My name is Michael Humphrey. I was born in Blackpool, England, in June 1946, so I'm a Gemini. My mother, Peggy, who died in September 1987, was of Scottish background, and it is from her that I inherited my two middle names: Colin and Campbell. My father, Jack, is a Yorkshire lad and was brought up in a pub called the Isle of Sky, which until demolished, was the highest (in altitude) pub on the Yorkshire moors, just outside Huddersfield.
Being the only Lancashire born member of the family I was tormented by all of my Yorkshire uncles, particularly about playing cricket for Yorkshire. In fact as I grew older I was glad that this could never have happened. Cricket can only be played by Australians and they play it best in England, as the current English Test Cricket team will, no doubt, testify.
I was educated at Claremont Secondary Modern Boys School. After finishing my education there I went to Blackpool Technical College and School of Art attending a Corporate Secretaries Course. This eventually led me a career as a computer programmer with the British Aircraft Corporation at Strand Road in Preston. Here, before I left for Australia, I was privileged to work on a suite of programs that assisted in pricing the legendary Concorde.
In February 1971, I obtained a position with the Australian Public Service, and sailed on P&O's Iberia to Australia. Landing in Sydney on March 31st, 1971, I was flown to Canberra, Australias Capital City, and have lived here ever since.
In 1984 I began working with the Australian Federal Police and will be with them until the day I retire.
In 1985, whilst holidaying in Singapore, I met my future wife, Dang. Dang comes from Thailand and was working in the hotel as a chef. She is the youngest of seventeen children, so whenever we travel back to Bangkok, there are extremely large family reunions, and nights of endless parties, particularly with my nephews, who always enjoy the "sessions" we have.
Over the next few months our expensive courtship survived the tyranny of distance and communication. I say expensive because there was a number of flights between Canberra and Bangkok and then Canberra, Bangkok and Blackpool, to meet Mum and Dad and finally Bangkok and Canberra.
Dang and I were married on Aspen Island, under the shadow of Canberras Carillion, on March 8th, 1986. For the next two years, Dang, I and our wedding guests, would celebrate our wedding anniversary were we held our wedding reception, the Peking Restaurant. Then they all found out what an excellent cook she is, so every March 8th they come knocking at our front door.
Dang and I have numerous interests that we share. Number one would be our liking for good food, no doubt all of our dinner guests would testify to this fact. Other interests include a strong passion for the game of snooker. On our visits to England we have been amongst the crowds attending the World Championships in Sheffield, where we have been fortunate enough to meet our idol, Stephen Hendry. We also have a love of movies, in particular John Wayne movies, and have a large video collection of many other movies.
Dang currently works in one of the local Thai restaurants and I intend to share with you some of her favorite recipes, but the "essential" ingredient you will be missing are the skills that she has developed over many, many years. Most people who come for dinner generally arrive early just to assist in preparing the meal and are amazed to see how quick and simple it is to cook the food. The secret is in choosing nothing but the best and freshest ingredients. Every round bean, snow pea and stalk of lemon grass is carefully examined before it is purchased.