Some chronology for John Joseph Ray

1965




A view of Brisbane, where I took my Senior and did my first university degree



Met Cathy Clarke


With Cathy at Centennial Park; Photo credit: Alex Barnes

I think the above is my favoutite representation of my early life: Of a vigorous young man with an attractive girlfriend

After my time with Janet, there was Cathy Clarke. She was a strikingly good-looking girl. A tall, long-haired blonde with blue eyes and almost golden skin and a great shape.

Despite her generally outstanding looks, she was by disposition a lovely quiet, shy, affectionate girl. I remember her giving me a brown earthenware teapot for a birthday present or some such.

We met at the Folk Centre. I was living at the Perry house in Birley St, Spring Hill at the time. It was only a rooming house but I was comparatively well set up with a record-player, tape-recorder etc. I have happy memories of our intimate times in my room there

She was a teacher trainee at the time.



My time as a soapbox orator

In both Brisbane and Sydney I was during my student days a "soapbox orator". Soap is rather heavy stuff so boxes in which soap was once sold must have been sturdy wooden ones -- solid enough for people to stand on.

The term "soapbox orator" means a public speaker on eccentric subjects holding forth at a place set aside for that purpose to whatever audience he can attract -- generally on a Sunday afternoon. Centennial Park used to be such a place in Brisbane and the Domain in Sydney has long been such a place. cf. Hyde Park Corner in London.

I started to go to Centennial Park on Sunday afternoons in Brisbane to listen, heckle and argue as there was so little else to do in Brisbane at that time in those days.


Doing some heckling on my way home from Army parade

As I had a loud voice and was verbally fluent I decided eventually to do a bit of speaking myself from time to time and I generally had a lot of fun with it for a couple of years. I spoke on a variety of subjects -- not usually seriously.


Speaking at Centennial Park

Webster was the soapbox star in those days but older Brisbane people might remember soapbox orator Ted Wixted (1927-2001) and his arguments against  the Virgin Birth. Ted had a good day job as a museum curator -- mainly concerned with Early aviators -- but did admit that angels appeared to him. He used to call me "Jeremy".


Wixted




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E.&O.E.

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