I had an interesting day on Monday... and as I prepare to share it with you, I wondered what my grandmother would have thought about how the world had changed. Lucy Watts nee Tomlinson came to Australia - Karridale specifically, with her family before the start of the 20th Century. Her father was a blacksmith who worked at the timber mill established to cut karri trees for the wood paving blocks that lie under the asphalt of "the Streets of London." Lucy lived to see the first planes to fly but at the time of her passing in the late 1950's she still saw a trip to the big smoke - Perth, as an adventure that needed planning and application.

I remember well a day in 1962 when my mum, Lucy's daughter Lurline, packed us all in our brand new Holden car for a trip to Perth to see the lights of the Commonwealth Games and Perth's tallest building - the long since demolished 11 story R & I Bank tower.

The trip was completed in a day - 4 hours drive to Perth, a tour of the sights, an adventure on the new Freeway - we, country bumpkins, got lost!, and a 4 hour return trip home. We travelled an amazing 600 kilometres that day and "dined out" out that story for decades.

Well my Monday November 13th, 2006 started at 11.45pm the previous day at Perth Airport on a Qantas jet to Sydney for a 9.30am meeting with a new client in Parramatta. Perth was a balmy summer evening and I was greeted by at 6am by a glorious Sydney summer day. The Qantas Club was crowded as I had my breakfast, checked the emails and then headed out to see the client.

After a productive couple of hours I returned to the street to be great by an amazing Sydney thunderstorm - lightning, thunder, and buckets of glorious rain. But time was marching on so it was taxi bound for the Sydney Airport where a 1.30pm Jetstar flight awaited to jet me to the Gold Coast. And in the warped world of daylight saving I arrived at 1.40pm. The knob on my watch was getting a real workout.

As I walk through the Gold Coast arrival hall there is that familiar "Beep! Beep!" There's a message on the mobile phone - it's my host Lisa saying - "I am out the front... just walk out and I will pick you up."

Within moments I am on my way to Table Top Mountain which has to be as close as you can get to heaven on earth. Green, clean, fresh and as yet unspoilt by too many houses. Here I have a meeting with a group of world leading health people who are looking for some new ideas on marketing... another stimulating couple of hours pass. New friends made... new ideas bubbling in my brain... new hope for people suffering pain and illness if my skills can help spread the good word.

And there is a leisurely 80 kilometre drive to Brisbane airport where a shinny new Virgin Blue 737 awaits to take me back to Perth. The name plate on this beauty proudly claims: "Australia's youngest fleet - Richard Branson". And with the miracle of the Internet and modern communications, I check what has happened at my office, take time to have a great meal at one of the new food outlets at the airport.

The plane is ready for departure at 7.40pm... but someone is missing - there more bags on the plane than people sitting in seats, and that seems to make people a little unsettled.

After a lot of checking and rechecking, and about an hour, so we finally ready to leave at 8.40. And I am a good traveller so the next thing I remember is the announcement that we have started our descent into Perth where it is a delightful 24 degrees at on Tuesday morning at 20 passed midnight.

I wonder what my grandmother Lucy or my mum Lurline would have made of a 9,000 kilometre round trip in a day... and of course I was back in the office at 7am Tuesday.

But I didn't mention did I that last week I was in Auckland New Zealand but that was another story.

And to bring some reality to my life, my great mate Bill McLarty rang to see how I was coping with the challenge of the $5.5 million fine which he had heard about whilst in China a week or so back... life is great isn't it and the world is an amazingly small place.