A wise man once said, "why steal our songs, when you could write your own ?"

Matthew has taken this thought on board, and is trying to find the time to do just that - writing songs, playing music and generally grooving, man. While there is no official band as such currently, he does get his live performance fix by playing for either the under 5's or the over 65's age brackets, or at his brothers wedding. Unfortunately, gigs have been few and far between over the last year.

Sales of River to the Sea have been constant, and Matthew is continually looking for further opportunities. Many digital retailers sell River to the Sea around the internet - a google search will reveal several of them. A musical highlight of this year is that the "new" ambient relaxation album - Sea to Sky - has finally been completed and pressed. Musically, Sea to Sky was finished a year or two ago, but funds have been lacking to actually press some CDs. However, in the middle of the year, Robyns work, The Leprosy Mission, ordered sufficient quantities to justify a small print run.

While still working full time at the National Australia Bank in some sort of confusing and incomprehensible IT role, Matthew continues to dream about retirement, world travel, having fun with his wife and kids, international musical fortune (not fussed about the fame), and occasional thoughts of global domination through property acquisition.

Renovations at home tend to keep many weekends busy - the old second bathroom has almost been replaced - only patching some holes and painting are yet to be done. A water tank has recently been added - this involved much swearing and the creative merging of an angle grinder and a steel downpipe. Two big rain downpours and 2250 litres later the tank is almost full - surprisingly quickly really, given the drought here in most of Australia. Painting the house exterior is the next major task, but doubtless Management has plans for many other projects.....

A new computer purchase was going to be a catalyst for more inspired musical creation. However, so far, it has sporned an interest in websites, and the creation thereof. This has meant a fair amount of time has been spent playing with websites and related internet stuff. The beginnings of a side project have begun to emerge : www.DIYWebSitesByMatt.com and http://www.ResellerByMatt and www.MattsWeb.com.au and www.domainsbymatt.com. This has kept him busy, and spending far too much time in front of the computer.