Category: Stories

John Birmingham is a famed Australian author. His most popular work, “He Died With a Felafel in His Hand” consists of a collection of colourful anecdotes about living in share houses in Brisbane and other cities in Australia with variously dubious housemates. The title refers to a deceased heroin addict found in one such house. The book was subsequently adapted into the longest running stage play...

Because this story admits to an element of fraudulent conduct, let us instead treat it as a work of fiction. A very specific, very detailed work of fiction that just happens to line up exactly with my life. In late 1987, my good friend Johnny and his girlfriend at the time, Meg, saw an ad in the newspaper: Casual hospitality attendants...

Back in 1986, I lived in a fibro shack in Olinda with my mate Tom. Our hobbies were simple: smoking bongs, blasting music, drinking bourbon, and playing an inordinate amount of pool. The pool table had belonged to Tom’s dad, and after his dad passed away, Tom inherited it. He couldn’t bear to part with it, so there it sat...

When you’re young, broke, and think you’re bulletproof, you’ll live anywhere. For me and my mate Tom in 1986, “anywhere” was a fibro shack in Olinda. The walls were thin, the corners mouldy, and the carpet smelled like it had absorbed every bong ever smoked in the postcode. Perfect for two blokes in their late teens with low standards and...