It all started in the back of a Land Rover, a very
appropriate place to begin an adventure. Graham was
off on a holiday with wife, daughter, son-in-law and sixyear-
old grandson, James.
This was not just a drive down the highway. Ahead and way into the distance stretched a road
trip from Melbourne to Bundaberg. An arduous trip for an adult – even worse for a child, but
he was equipped with a DVD player and ten movies to entertain him along the way.
What transpired, however, was a storytelling marathon by Graham, spurred on by young
James, who quickly discarded digital devices for the real thing.
Twenty hours there and twenty hours returning, the stories continued – a hundred or more.
These were not fictitious children’s stories, but real life events in what has been a life filled with
adventure.
Converted into a blog titled Bent Thumb Thinking, the stories are now being read around the
world by thousands of readers. So, from that tiny world inside the Land Rover, where four
people sat listening, laughing and occasionally shaking their heads in disbelief, the audience
has expanded dramatically.
The circle of readers now includes