Clancy Tucker's Blog
January 7, 2025
1 November 2024 - 'BRAVE JUSTICE' - NEW BOOK RELEASE by CLANCY TUCKER
'BRAVE JUSTICE'
NEW BOOK RELEASE
G'day folks,Well, book six in the 'Kick-Ass' series is ready to hit the bookstores. It's title is BRAVE JUSTICE, and it has involved a lot of painstaking work - due to the subject. Having said that, I do recommend that you also read the five previous novels before you read this book: 'KICK-ASS' TYLER' , 'BETTER THAN SLICED BREAD', 'LIFE SUCKS!', 'GOTCHA!' and 'TEAM SKIPPY'. That way, you will follow Sam Tyler as she encounters life, and a heap of experiences along the way.
DEDICATION: This book is dedicated toall those who
bravely stepped-up tosupport women
who have been raped orsexually abused.
COVER:
BACK COVER:
BLURB:
After weeks in Thailand following the death ofher fiancé, Sam Tyler returns to Australia, having indirectly cracked a globalpaedophile and child-trafficking ring, taught eight Thai kids to swim, andestablished a home for homeless Thai kids – Baan Mick. An old friend of herfather’s, Kitty, has secretly purchased her current office and two adjoiningproperties for Sam to repay a debt Kitty owed to Sam’s father in the 1970’s. Samthrows herself into work, organises renovations, becomes involved in a sexualabuse case against a high-profile swimming instructor, Duncan Reith, and initiatesa class action involving 60 clients.
Reith is arrested and granted bail but flees to Cambodia.Sam alerts the Chief of Police in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Reith is arrestedand extradited to Australia. Criminals attempt to rescue Reith in-flight, butThai police escorts overwhelm the criminals who are offloaded in Malaysia. Witha mass of evidence, Sam is ready for trial until a leading barrister is killedand Sam is almost murdered by criminals. Now she has two bodyguards, but the DPPasks her to be Leading Counsel in the case against Reith, learning that nine ofReith’s victims have committed suicide.
Negotiating a class action with the two richowners of the Sunshine Swimming Centre, Sam offers one of them sad, personal news, but pushesboth men for a fair settlement. Appearing in court with her young clients, Sam callson police and forensic experts to provide credible evidence, her brave clientstell their sad stories and describe how they were groomed and how the abuse affectedthem. Duncan Reith is Sam’s last witness, but she has explosive, personalevidence to present to him.
Will therich owners of the swimming complex compensate the victims? How will Sam honourthe nine victims who have suicided? What information does Sam have on DuncanReith?
Acknowledgments:
Iwish to acknowledge the courage of any woman who has come forward and reportedtheir sexual abuse or rape to the relevant authorities. Sadly, it is said that eighty-sevenper cent of rape and sexual abuse cases are never reported in Australia, and someof my close colleagues have called me a ‘courageous author’ for writing about thesubject. That may be so, but I wrote this book for several reasons. I wanted toenlighten those who know nothing about the subject or turn a blind eye to it. Ialso wanted to encourage victims of sexual abuse to come forward, find a decentbarrister, and prosecute their offenders in a court of law. Hopefully, thisbook might achieve that.
ISSUES RAISED IN THIS NOVEL:
BOOK DETAILS: ISBN: 978-0-9946010-7-0 PUBLICATION DATE: 1 November 2024 PUBLISHER: Clancy TuckerLANGUAGE: EnglishPRINT LENGTH: 348 pagesREADING AGE: 15-18 years EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback and Kindle
CLANCY'S COMMENT: If you have any doubts about the number of women who never tell anyone that they have been sexually abused or raped (87%), read the next few lines and think again. I have four professional women proofreaders who read my manuscripts before I go to print, none of them know each other, but three of the four have been sexually abused. That's a fact, so don't be shy. Grab a copy of this book for your daughters, sons, granddaughters and grandsons. Trust me. This book will command their attention, and don't forget to read the reviews above this post - 'Brave Justice' Reviews. You can purchase a copy via Amazon, and E-books (Kindle) are also available or ...
Email me for a signed copy:clancy_tucker@hotmail.com
Love ya work, Sam!
1 November 2024 - ''BRAVE JUSTICE' - NEW BOOK RELEASE by CLANCY TUCKER
'BRAVE JUSTICE'
NEW BOOK RELEASE
G'day folks,Well, book six in the 'Kick-Ass' series is ready to hit the bookstores. It's title is BRAVE JUSTICE, and it has involved a lot of painstaking work - due to the subject. Having said that, I do recommend that you also read the five previous novels before you read this book: 'KICK-ASS' TYLER' , 'BETTER THAN SLICED BREAD', 'LIFE SUCKS!', 'GOTCHA!' and 'TEAM SKIPPY'. That way, you will follow Sam Tyler as she encounters life, and a heap of experiences along the way.
DEDICATION: This book is dedicated toall those who
bravely stepped-up tosupport women
who have been raped orsexually abused.
COVER:
BACK COVER:
BLURB:
After weeks in Thailand following the death ofher fiancé, Sam Tyler returns to Australia, having indirectly cracked a globalpaedophile and child-trafficking ring, taught eight Thai kids to swim, andestablished a home for homeless Thai kids – Baan Mick. An old friend of herfather’s, Kitty, has secretly purchased her current office and two adjoiningproperties for Sam to repay a debt Kitty owed to Sam’s father in the 1970’s. Samthrows herself into work, organises renovations, becomes involved in a sexualabuse case against a high-profile swimming instructor, Duncan Reith, and initiatesa class action involving 60 clients.
Reith is arrested and granted bail but flees to Cambodia.Sam alerts the Chief of Police in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Reith is arrestedand extradited to Australia. Criminals attempt to rescue Reith in-flight, butThai police escorts overwhelm the criminals who are offloaded in Malaysia. Witha mass of evidence, Sam is ready for trial until a leading barrister is killedand Sam is almost murdered by criminals. Now she has two bodyguards, but the DPPasks her to be Leading Counsel in the case against Reith, learning that nine ofReith’s victims have committed suicide.
Negotiating a class action with the two richowners of the Sunshine Swimming Centre, Sam offers one of them sad, personal news, but pushesboth men for a fair settlement. Appearing in court with her young clients, Sam callson police and forensic experts to provide credible evidence, her brave clientstell their sad stories and describe how they were groomed and how the abuse affectedthem. Duncan Reith is Sam’s last witness, but she has explosive, personalevidence to present to him.
Will therich owners of the swimming complex compensate the victims? How will Sam honourthe nine victims who have suicided? What information does Sam have on DuncanReith?
Acknowledgments:
Iwish to acknowledge the courage of any woman who has come forward and reportedtheir sexual abuse or rape to the relevant authorities. Sadly, it is said that eighty-sevenper cent of rape and sexual abuse cases are never reported in Australia, and someof my close colleagues have called me a ‘courageous author’ for writing about thesubject. That may be so, but I wrote this book for several reasons. I wanted toenlighten those who know nothing about the subject or turn a blind eye to it. Ialso wanted to encourage victims of sexual abuse to come forward, find a decentbarrister, and prosecute their offenders in a court of law. Hopefully, thisbook might achieve that.
ISSUES RAISED IN THIS NOVEL:
BOOK DETAILS: ISBN: 978-0-9946010-7-0 PUBLICATION DATE: 1 November 2024 PUBLISHER: Clancy TuckerLANGUAGE: EnglishPRINT LENGTH: 348 pagesREADING AGE: 15-18 years EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback and Kindle
CLANCY'S COMMENT: If you have any doubts about the number of women who never tell anyone that they have been sexually abused or raped (87%), read the next few lines and think again. I have four professional women proofreaders who read my manuscripts before I go to print, none of them know each other, but three of the four have been sexually abused. That's a fact, so don't be shy. Grab a copy of this book for your daughters, sons, granddaughters and grandsons. Trust me. This book will command their attention, and don't forget to read the reviews above this post - 'Brave Justice' Reviews. You can purchase a copy via Amazon, and E-books (Kindle) are also available or ...
Email me for a signed copy:clancy_tucker@hotmail.com
Love ya work, Sam!
July 8, 2024
16 July 2024 - 'TEAM SKIPPY' - NEW BOOK RELEASE by CLANCY TUCKER
'TEAM SKIPPY'
NEW BOOK RELEASE
CLANCY TUCKER
G'day folks,
Well, book five in the 'Kick-Ass' series is ready to hit the bookstores. It's title is TEAM SKIPPY, and book six is almost ready to go. Having said that, I seriously suggest you read the four previous novels before you read this book: 'KICK-ASS' TYLER' , 'BETTER THAN SLICED BREAD', 'LIFE SUCKS!', and GOTCHA!'. That way, you will follow Sam Tyler as she encounters life, and a heap of experiences along the way.
DEDICATION:
This book isdedicated to those
who have done wonderfulthings
to change the lives of homeless kids.
COVER:
BACK COVER:
BLURB:
TEAM SKIPPY
ClancyTucker – winner of three awards in the Australian National Literary Awards:2006, 2007 and 2011
SamTyler wins her first case as a criminal barrister and a Thai lawyer, Dao,invites her to be a guest speaker in Bangkok. Returning home, Sam learns that acolleague, Lindy, is sacked for being a lesbian. Sam and barrister, Dan Valenti,resign in disgust, Sam establishes her own law firm and asks Dan and Lindy tojoin her.
Samand Mick get engaged and Mick’s a hero for rescuing a family from a bushfire,but a sudden death sends Sam into meltdown. Invited to Thailand to heal, Sam bondswith eight Thai kids she calls ‘Team Skippy’, teaches them to swim, and saves eight-year-oldPloy from drowning. Although non-verbal, Ploy is a brilliant artist and highlyintelligent. Sam is captivated by her and Ploy finds her voice after Sam savesher from a fire.
Arrestinga man for abducting a homeless girl, Sam exposes a global paedophile andchild-trafficking ring and she’s offered a reward, but Sam wants the money spenton a safe house for homeless kids.
Awealthy Thai woman, Kitty, donates a home to Sam’s cause for homeless kids and Samlearns that her late father lent Kitty money whilst on R&R in the 1970’s. Afterhelping Dao in a Thai court, Sam heads home, but receives stunning news about Kittyas she boards her flight.
What is Kitty’s stunning news? What was theconnection between Sam’s father and Kitty? Why does Ploy captivate Sam?
‘There are moments inlife, when you miss
someone so much, youjust want to pick them from
your dreams and hugthem for real.’
ISSUES RAISED IN THIS NOVEL:
LAW, COURTS, HOMELESS KIDS, DEATH,
GRIEVING, FUNERALS,
THAILAND, BUDDHISM, KIDS,
SWIMMING, AUTISM, LOYALTY, MARTIAL
ARTS, FITNESS, PAEDOPHILES AND CHILD
TRAFFICKING, FIREFIGHTERS, BRAVERY,
ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND PRINCIPLES.
CLANCY'S COMMENT:
Now, don't be shy. Grab a copy for yourself, your daughter or granddaughter. Oh, this book is not just for females. Young men will find some serious reminders in this book. Trust me, this book will command your attention. You can purchase a copy via Amazon, and E-books are also available or ...
Email me for a signed copy:
clancy_tucker@hotmail.com
Love ya work, Sam!
I'm ...
July 17, 2023
18 July 2023 - HUNDREDS OF RUINS IN IRELAND - RATHCROGHAN
HUNDREDS OF RUINS
IN IRELAND
- RATHCROGHAN -
G'day folks,
This ancient Irish landscape boasts hundreds of legendary ruins.Rathcroghan, or Cruachan Aí, is an archaeologist’s dream. Found in the center of County Roscommon, it contains about 240 identified archaeological sites packed within an area of about 2.5 square miles.
This landscape confidently bears witness to nearly 5,500 years of continuous settlement. The earliest known monument is a small court tomb from the early Neolithic Period. Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds dot the earth. You’ll also find traces of massive feats of late Iron Age architecture such as the Rathcroghan Mound and the Mucklaghs earthworks as well as early historic settlement sites and religious foundations. The later medieval period sees Rathcroghan divided into a large matrix of field systems, evidence of the pastoral farming practice common to this region from prehistory up to the present day.
This area, perhaps unsurprisingly, is also one of the key theaters of Ireland’s impressive collection of intoxicating mythology and literature. It boasts the mythological gateway into the Irish Otherworld: the cave of Oweynagat. Uaimh na gCat (Gaelic for “Cave of the Cats”) is the origin place of the pre-Christian seasonal celebration of Samhain, the Celtic precursor to modern Halloween.
Rathcroghan is the starting point for a whole series of Iron Age heroic cattle raiding tales, known as na Tána. Indeed, the central tale of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, an Táin Bó Cúailnge, Ireland’s greatest epic, rises out of Rathcroghan, at the behest of the famous Iron Age Warrior Queen Medb (Maeve) of Connacht. Medb is a vital part of this landscape, and of the West more generally, and her capitol and palace are reputed to be located on the Rathcroghan landscape. These stories record the deeds of Ireland’s heroes, such as Cú Chulainn, Fráoch, the Morrigan, Conor Mac Nessa, Ferdia, and Medb herself.
Many of these archaeological sites retain links to these heroic tales through their names, among them Reilig na Rí (the Cemetery of Kings), Caiseal Mhanannán (the stone fort of Manannán mac Lír, god of the sea), Rath na dtarbh (the fort of the bulls), Daithí’s Stone, and more. Hearing these stories, told on this earthen canvas, is the perfect way to understand the previous generations who walked this sacred landscape.
February 18, 2023
14 April 2023 - SECRET WARTIME BUNKER ON LONDON STATION
SECRET WARTIME BUNKER
on
LONDON STATION
G'day folks,
Welcome to the secret wartime bunker built on the platforms of an abandoned Tube station.
The Down Street Underground Station was practically doomed from the start to a short operational life. The residents of the wealthy Mayfair area where it was to be built were not keen on having a Tube station on their doorsteps, believing it would entice “undesirables” into visiting the posher parts of the city.
The Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway had tried to purchase land so that all their stations along the Piccadilly route had entrances on the main road, but no one was willing to let them buy such a prime site around Down Street. Instead, they had to make do with building on a side street, necessitating construction of longer subterranean passageways to bring passengers from the lifts to the Underground platforms.
When the station opened on March 15, 1907, it immediately suffered from low passenger numbers. The residents of Mayfair could afford other methods of transport, the location made the station harder to spot, and it was close to other, more convenient stations on the same line. By 1932, Down Street was closed for service.
This was not the end of the station’s use though. In 1939 it was repurposed as an underground bunker to be used by the Railway Executive Committee, the organization in charge of keeping Britain’s railways running during the Second World War. The long tunnels and platforms were converted into offices, dining rooms, bathrooms, and dormitories. A popular story has it that the dimensions of the corridors running along the outside of the offices were planned to be just wide enough for a tea trolley to roll along.
The executives could arrive at the bunker at street level, entering through the old building. But when it came to leave, they could choose a different route. There was still a short section of accessible platform, and if an executive left a red lamp there, the next train would stop so they could board the driver’s cab—the drivers were instructed to ask no questions. The other passengers of the train would be unaware of the cause of the stop, as the platform was only long enough for the front of the locomotive.
The Down Street bunker was secure and “comfortable” enough that it was also used by Winston Churchill and other members of the government before the completion of the Cabinet War Rooms. Churchill affectionately called the bunker “The Barn.”
After the war, the station was given back to London Transport for engineering access and to use as an emergency exit point. Many of the offices in the tunnels were removed, though those on the platforms remain. London Transport Museum now operates tours of Down Street, showing visitors down the dusty spiral stairs to the darkened and dilapidated corridors, where Piccadilly Line trains rush past just behind metal gates.
January 7, 2023
19 March 2023 - ONE OF THE WORST DAM FAILURES - ITALY
ONE OF THE WORST
DAM FAILURES
- ITALY -
G'day folks,
The sinister ruins of one of the worst dam failures of the 20th century lie in this astonishing alpine setting.In a growing modern nation craving for energy, as Italy was at the beginning of the 20th century, hydroelectric power was a synonym of progress, representing a victory of humankind over nature. Yet in the mountains of Bergamo province in Lombardy, that attempted feat would take a tragic turn.
Construction of a hydroelectric dam to exploit the river Gleno in the the Valle di Scalve (Scalve valley) began in 1916, but the project was immediately cursed by poor materials and poor workmanship. On top of that, due to funding problems, the plan changed from the original idea of a gravity dam to a multiple-arch dam while the work was still in progress, resulting in a mixed-type dam.
Just after its completion, heavy rains filled the reservoir, and several leaks caused concern among the inhabitants of the valley below.
Sure enough on December 1, 1923, at 7:15 in the morning, the tragedy happened. The central section collapsed, causing a mass of 4.5 million cubic meters of water to pour into the villages in the Scalve valley. The official death toll counted 356 lives lost as a result of the flood, as well as massive damage to roads, bridges and buildings.
What remains of the dam is a 160-foot-high concrete barrage with a huge, chilling laceration in its central section. The sinister ruins are a stark and surreal contrast with the stunning alpine surroundings.
December 3, 2022
26 February 2023 - THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL - IRELAND
THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL
- IRELAND -
G'day folks,
This modern sundial uses ancient methods to tell time and date perfectly. The Calendar Sundial in Galway, Ireland tells both the time of day and the month of the year. Located in Brigit’s Garden, a local park, the Calendar Sundial, built in 2006, is the biggest in Ireland. Its five-foot spike of bog oak, situated near the center of a stone circle, casts a shadow that can be used to determine much information with beautifully simple techniques.
Elliptical lines carved in the stone show the passage of the shadow during the different months of the year, while the length of the shadow determines the time of day.
The Calendar Sundial can show the time and date to great accuracy using methods that have been available for thousands of years. Ironically, it sits in a country famous for its frequent rainy days.
November 28, 2022
22 February 2023 - SPANISH ARTIST BUILDS CASTLE
SPANISH ARTIST
BUILDS CASTLE
G'day folks,
People spend their whole lives looking for whatever it is that makes a perfect home. For some, it’s as simple as a walk-in closet or space in the yard for an herb garden that looks just so. For others, nothing can compare to grandiose dreams of a seaside villa or a mountain chalet. Not so for Francisco Gonzalez Grajera.
Francisco Gonzalez Grajera was an artist and he did not want a normal home.
So Francisco set about building something special, with his bare hands, that would satisfy his creativity both while he lived there and while he built it. Before long, he had created a startlingly unique estate – one that fits right in with the whimsical outsider art sculpture house of Peter Buchs, or Ed Leedskalnin’s coral castle.
Clad in elaborate mosaics built in the trencadis style of broken tiles, the house of Francisco Gonzalez is a sprawling castle-shaped villa, flanked with towering ramparts and spires made to look like the points of a massive royal crown. Tourists now drop by the Gonzalez home, still a private residence, just to see the odd house the locals always talk about.
If you were to speak to Francisco himself, he would tell you there’s nothing odd about this place. To Francisco, it’s just home.
19 February 2023 - SOVIET 'SPY HOUSE' in VIRGINIA, USA
SOVIET 'SPY HOUSE'
in VIRGINIA, USA
G'day folks,
Conveniently located within binocular range of a nuclear bunker, this "summer camp" area was a painfully obvious spy house.On April 23, 1966 the Associated Press reported that the Soviet Ambassador in Washington had finally settled on a location for a new “camp and summer recreation area” for the children of his embassy employees. The site in question was a beautiful mansion on the Shenandoah River in Northern Virginia, 40 miles out of D.C.
The elephant-sized omission from the news report was that the house was strategically positioned at the base of Mount Weather, home to a key U.S. continuity of government site and a massive underground nuclear bunker. The “summer camp” was a dreadfully obvious ruse, but both the State and Defense Departments inexplicably gave their authorization to the Soviet summer campers.
Mount Weather was something of an open secret among locals who rubbed shoulders with military men at the town bar and could see the black helicopters run mock evacuation drills. After the Soviet summer camp plans became known, a local Clarke Courier reporter blasted the State Department for permitting such a blunder, calling it a “stupid move that tempts the fate of the unknown.” “Maybe we have been wrong, along with everyone else in the area, in thinking that Mt. Weather is a hush-hush project,” the Courier opined. “Perhaps it should be classified as merely a weather station which, of course, it isn’t.”
It’s unlikely that the Soviets could have used their spy station to listen in through Mount Weather’s blast-proof walls. But there were plenty of useful clues to be gathered in the open source from such an opportunely located lookout—namely monitoring the front gates for motorcade arrivals and the skies for helicopters. The unexpected arrival of a mass of visitors from Washington could be a tip off that a surprise nuclear attack was underway against the Soviet Union.
The Soviet summer spy camp has been alluded to in several histories of the Cold War period, but the exact location of the house was a mystery. Comparing an AP archival photograph with modern Google Earth imagery and real estate listings reveals a likely address. It’s unknown when the Soviets moved out of the area, but it seems their old spying summer camp is presently used as a veterinary stable.
November 26, 2022
16 February 2023 - WEIRD MOSAIC TILE HOUSE in USA
MOSAIC TILE
HOUSE in USA
G'day folks,
Welcome to something different - a rainbow-hued local gem in Venice, USA.
Venice Beach is known for its boardwalk filled with colorful, eccentric people. The houses, buildings, and structures that dot this area also reflect this “rainbow coalition” of people. From simple beach bungalows to ultramodern homes, Venice is truly a unique place to live. But none of these places quite capture the effervescent essence of Venice like the Mosaic Tile House.
Though it’s not well known to the public, the moment you enter this large-scale artwork-in-progress structure, it’s like walking inside a coral reef. Most of the tiles are in the red, yellow, and orange spectrum, but bold colors radiate throughout the space. Almost every square inch of the home (including the outside) is covered in mosaic tiles. Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran, a husband and wife team, are responsible for this local masterpiece. Pann is the docent guide if you visit.
Pann and Duran’s “visual feast” began as a weekend project to install bathroom tiles, and it later developed into a lifetime love affair that’s lasted more than two decades. Cheri is an artist who creates contemplative large-scale oil paintings with mythic themes, and Gonzalo, canvases in vignettes of their life together.
For the house, Cheri creates the tiles, and Gonzalo shatters them and distributes them over every square inch of their home. Since 1994, the couple has been transforming their once bland, beige stucco home into the structural kaleidoscope that it exists as today. The Mosaic Tile House is still a work in process–there are still sections where it has not yet been completely covered in tiles–but what is completed is more than enough to give the average person a visual overload. What might catch your attention is a fruit tree and vegetable garden incorporated into all the tile landscaping, and a black fridge stuffed with dolls that Pann has described as the dark part of her imagination.
So if you ever find yourself visiting Venice, once you’ve had your fill of Abbot Kinney and the Boardwalk, head east a mile or so, and visit the Mosaic Tile House.
