By Helen Barber, hinterliving magazine
Just three months after getting married, Chris Dowding and his new wife, Kerryn started afresh by moving from the Sunshine Coast to Ireland.
Both Kerryn and Ireland had a sense of spontaneity that Chris, a shy and retiring structural engineer, had previously avoided in his life. His ‘culture shock’ experience in Ireland was so unusual for him that he began writing emails home about his experiences. The result is Chris’ first travel book, ‘a few Drops short of a Pint’.
It won 2007 IP Picks Best Creative Non-Fiction Award – not bad for a structural engineer turned first time author, eh?
Chris shares with readers amusing and challenging anecdotes about his time in Ireland. ‘A few Drops short of a Pint’ is as much a journey of self discovery as it is a travel journal.
Fittingly on St Patricks’s day, Chris launched his book with a shindig at the Noosa Regional Library in conjunction with the lovely folks from the Written Dimension Bookshop.
It was a great night with Irish fiddlers, home brewed Guinness and lots of yummy Irish nibblies, to be sure.
Chris is currently writing his second book to convince the tax office about the validity of his holiday expenses.
