With special guest:
- William McInnes …
in conversation with Bill Kable
In today’s program we go behind the public face of William McInnes. We do not speak to Max Connors from SeaChange, we speak to William McInnes the Dad from Queensland about his real life love of being a father to his son and daughter.
We get to hear lots of stories as included in William’s new book Fatherhood: Stories about being A Dad. As William tells us, being a Dad is a serious business but it is at the same time a funny, heart-warming and at times scary experience.
This is a Father’s Day special that will bring back many memories for all sorts of Dads and for the children and grandchildren of Dads. There are tales here that sound just like a friendly chat over the back fence, or at a backyard BBQ.
Now William’s children are grown up but they still carry their early life experiences with them. They might be humming an old song they associate with William from long ago or visiting family sacred sites where important family events occurred but clearly William’s fathering is a big part of their lives.
William takes us back to his own childhood and some things that he wishes he had said to his father. Even if the words were not said back then it is pretty clear that William’s father loved and was loved in return. And as we travel through to the present day with William there are going to be laughs along the way. Hearing William is a perfect way to celebrate all the fathers in our lives and also get a few tips on what is important for fathers and children in their relationships.
William McInnes
William McInnes is one of Australia’s most popular writers and actors. His books include the bestselling memoirs A Man’s Got to Have a Hobby and That’d Be Right. In 2012 his book Worse Things Happen at Sea, co-written with his wife, Sarah Watt, was named the best non-fiction title in the ABIA and Indie Awards.
Also an award-winning actor and best known for his leading roles in Blue Heelers and SeaChange, William has won two Logies and an AFI Award for Best Actor in the film Unfinished Sky. He recently starred in the TV dramas Deep Water and Rake.
William grew up in Queensland and lives in Melbourne with his two children.
Song selection by our guest: La Mer by Charles Trenet
The song for William is La Mer by Charles Trenet and he comments in particular about the beautiful words which we set out below in the original French with an English translation:
La mer
La mer
qu’on voit danser le long des golfes clairs
a des reflets d’argent,
la mer,
des reflets changeants
sous la pluie.
La mer
au ciel d’été confond
ses blancs moutons
avec les anges si purs,
la mer bergère d’azur
infinie.
Voyez,
près des étangs,
ces grands roseaux mouillés.
Voyez,
ces oiseaux blancs
et ces maisons rouillées.
La mer
les a bercés
le long des golfes clairs
et d’une chanson d’amour,
la mer
a bercé mon cœur pour la vie.
The Sea
The sea
We see dancing along the shores of clear bays,
Has glints of silver
The sea
The changing reflections
Under the rain
The sea
In the summer sky
She mingles her white horses
With the angels so pure
The sea
Shepherdess of infinite blue
Look
By the ponds
Those big wet reeds
See
Those white birds
And those rusty houses
The sea
Has cradled them
Along the shores of clear bays
And with a love song
The sea
Has soothed my heart for life