Crossroads of Time

Tyrant Of The Glen

A Scottish village is surrounded by ancient monuments and invisible links to a dark past.

Robbie Brechin had a childhood steeped in British comics like The Beezer or The Dandy. In fact, DC Thomson and its imaginative, whimsical contributors were arguably the most influential.

Early books: Enid Blyton. Robert Louis Stevenson and Rider Haggard. Later: Jack Kerouac, Hunter S Thompson, Graham Greene, Tom Sharpe, Spike Milligan, Raymond Chandler, James Lee Burke, Eveline Waugh, Peter Ackroyd, Hilary Mantel, Robert Caro and Jeremy Clarkson.

I was able to leave the very weak scent of a few of my literary heroes when I landed a job as a trainee reporter on the Campbeltown Courier, landing an interview with Jack Bruce of the rock band Cream. To my joy, that yarn over a pint was published by a special favourite of mine in the last century, The New Musical Express. Hello Nick Kent, Charles Shaar Murray.

In the line of duty (such expenses-paid, junket hardship!) I swapped jokes with Prime Ministers, got to meet favourite rock stars, pretended not to notice the stale breath of an IRA terrorist in an up-close interview in a doorway, was banished from the Royal Yacht Britannia for insolence in a colour article published on the front page of the Adelaide Advertiser.

That’s enough humble bragging from me. And don’t even ask about hobbies. (Whisper: I am a Virgo) Though you mayone day hear in the media of one of my three grandchildren, Kai, Imani and Sierra.

Alphington Bowls Club

Not your traditional bowls club

Peter Rushbrook is a retired university academic with an extensive background of researching, writing and publishing history within the genre of Australian adult and vocational education. His PhD (Monash University, 1995) examined the foundation of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) in Victoria and post-doctoral work over the following decades further refined his pioneering study. Along this journey Peter’s attention was occasionally diverted to consider military, family and biographical history.

For him, life as a professional historian was the fulfilment of a childhood passion for all things history and his career as a senior educator, researcher and staff leader was always considered a vocation rather than a job, so much so that he remained constantly surprised that he was actually paid to do something he really loved. Peter and wife Carole now live a rewardingly diverse life in Central Victoria. He meticulously tends his Japanese-style garden and plays bass guitar within the vibrant local music scene. He remains active as a researcher and writer and is Adjunct Associate Professor (Vocational Education and Training) in the School of Education at Charles Sturt University (Wagga Wagga Campus).