Very soon I’ll be publishing a new book – it’s called:
The Way, My Way – Posts from a BLOG that became a BOOK that became a FILM.
Catchy title huh?
It’s a compilation of all the posts I wrote on my blog leading up to, during, and after my first Camino, and posts from my second Camino, the Portuguese Camino.
It has an incredible amount of detail about the two walks, including some wonderful photos. It includes multiple “audits,” analysis and breakdowns of gear, personal insights, what I did right, what I did wrong, etc.
Here’s the front cover – it’ll be up on Amazon in a week or so. I’ll let you know when it’s available –
The Q&A tour that Jennifer and I are currently doing is going surprisingly well –
10th Feb – Dallas. 90% sold out. (It will sell out by the screening date.)
11th Feb – Austin – SOLD OUT.
12th Feb – San Antonio – SOLD OUT
13th Feb – Houston – SOLD OUT.
Jennifer and I fly into Dallas on Sunday the 9th and we’ve been invited to a Super Bowl party.
How cool is that?
Today driving through from Santa Fe to Pueblo on our way to a screening in Denver tomorrow night (93% sold out so far) – we drove through some magnificent country in Colorado.
We had lunch at Del’s Diner. It was such a wonderful place – and my Bacon Cheeseburger (hold the cheese, please) was delicious.
Yesterday at the screening in Santa Fe I met up with a Facebook friend who many years ago contacted me, after having read my book, asking to buy a particular photograph featured in the book.
I said I wouldn’t sell it to him – I gave it to him – and a friendship developed from that time on. We met for the first time yesterday at the screening. His name is Troy Buckleiter. He runs a very prominent art gallery in Santa Fe – and our friendship took a quantum leap yesterday.
Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona Such a fine sight to see It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford Slowin’ down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me We may lose and we may win Though we will never be here again So open up, I’m climbin’ in So take it easy…
The iconic song, written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Fry – Take it Easy – the song more commonly known as sung by The Eagles.
I stood on that corner today –
Jennifer and I stopped in Winslow on our way from Flagstaff through to Albuquerque tomorrow, and a screening tomorrow night.
Had lunch at La Posada – an historic hotel in Winslow –
And then stayed overnight at the (again, historic) El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, a town which has been the base for a lot of classic westerns.
Today Jennifer and I leave our home in Mudgee and begin a journey that will most probably not have us home again for four months.
Countries that we will visit are:
United States (45 cities)
Canada (3 cities)
Germany (10 cities approx)
Austria
Switzerland
Denmark
Norway
United Kingdom (15 cities approx)
Ireland (3-5 cities approx)
back to Canada
Malta
Whew. It makes my head spin just writing it down.
We are of course doing a roadshow of The Way, My Way. We have our first screening in Phoenix this Friday, and already it’s all but sold out.
I’ll be blogging here, if not every day then near as I can – and for updates on screenings etc check in here.
I’ll also be using a trip-tracker app called Polarsteps. If you want to follow our journey just download the app and search my name.
How do Jennifer and I feel about it?
We’re excited. Excited to meet new people and renew old friendships. We’re excited to see new places – like Denmark & Norway – and Malta especially! And we’re excited to be bringing the film to a wider audience.
Really, how privileged are we?
I can’t quite believe my life has taken this turn – and it all started by my walking the Camino in 2013.
Hey y’all! (See how I’m getting into the US lingo!)
We have some details confirmed on cinemas and ticketing links for our North American tour. It’s by no means complete at this stage, but our distributors Outsider Pictures and Paul Hudson are doing their best to get this sorted as quickly as possible.
Jennifer and I will be at all these screenings, answering questions after the film – and we’ll be joined by Camino legend Johnnie Walker from Feb 28th onwards, at our screenings in New York then across Canada and down the west coast of the US.
So here’s what’s confirmed so far. I’ll update this as more cinemas come online:
Obviously there are a lot of cinemas yet to be locked in, but this is what’s confirmed so far. Please show the exhibitors that there’s demand for this film and buy your tickets now. That way, we have a chance of this film having a life in North America!
It’s less than 3 weeks now before Jennifer and I begin our first screening on our mammoth Q&A tour across the US & Canada, starting in Phoenix AZ on January 31st.
Please remember, the film opens in general release on March 7th – and it will screen in every town and city where there’s an American Pilgrims on the Camino chapter, and a chapter of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims in Canada.
This Q&A tour is a whistle stop 47 screenings in 54 days – a cross section of venues. We’d love to visit more places but there just simply isn’t the time.
And just to clarify – the Q&A screenings include a screening of the film with a 30-45min Question & Answer session after the film – with Jennifer and myself, and with Johnnie Walker as well for the 2nd half of the tour.
So here’s the most recent schedule – it’s going to be tough on Jen and myself, and Johnnie, all the travel – but we’re going to have a blast!
The Way, My Way had its US premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival yesterday.
Jennifer and I couldn’t be there, so I asked ChatGPT what the reaction was, and this is what it came back with:
The film “The Way, My Way” received positive reviews at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Critics and audience members appreciated its authentic storytelling and uplifting spirit. The movie is a charming true story about an Australian man walking the Camino de Santiago, which resonated with viewers through its mix of humor and emotional depth.
Key Highlights:
Praised for its authentic representation of the Camino pilgrimage
Enjoyed the unique blend of actors and real pilgrims in the film
Appreciated the film’s exploration of personal transformation
Noted for its stunning landscapes and genuine character development.
One reviewer noted the film’s success in capturing the human connections and personal journey of the Camino, describing it as “thoroughly entertaining” and inspiring. The movie’s approach of mixing documentary-style filmmaking with narrative storytelling was particularly well-received.
In Australia it’s New Year’s Day. A time when a lot of people make New Year’s Day resolutions.
You don’t need to! Most New Year’s Day resolutions fall by the wayside within weeks.
I’ve discovered you can change your life any day of the year. It doesn’t have to be the day that starts a new year – It can be any day.
You just have to set the intention.
In November of last year, 2024, I set myself a November Challenge. That’s what I called it. My November challenge consisted of:
– a walk of 45mins or more each day, every day of the month. – No added salt to my food. – No processed sugar, in particular chocolate.
I would do this just for a month, that’s all – and after the month I could go back to my salty/chocolatey/lazy ways again, if I wished to.
Just a month.
I stuck to the challenge and got through November.
In December I found that I had no desire to go back to my salty/chocolatey/lazy ways, so I modified it a bit – – 45 mins walk or indoor bike 6 days a week. – processed sugar was okay if it was in a home made dish made with love.
The interesting thing is, with that November challenge I broke two entrenched habits and established a new one.
I broke the habit of pouring salt onto anything I ate, regardless of whether the food needed salt or not. And I haven’t had any chocolate since the start of the challenge. And I’ve kept the pledge to myself of doing a minimum of 45mins walk/indoor bike 6 days a week.
I think the trick to it was to set myself a finite goal – one month. And I told myself I could revert to my old ways after a month. But I discovered I didn’t want to. Then I modified my lifestyle choices according to the long term sustainability of it all.
Anyway, I just thought I’d put that out there. You can change your life any day of the year!
Wishing you all everything good and wonderful and joyful this year –
Just to clarify from yesterday’s post announcing the release of The Way, My Way in the US and Canada –
There was some confusion with my Australian date format – in our country, 3rd of February 2025 is 3/2/2025. So I’ve re-posted the schedule below and put date and month: 3 Feb 2025.
Also, this schedule is for the Q&A tour only. The film will be released from March 7th in every town and city where there’s an active chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino.
Unfortunately we physically can’t visit every town and city on our Q&A tour, much as we’d love to! As it is, Jennifer and I will be spending nearly 8 weeks on the road, rarely spending more than one night in each place we visit.
It’s a punishing schedule we’ve set ourselves – but we really want to personally visit as many screenings as possible and meet as many pilgrims as possible – and from New York on, we’ll be joined by Johnnie Walker, who has been such a strong supporter of this work from script stage on.
Yes, Johnnie read early drafts of the screenplay and provided us with valuable feedback. I also showed him early Work-in-Progress cuts of the movie and again he gave helpful notes.
Anyway, below is the schedule – same as posted yesterday but with the date format different – and the US poster. March 7th it will be coming to a cinema near you!
And by the way, this movie won’t be coming to Netflix anytime soon.
In Australia, there’s been an 8 month window between theatrical release and Netflix. In the US and Canada it might well be longer. It’s very much a cinematic big-screen experience.
PGS - The Way 
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