In Australia I will … four words I won't ever forget. They were plastered on a billboard at Victoria Station when we first arrived in London after a train trip from Southampton all those years ago.

On the billboard was the photo of a young family with the Perth skyline behind them. A few months later I found it was part of my job to go to different areas in England encouraging people to take up that challenge. In Australia I will …

We had travelled halfway around the world looking for excitement, adventure … the key to life. And there it was staring us in the face sunshine, employment, a healthy lifestyle … home.

I remember one weekend we had to go down to Plymouth for an information day. It was spring and the countryside was beautiful. The rolling hills of Dorset and Devon, the coastal towns of Lyme Regis and Sidmouth. Finally into Plymouth, the port where Sir Francis Drake is said to have insisted on completing his game of bowls before engaging the Spanish Armada in 1588, where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World in 1620.

It was a Saturday and the blossoms were out on the fruit trees, the sky was as blue as blue. This was going to be tough, asking people to leave such an idyllic setting, I thought, and travel to the other side of the world … like the First Fleeters did 200 years ago.

Inside, there were a series of movies showing life in Australia. Sailing on the Swan River, surfing at Bondi, going to the football, to the horse races, going to the theatre, exploring the Great Barrier Reef. There was the taxi driver taking a car load of people to the golf course, then getting his own clubs out and joining them. In Australia I will …

It was about that moment that the Englishman sitting beside me turned and said: Is it really like that or just made up for the film. I looked at him in his grey suit, socks and sandals and assured him it was just like that … that I had done everything on the screen. What I didn't tell him was that if I had my way I would have been on the next flight home.

Those thoughts came back to me the other week. First at a charity fun run for breast cancer I was reminded me of the importance of participation. How taking part in such an event can not only turn your day – or even your life – around but help in some small way the lives of others.

Then there was Melbourne Cup Day at Corbould Park – again in aid of charity. The relaxed Friday business lunch at a restaurant right on the beach at Noosa Heads. The game of golf with agents at Twin Waters. It all serves to remind you: In Australia I can …