EXPRESSING THE INEXPRESSIBLE

We were each given a card with a card with a photograph of Oliver on it, taken on one of his expeditions to Alaska as a cameraman for National Geographic. His head and shoulders were covered in a frosting of snow, his face and mouth swaddled in hood and scarf. Though his eyelashes were spiky with ice crystals, his gaze was direct, young and intelligent. 
There might also have been the hint of a smile in his eyes. 

Unfortunately, a recent change in my contract Fairfax Media means I can no longer post my Grey Urbanist columns on this blog until 3 months after their publication in the Nelson Mail. 

However, you can read the rest of this column here on the Nelson Mail website.