Ken Boddie - Good On Ya' Mate!
Ken Boddie is always a welcome presence on BeBee. He comments extensively, posts on a wide variety of topics, and is one of the most engaging people on the platform. He has the unique knack of lifting the spirit with poetic comments and humorous remarks.
This post is a tribute to Ken.
In doing so, I look at only some of his many stellar posts.
"Australians have a great resilience and positive attitude that is infectious. This optimism seems to surface time and again when the chips are down and life is full of challenges, with no obvious solutions on the horizon. That's when "she'll be right, mate" comes rolling off the tongue and seems to instill an almost instant cocky confidence back into the most distraught soul" he inspires in She'll Be Right Mate.
How's this for an easy to understand explanation of four personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic in Do You Know Your Characters. I think there is a fifth one that suits Ken perfectly - pragmatic.
Humour is his trademark which must be from the mix of Scottish wit and the earthiness of Australia. Two very funny pieces that can only come from the quirky pen of Ken: Try Uber Camel On Hump Day and Feeling Flush.
Then, out of the blue comes this extremely relevant post on improving your listening skills. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Closer! Let me whisper in your ear... Why Not Just Shut Up And Listen!
Viewing his impressive list of blogs, I had a nostalgic read of his very first poem on BeBee, It's BeBee Blogging Time. And do read his touching poem for a sister who is there no more: I Miss You Little Sister.
With his words he has taken us to far away places in his many travel posts, with his pictures even more so. Here is just one of his travels in the East: The Mystic Magic of Central Java. Ken is one terrific photographer: Squarespace.
A year ago Ken posted a flashback of his early working life in the desert of the United Arab Emirates. A time long before the skyscrapers and sprawling city of Dubai as it is today. See the quality of the photographs of many years gone by in Sands Through The Hour Glass, with a much younger Ken Boddie pictured at work in the field.
"Believe it or not Waltzing Matilda, the unofficial national anthem of the Land Down Under, has absolutely nothing to do with ballroom dancing or fair damsels. Rather, it's a tale of woe about a travelling itinerant, who chose an untimely wet grave rather then being locked up for sheep stealing."
Here is a favorite of mine on his "little girl" in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Between all the activity of the race he remarks: "It doesn't matter how many times I watch the sunrise, each one is unique and heralds the start of each day with optimism, before our mental gymnastics diffuse this into a myriad of mankind's earthly moods."
Perhaps Ken is best known for his rhymes, jokes and always warm and appreciative engagement on BeBee. A recent comment of his caught my eye, and says it all:
"I love writers who tell us their own personal experiences, good and bad, in their own words, without ‘photocopying’ the experiences of others; who feed us enough tasty personal treats to leave us begging for more; who, in essence, show us their strengths and weaknesses openly. If I want listicles, how to’s, cold lifeless bullshit chest puffing, and the preachings and biased advice of marketers and self barrow pushing snake oil sellers, I’ll go buy a text book, download a user manual, or go back to Linked In. Keep delivering your heart and soul onto the page, and you’ll always have an audience, whatever your subject matter. "
You do Ken.
Good on ya' mate!
""
in Café beBee
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Comments
Ken Boddie
2 years ago #49
Just a thought, @Javier 🐝 CR . Has your team considered producing/commissioning beBee face mask? Looks like COVID will be with us for some time yet. Might be a good marketing investment, even more so than coffee mugs? 🤗😷🐝
Perhaps a choice of bee on either a black or orange background? I, for one, would be happy to purchase a few.
Bill Stankiewicz
2 years ago #48
Javier send more coffee cups
Bill Stankiewicz
2 years ago #47
Javier is loved in Savannah Georgia bee 🐝 hives here
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
2 years ago #46
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
2 years ago #45
Bebee has come back stronger than ever, thanks to his stumbling but mostly thanks to the belief of people like you who are tireless. Whenever I see this picture of Ken, it gives me fuel to keep working hard for you. In a few weeks new things will come, and we already have ideas in mind that we hope will make us grow as we deserve, and also monetization opportunities for those people who write with the idea of monetizing.
Jan 🐝 Barbosa
2 years ago #44
😁👍
Ken Boddie
2 years ago #43
#40
So glad you mentioned wine, @Jan 🐝 Barbosa , which, like beBee, is one of my favourite indulgences. Not all wines improve and mellow with age, unfortunately. Like us, so many turn bitter and unpalatable if not treated with care and respect. Beware the onslaught of the vinegar fly and the troll and let’s thank @Javier 🐝 CR for the capability to now delete sour infections. 🤗
Ken Boddie
2 years ago #42
#39
I’m so glad that you continue to prioritise time to comment and post on this sometimes challenging platform, @Lada 🏡 Prkic , despite the ongoing challenges that life inevitably throws across all of our paths. I value our interactions and your sane, sober and sensible submissions.
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
2 years ago #41
#40
beBee is back stronger than ever, and @Ken Boddie is still the same or more warrior than ever, which is the best thing that can happen to this platform so that beBee does not relax ! I hope one day to be able to meet these warriors in person. Luck I already had with @Jan 🐝 Barbosa in Puerto Rico.
Jan 🐝 Barbosa
2 years ago #40
Still relevant after 3 years. As wine, its get better with age. 👍
Lada 🏡 Prkic
2 years ago #39
Ken, I will repeat Gert's words: “Keep delivering your heart and soul onto the page, and you’ll always have an audience, whatever your subject matter.” I'm your faithful audience. 🤗
Ken Boddie
2 years ago #38
#36
I sure miss Gert, @Javier 🐝 CR and @Joyce 🐝 Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee Hope he’s keeping hale and hearty. But for those of us left here on this platform, let’s keep this train going onwards and upwards. 🤗
Joyce 🐝 Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee
2 years ago #37
A timeless piece for sure and as true today as yesterday.
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
2 years ago #36
I am very grateful to @Ken Boddie and to all of you who continue to trust beBee. I hope that from now on we will improve a lot more and give you the tools to make it happen. We are already preparing a very special email notification so that your followers receive it when you write in beBee and do not miss your article or your story.
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #35
It's a refreshing pleasure, Fatima, to be thanked unconditionally, instead of being berated by my kin for my 'dad' jokes. And ..... please stay off the streets .... they're a dangerous place. Only the other day I saw a young fella get knocked off his bike and spill all his scrabble letters on the road, so I asked him, "What's the word on the street?"
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
5 years ago #34
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
5 years ago #33
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #32
Aleta Curry. Well hello stranger. Thought perhaps the CWA had kidnapped you or locked you away to make lamingtons for eternity. 🤣
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #31
I’m guessing your words of praise are in order of the characters, Randy, so that “well de-served” applies to Gert’s table service and “well done” indicates I’ve been out in the sun too long? 🤣
Randall Burns
5 years ago #30
CityVP Manjit
5 years ago #29
Maharajah? You are giving me ideas that will make my head big and then it might explode and the next thing I know the British have taken over beBee 😊
Debasish Majumder
5 years ago #28
Lada 🏡 Prkic
5 years ago #27
I agree! Not just post but the whole comment thread. All the commenters gave their best on making rhymes.:) It's because of Ken who pulls out the best of us. I concur with Kevin Pashuk, thank you for this reminder.
Lada 🏡 Prkic
5 years ago #26
I totally agreed! Not just post but the whole comment thread. All the commenters gave their best on making rhymes.:) It's because of Ken who pulls out the best of us. I concur with Kevin Pashuk, thank you for this reminder.
Gert Scholtz
5 years ago #25
Lada \ud83c\udfe1 Prkic at is verbal best: https://www.bebee.com/producer/@ken-boddie/more-o-me-rhymes-and-other-word-crimes-vol-ii-66872
Lisa Vanderburg
5 years ago #24
A fabulous and fitting buzz here Gert Scholtz for a noble and funny DUDE - thanks for sharing this with us all!
Lisa Vanderburg
5 years ago #23
lol...Dude it is, dude!! :)
Gert Scholtz
5 years ago #22
Gert Scholtz
5 years ago #21
Ian Weinberg.
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #20
hey, Pak Paul. Apa kabar, old mate. In which continent are you currently hanging your travel writing hat?
Paul Walters
5 years ago #19
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #18
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #17
Good to see you back on beNee, Lisa Gallagher. Thought you'd died and gone to ..... Canada. Missed you, Ms Fraser. Hope things are going well and Bill is OK.
Lisa Vanderburg
5 years ago #16
LMAO - I had no clue about 'dude' down under....better call you homey :)
Lisa Gallagher
5 years ago #15
Lada 🏡 Prkic
5 years ago #14
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #13
I can usually guess where the dog’s tongue’s been but I hate to think where this hockey player’s tongue’s been. 🤣
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #12
I'd love to join you in a glass on wine, Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador, but let me warn you .... one glass and I'm anybody's, two glasses and I'm nobody's. 😊
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #11
I’ll gratefully accept your profered knighthood, and raise you, oh mighty Maharaja Manjid. 🤗
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #10
Hey there, Lisa Vanderburg, Duchess of Dude. Incidentally, I thought I’d look up your liberally and graciously proferred term of endearment and was shocked out of my ‘budgy smugglers’ to find suggestions that ‘dude’ means either a whale’s penis, a camel’s penis or a hair on an elephant’s bum. Hate to think what ‘dudess’ might mean. 🤣😂🤣
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #9
LOL. Scratch me behind the ear, Bill King, and I'll continue to bark. Heck, I might even lick your face. 🐶
CityVP Manjit
5 years ago #8
Lisa Vanderburg
5 years ago #7
Lisa Vanderburg
5 years ago #6
Jerry Fletcher
5 years ago #5
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #4
Ian Weinberg
5 years ago #3
Pascal Derrien
5 years ago #2
Gert Scholtz
5 years ago #1