Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Birdwatcher by William McInnes The Birdwatcher. This is a story about a bloke who's losing his hearing; a bird that can't fly but likes being read to; and a teenage daughter who doesn't know who to be angry at. It's about a woman living with the echo of illness finding out how much fun it can be to trust someone; a man called Murph who has a secret; and Perry Como. It's part love story, part Hot Diggity moments of discovery, whether they happen in a rainforest or while sitting on a verandah, or in somebody's heart. It's about cold outdoor showers and people not quite being complete. But, most of all, it's about giving yourself the gift to be still while you wait for the lights to change or the rain to stop, so you have time to think. For all of us, there are memories and secrets that can change our lives. If we let them. Genre: General Fiction. William McInnes and The Birdwatcher. William McInnes is one of Australia's leading actors, appearing in Blue Heelers, Sea Change and most recently in the ABC's drama series The Time of Our Lives . Along the way he's picked up two Logies and an AFI award for Best Actor. He's also a prolific writer. His forte is memoir, Man's Got to Have a Hobby and W orse Things Happen at Sea, which he co-wrote with his late wife, the film-maker Sarah Watt who died two years ago of breast cancer. The Birdwatcher is his seventh book and it tells the story of David who has more time for birds than anything else and Clare, who's living with the echo of an illness. In true McInnes style, there are also plenty of prat-falls, a bird that can't fly and enjoys being read to and even Perry Como gets a mention. Would you like to rate and review this book? Since you have finished reading , would you like to leave a review, letting us and anyone else know what you think of this book? The Birdwatcher. This is the time taken for us send this item from our Sydney warehouse. Allow an extra 2-4 days for standard delivery to metro areas and additional time for regional areas. For more details please see the Delivery tab on the product page. Your order is tracked via Australia Post once sent. Synopsis Product Details Delivery. This item is In Stock in our Sydney warehouse and typically sent from our warehouse within 1-2 working days. Once sent we will send you a Shipping Notification which includes online tracking. Please check the estimated delivery times below for your region, for after your order is despatched from our warehouse: ACT Metro 2 working days. NSW Metro 2 working days. NSW Rural 2 - 3 working days. NSW Remote 2 - 5 working days. NT Metro 3 - 6 working days. NT Remote 4 - 10 working days. QLD Metro 2 - 4 working days. QLD Rural 2 - 5 working days. QLD Remote 2 - 7 working days. SA Metro 2 - 5 working days. SA Rural 3 - 6 working days. SA Remote 3 - 7 working days. TAS Metro 3 - 6 working days. TAS Rural 3 - 6 working days. VIC Metro 2 - 3 working days. VIC Rural 2 - 4 working days. VIC Remote 2 - 5 working days. WA Metro 3 - 6 working days. WA Rural 4 - 8 working days. WA Remote 4 - 12 working days. Express Post is available if ALL items in your Shopping Cart are listed as 'In Stock'. Hi There, Did you know that you can save books into your library to create gift lists, reading lists, etc? You can also mark books that you're reading, or want to read. Lunch with William McInnes. William McInnes is busy with birds, books and sole parenting, but the pain of loss is ever-present. By Amanda Dunn. DO YOU know how to collect semen from an emu? William McInnes does, but he's not telling (although, given the bird's reputation for crankiness, one would suggest very, very carefully). ''It's like being caught on the bottom of a rugby scrum and everyone's wearing stilettos,'' is all he will say, chuckling. ''I'm still getting over it, actually.'' William McInnes says he has no advice about grieving: 'I just think you get on with it.' Credit: Simon Schluter. Wearing brown cords and a blue linen shirt, the 48-year-old actor and writer is sitting sideways at our table at the Anchorage restaurant in Williamstown, twirling his chest hair absent-mindedly and turning his back, for now, on the glorious bay view to the side. He's not being rude, he explains later, it's just that he has sore knees, so it's more comfortable to sit that way. Then he shows off another injury: the middle finger on his right hand is jutting out at an unnatural angle. He wiggles it around, making it jump in and out of its socket, undeterred by the ''urgh, William … '' coming from across the table. Mercifully, lunch hasn't arrived. When it does, McInnes tucks in to the linguine with prawns, chilli, garlic, broccolini, spinach, olive oil and pecorino, while I have the fish of the day: crumbed King George whiting fillets with chips and salad. Later, a friendly waitress brings us a white chocolate brownie to have with our coffee as McInnes, in good form, rolls through impersonations of various James Bonds. My favourite is his Timothy Dalton, for which he walks comically with his gut sucked in and his backside sticking out, as though he's wearing a bustle. The emu semen doesn't just crop up in casual conversation, by the way: McInnes is making a documentary for the ABC on bird-watching, and is also writing a book on the subject. He has finished shooting another miniseries for the ABC, Time of Our Lives , co-starring Claudia Karvan and Justine Clarke, and his latest novel, The Laughing Clowns , has just been released. ''It's been very hectic. A bit too hectic,'' he says. ''I don't know where I am half the time.'' He says he hasn't been deliberately busy, it's just happened that way. But perhaps the distraction has been welcome, because it is just over a year since McInnes' wife, filmmaker, artist and animator Sarah Watt, died from cancer. It was Watt who fostered his interest in birds - she used to love watching them. Linguine with prawns. Credit: Simon Schluter. ''When someone dies … I don't know how you go about [grieving], I mean I don't have any advice on it,'' he says, softly. ''I just think you get on with it, really.'' The year without her has been difficult, of course, and McInnes is now a single dad to Clem, 19, and Stella, 14, which brings its own challenges. But they're good kids, and their friends and schools have been supportive. King George whiting fillets. Credit: Simon Schluter. ''It's just one of those awful things that happens,'' he says. Someone asked him the other day if he felt angry about it, but that's not what it is. ''Sadness is the thing, and I'll always feel that. It's just sad that someone who is talented and so loved [is gone].'' He is comforted by the fact Watt lived a wonderful life, and knew she was loved. ''She mattered. And she still does. And she always will.'' Then he thinks some more and says, ''You can have a broader understanding of what it is to be human, I think, when you go through something like that. Simply because she died at home, we were with her. ''That doesn't mean it's not scary … Not existing is, I would suggest, pretty elementally frightening.'' But it happens, and that is the point of the father in The Laughing Clowns , he adds. The story follows middle-age architect Peter Kennedy as he returns to his childhood home in Queensland - where his elderly parents, twin sister and brother live - to do some work that might change the town. It is a book about nostalgia and memory, an adult revisiting his childhood self, and how those memories can be triggered by something as simple as a smell (in Peter's case it is devon, or ''luncheon meat''). People grow older, McInnes reflects, and become feeble - and Peter's father has done - but they are still the same person. He laments the efforts some people go to ''to look good on camera'' and says he will not be doing that. An actor has about five to seven years in peak physical condition, he estimates - at least as far as the camera is concerned. ''Things are only going to hang properly for a while, before they droop,'' he says, matter-of-factly. Nonetheless, McInnes is clearly still in big demand as an actor, a profession he seems to have stumbled into rather than strived for, coming to prominence in the much-loved TV series SeaChange and Blue Heelers before starring in Watt's acclaimed film, Look Both Ways . He grew up in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, the youngest of five children. After completing an undergraduate degree in law and economics, he enrolled on a whim at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. He neglected to mention this to his parents, instead muttering something about studying the ''history of theatre''. As a result, his dad took a little longer than his mum to warm to the idea of William becoming an actor, but eventually got there. ''He said, 'You might get parts as a butler,''' McInnes recalls, laughing. ''And my mother said, 'Or a mountie.''' Then, he adds, seriously this time, ''There's one thing about acting … there's no justice attached to it whatsoever.'' He's talking about the craft's demanding aesthetic, which dictates that no matter how talented you are, if you don't look a certain way, your career will be limited. Then he adds in his self-deprecating way that he is lucky he is tall - 193 centimetres, or six foot four inches - as ''there'll always be boofhead roles''. He has never been much of a planner, he says, preferring instead to roll with the punches. But he is obviously a hard worker: The Laughing Clowns is his sixth book, and he has a long list of acting credits to his name. McInnes has a considerable talent for accents - well demonstrated during our three-hour lunch, which culminates in him recalling some particularly gauche TV ads from his Brisbane childhood, singing the jingles and chuckling to himself. When asked what his plans are, he jokes that he has a fragrance coming out for Christmas (it will be called Slob: ''the whiff of boofhead''), but really his answer is quite a simple one: ''That things will be as all right as they can be.'' The Next Stage. This blog continues to chronicle my adventures in retirement or the 'next stage' of my life. Join me as I search for a simpler life as I re-learn to appreciate what I already have and to acknowledge that 'little people can make a difference'! Search This Blog. Tuesday, November 12, 2013. William McInnes.. The evening started with drinks and savouries in the foyer of the library. Then we moved to the meeting room which was set up with chairs and a lectern. It's the same meeting room where Sisters of Stitch meet each fortnight. We managed to get a seat near the front and to one side near the door. Waiting for William to arrive. Most author talks are just half an hour; William talked for over a hour! lol. 6 comments: What fun Maria, I'd be taking lots of pics too, and I did think he was looking a little plump! I think he's a great actor but I didn't like his character in Time of our Lives until near the end. It's good to know there'll be more. What a fun evening. I didn't know his wife has passed away, a strong man to talk about that. Enjoy the book. Sounds like a good night Maria. I wasn't aware that his wife had passed either, I knew she had cancer. Very sad. He does seem like a 'larger than life' character, and it would have been interesting hearing him speak. cheers Wendy. Lucky you Maria I do hope he comes to a library in Melbournes eastern suburbs to promote the book - I'll be there if he does. Have you see the ABC program Austion Room that was on tv recently? Both William and Gordon Brown hosted it - replays weeknights at 6.30pm. Cathy. Lucky you Maria. He seems like such an interesting fellow. I always liked him when he was acting. Hugs. Lucky you Maria. Sounds like a wonderful evening. I've read all his books Maria and I think he's a wonderful author. I especially love his autobiographies as he gives us an insight into his childhood. Wonderful passages as he describes his parents down-to-earth (but quirky) approach to life. Enjoy the book.