A Better Day begins - right here

Hello and welcome to you, wherever you are in the world. Let's make it a better place.

I promised a new blog for a new decade and if nothing else it will be new to me, because it is something I have not done before. This is, perhaps surprising seeing that I have earned my living for more than four decades by writing, but the blog is something that has crept up on me - like it has for many of my generation - and left me behind.

So I am trying to catch up because I am convinced the internet will have an increasingly important part to play in the way we communicate, seek information and, quite simply, find out more about each other.

What am I going to write about? My speciality is international current affairs, but I have also written about business, property, science, politics and sport, so my subject matter is going to cover a wide gamut. I have views on all these subjects that I will not be afraid to put across. They will almost certainly offend some people, others will have fundamental disagreements, but I like a good arguement.

I also intend to write about social problems as they emerge, especially from the point of view of a sixty-something, strong, healthy, active male who believes his age is of more interest to demographers and statisticians than it is to him. Because I live here, there will be an Australian bias in some of my postings, but I have travelled and seen much of the world and believe the world to be the most obvious and logical single unit for humanity.

This blog is not a retirement hobby. I am in full-time work and intend to stay there for some time to come. I am a member of a number of organisations and I keep in touch with many of the people you will see on television standing in the background at international gatherings - people whose names are rarely in the media but who often know a great deal more about their subjects than the principals they support. Because of my circumstances I will not be showering you with blogs. I expect two a week to be the average, although there may be more if there are subjects worth commenting on.

I believe there are many people out there who share a vision of a better world and who are in a position to contribute towards it. We must find them, among acamedia, business, the arts, the professions and yes, even among our leaders because they are there - men and women with a mission who have to be sorted from the sycophants, time-servers and incompetents.

Finally, there is a very personal reason why I am embarking on this journey now. All I will say is that in the middle of 2009 I experienced a life-changing event, something that was not pleasant and left a wound that will never heal. It was entirely my fault and I will live with the consequences, but the time for selfish introspection is past. I am ready for new beginnings.

The good old days were not that good; the best times are now, but better times lie ahead if we are prepared to work for them.

Good luck and goodbye for now.