Internet, the Web - even LinkedIn!
• Thanks UK for that one also. It would have been a much harder time if everyone had been communicating in different languages and also coding in different programming languages. It's enough of a tower of babel as it is on interoperability.
• Ah - there's another one - Charles Babbage the father of the computer, and his close friend and long time collaborator Countess Ada Lovelace the English mathematician and first computer programmer. Awesome work team.
• Anyway I digress.

Today after mass, we picked up my Mum and went out for breakfast in Fremantle with our family.

• At breakfast I discovered a new type of cold filtered coffee - Mont Blanc - at South Freo Coffee roasting warehouse. It is life changing. You should really get one. I got two. Woke me up after a late night.
• There were also popup shops next to the cafe - my favorite on was "cowboy karaoke vintage clothing shop". Brilliant. My daughters favourite was the pokemon.

After breakfast we went to Southern Cross Care to catch up with my Dad for belated Father's Day celebration. Last weekend proved too challenging - the care staff at Southern Cross care truly are are angels on earth.

• This was first time Dad met his grandson - after an extremely challenging period relocating him from NSW to WA. This was following a health crisis ending that almost cost him his life, ending in ICU.
• Dad's relocation was truly an east-west effort across NSW & WA. Incredible people in public & church health systems working to get Dad back to health and then back from NSW to WA.
• Wonderful people across multiple organisations including both Southern Cross Care and the public healthcare systems of each state - people who care deeply and do an incredible job every day.
• Our family is eternally grateful to too many people to name. They all worked together and made it possible for my sister to fly to NSW and get Dad home while we were juggling a newborn and endless work here in WA.

So today... baby and Grandad were delighted to meet. Really chuffed. Just beautiful!

Baby's nailed his first ever attempt at planting a high 5 with Grandad!

Moments like these need to be celebrated.

Another one - Earlier at breakfast, I had decided to bring some presents I'd bought at the London Transport Museum[2] - a red double decker bus & black cab combo (of course!).

I shared these with Mum at breakfast from my recent trip. She then shared them with my kids. Beautiful. Thank you London for red double decker buses and cabs and making the world better.

And one last special moment... this one straight from heaven.

Earlier in the day - outside Church - a little girl was helping her Mum fund raise for "Aid to the Church in Need"[1]. More info on this incredible organisation below.

This girl was too young to speak - but had bright blue sparkly eyes and you could see a lot was going on in her mind.

After I had purchased some gifts, the little girl decided I needed an extra wooden crucifix, and handed me one.

I had no idea who I'd give it to - though I took it as a sign and gratefully accepted it.

Prior to this I'd never heard to Aid to the Church in Need. I've since learned it is an incredible mission & charity.

This initiative was founded in Christmas 1947 by a young Dutch priest in Germany following the utter devastation of World War 2 in Europe. Today it is active in supporting social assistance, education & healthcare - assisting the 200 million Christians around the world who are unable to practice their faith. Wow. Thank you tolerance.

With Pope Francis in Indonesia and South East Asia - and taking concrete steps toward interfaith peace & harmony, and ecological responsibility in stewarding our planet's resources - this was a timely reminder of the ongoing work required to promote & protect peace and harmony in the World. Without which there's not much point talking about conservation.

Thank you Commonwealth for promoting religious tolerance & understanding - and thank you QEII especially for tireless work protecting & promoting peace and the Commonwealth.

So anyway when breakfast was finished with Mum, we were about to head to see Dad.

My wife suggested I give the crucifix from the clever little girl to my Mum.

Mum was thankful, but politely declined. So I suggested perhaps she consider giving it to Dad - given his health challenges and as he is now in a care facility with Southern Cross Care.

Mum and Dad separated when I was young and have not properly talked since.

So I was very moved to be able to share this gift from this girl and from Mum with Dad when I arrived. Especially given his current condition.

A very special moment and a powerful sign of reconciliation & peace. The world needs more of that.

So thank you little girl. And thank you God for the wonder of creation. Like that clever little girl.

A final idea - maybe we could move the date of Commonwealth Day to 8 October - to celebrate the life, love, legacy & achievements of Queen Elizabeth II and all that HM did for the Commonwealth and the World.

So there you go. Happy Commonwealth Day people. Thanks UK for all these contributions.

You should really celebrate yourselves more... and bank holidays a whole lot less.

No country is perfect of course, and there's a lot that hasn't been great over such a long span of history. But this is not the point of this article. The point is to be grateful for everything that is so wonderful, and that has made the world so much better through the Commonwealth of Nations.

The British parts of my DNA compel me to apologise for being several months late in celebrating this day I did not know existed. Whereas the Irish, Scottish and Australian parts of my DNA are pretty relaxed about the whole thing - and just grateful for a lovely breakfast, and good weather in the peaceful heaven on earth that is Australia.

That's it. That's all I've got. I hope it was worth the read. Baby is crying and wants Dad. What a blessing.

Share your love around the world!

[0] Please note this lack of a national UK celebration came from the ABC Radio National (note to any keyboard warriors - I only fact checked with Wikipedia).

[1] https://aidtochurch.org/ - Go on, give 'em a donation to celebrate Commonwealth Day late with me this year! They will actually send you a set of wooden rosary beads that have been blessed by Pope Francis. They are a very special organisation I did not know existed.

[2] https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/ - Note to readers visiting London: Go to transport museum. Go directly to transport museum. Do not pass go. Do not collect $100. You will love it.