(Uncle) Allen Dodd

It was always going to be a little odd meeting up with my original Godfather (Uncle) Allen Dodd, especially as I haven't seen or heard from him since I was about seven. But when I contacted him and said that Dunners and I were in Sydney, he seemed really keen - and super lovely. So on Sunday, we headed over to his flat in Darling Harbour and got whisked out for a fancy lunch with him and his wife Wendy. And you know what? It was a whole lot of lovely.

This man, although I don't really know him at all really, made a BIG impression on me when I was really little. I always remember him as being a really big character, really dashing and the best bit - he'd send me postcards from all around the world. He'd be away on business a lot and he'd ALWAYS remember to send me a card from wherever he went. It meant so much to me that I vowed when I left in May that I'd send my brother's kids that I adore a postcard from every country I visited, hoping that one day it would mean as much to them.

So yeah. He took us to his favourite restaurant right on the harbour where I had snails (first time in 28 years) and kangaroo (have it all the time, don't I?) And yeah, it was great. I also found out that he's this hot shot artist. I never knew. The paintings in his apartment blew me away. No wonder I always liked him. After all, I'm artistic - I must have sensed it.