Skip the intros and go straight to the Web Site Dedicated to Alby Mangels

Introduction to the House of Alby members.

I'm Andrew Calder (a.k.a Shortbread). I'm 45, Australian, and live with my wife Lynda and sons Xavier and Jaedan in Ermington, Sydney. Along with Lynda, I met my very good friends Rob and Roly at Rovers - that is, Senior Scouts - which partially explains my fascination for Alby given his shared love for adventure and nature. (The other part is totally unrelated to his interests and totally related to his style and wit). I was an active member of the Scout Movement between the ages of about 9 and 30, possibly climaxing in 1993 when I gained my "Baden Powell" award. Many of the awesome things I've done in the last 25 or so years have been with friends that I made at Rovers and remain so years after we've all left. Within Australia, places like Fraser Island, Broken Hill, Wilson's Promontory, countless State forests and National Parks, Overland Track in Tassy... in addition to all the places in Central Australia we visited in the two weeks of "In Search of Alby" (you know, Ayer's Rock and all that).  Overseas, a World Moot in Switzerland in 1992, followed by a European tour;

I've kept travel logs of most of our hikes and expeditions we've been on since 1994. Not all of them are - Optus is not particularly generous with their space allocations for members.

I've played guitar since I was 15, my main axes being a 1980 Yamaha SG2000 (reputedly owned by Carlos Santana - well, maybe) and a 1989 Strat. From 1988 to 1992 I played in the dodgiest garage band this side of Wagga Wagga, called Stoned Stephen and the Martyrs (fear not, this is a Biblical joke...  Stephen, my brother, headed up the band, and - as you know - is the namesake of the first Christian martyr, who was stoned to death). Our piece de resistance was arguably "My Sharona". If you look through my music collection, you will find about 17 Beatles, 16 Santana, 9 Cold Chisel (legendary Aussie band), and 7 Queen albums. So you get the picture, bit of a guitar freak. As part of my "B.P" Award I set out to write and record some music - here are a couple of snippets:
Yamaha BoogiePostcard from Ermington.

In terms of sport I occasionally play golf and mixed netball at present, and like watching the Australian cricket and rugby teams dish out thrashings to our nemesises around the world.

I work as a consultant for Oracle Corporation; been there since 1997. Since 2000 I've specialised in Demand Planning, first in Oracle's old flagship product (ODP), and then from 2006 in Demantra (Larry bought the company). ODP and Demantra gigs have taken me to Singapore, NZ, Israel, Japan, China, various USA gigs including a year-long stint in Cincinnati Ohio (in 2005), India, Thailand, Taiwan, and Canada. While I'm actually a Commerce (Marketing) graduate from UNSW (1987), this web site is about as close as I've got to Marketing since I left Uni.

First and foremost, however, is my faith in Jesus. I am a Christian because I am convinced the Bible is trustworthy and historically accurate, and that Jesus is truly God's servant, sent to die for us to allow us to be forgiven and have an eternal relationship with our Creator. This is great news for anyone who thinks they have to earn God's approval, and who know they can't live up to his expectations! And they'd be right. More info can be found here: www.christianity.net.au.

I have a Biblical worldview and totally reject philosophical naturalism (the idea that everything must be explained by naturalistic causes, its chief dogma being Darwinism) as a weak excuse for people to ignore their wonderful Creator.  My favourite Evolution-smashing resources are:
Creation Safaris - Creation/Evolution News page
Creation Ministries International - see this article/letter I wrote to Sydney Uni Alumni magazine which they published in October 2006
Answers in Genesis

This is Robert Mitchell, of Meadowbank, Sydney, Australia. He is a 1967 child like Shortbread, married to Alison, and has two nippers. He once owned a 1989 Kombi van, transporter of cool dudes to Central Australia. He has worked for NSW State Rail since age 15. Rob likes to organise expeditions for his mates. The most recent major one was to the Rees Dart Track in NZ (April 2012).

One of Rob's greatest achievements under the title of "creative ability" was the lead role in the planning and execution of a buck's party for our friend Bundy (Kevin Power to his wife) back in 1994. In essence, we planned a Mission Impossible scenario for Bundy and managed to get him on a 6.00am flight to Melbourne with a briefcase full of spy equipment. He didn't know he was heading to Melbourne till we pushed him down the gangway at Kingsford-Smith Airport, with $30 in his pocket and the combination for the briefcase lock. On the plane, he had to play a tape of his mission, the volume of which had been pre-set to such a level that 15 rows of seats in either direction heard his instructions. The pilots were so impressed they invited him up into the cockpit for half the flight, including the landing (this was before Sept 11, 2001!).  His mission in Melbourne included finding a contact in McDonalds by saying the secret password: "Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff!", and buying a single red rose from a flower stall with a fake $100 note.  As Rob loves to say, "he was a pleasure to work with".  The adventure was even written up in a Sunday paper (want to see it in full?)

Rob is distinguished in the household as the only person to have allegedly witnessed Alby thrice in real life, firstly when Alby visited his school in about 1983, secondly at the Carlton Crest hotel in Sydney in 1998, and finally in the Kirribilly Hotel in Sydney, 2002.

Meet Roland Simpson of Dundas. He is married to Sonja, and has 3 kids. Roly is an enigma, a master of the crusty one-liner. He claims to have "no opinion" about anything you care to name, except after a szechuan chilli and a glass and a half of beer when everything is a target. Alby managed to elicit a strong response once from Roland during a screening of World Safari III when he was heard to exclaim "I can't hack this". Though this could have been mistaken for an opinion, it was indeed a fact. He has made up with Alby now, so all is forgiven.

He is a keen hiker, and has accompanied Rob & Shortbread on multiple expeditions with the aforementioned Bundy. While he hasn't exercised this talent in a few years, he is a fine lyricist. All of his songs can be sung to the tune of "Cool for Cats".  

This is Lynda Calder, 42, wife of Andrew and mother of two wonderful boys. She would like to declare that she has no responsibility for any of the "Alby" content of this web site. She is the lone high-achiever amongst the household, with a raft of accomplishments such as the following:- top 1% of the state in her Higher School Certificate, Queen's Scout Award, Baden-Powell Award, degree in Electrical Engineering from Sydney Uni with second-class honours (big disappointment that), Diploma in Languages - German, Graduate Diploma in Education, a table-top full of sporting medals (e.g.. athletics and netball), and a desk-drawer full of certificates ranging from boating charge certificates to mathematics competitions. She plays piano and a bit of violin. Anything she sets out to do gets done. She has written three novels, one of which is now published. She performs duties for St John's Ambulance. In her own words...

I know that whatever I write I will either regret it or wish I had added something more. Unlike the other people mentioned here I have no alias, no nickname and no pet names given to me by friends. I am an ex-teacher: Senior Physics, Mathematics and Junior Science and Mathematics for 4 years. And an ex-Engineer: programmer of the 6805 Microcontroller chip (claim to fame are the former twinkle lights in Hyde Park, Sydney and various scoreboards for the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre).

The best moment of my life was the birth of Xavier (closely followed by my wedding day and Jaedan's birth, of course - all on a par). Now I am a full time Mum (as I feel it is the most important job anyone can do) and home educator to my oldest. I'm into netball, especially Mixed netball, which I play with Andrew (I had to twist his arm to get on the court and now I can't get him off). I'm also a sucker for punishment and abuse, I umpire netball - I have my National B badge and I was Umpiring Convenor at Eastwood Ryde Netball Association. You may even see me in the black and whites representing St John Ambulance Parramatta around and about, or in a Scout Uniform with a Brush Park scarf on.

I am now a published author. The Enigma Diaries: Hidden History is now available from Little Steps Publishing, the author and various other places. This time travel adventure trilogy may blow your mind. In the works are lots of other projects.

I am also a Christian and was convinced of this because of my logical and scientific mind (not despite it). There is no disputing the truth!