Nearly nine years after he left the national capital, Ross Solly is back on the airwaves of ABC Radio Canberra. For a while, at least, filling in at the Dickson studios for presenters who are on leave.
The popular former presenter left then 666 ABC Radio in late 2013, as his wife Samantha Hawley pursued her career as a foreign correspondent for the ABC, first in Bangkok, then as the bureau chief in Jakarta and then London.
The couple and their two children, Liam, 13, and Georgina, 11, have returned to Australia, settling in Sydney, as Samantha hosts ABC News Daily, the ABC's flagship daily news podcast.
Now working remotely from Australia, Ross is still in the job he has had for the last five years, as media and communications manager for the Olympic sport of canoeing, based in Switzerland.
"For the last three years, we were living in London and I was basically commuting. so I would do three days a week in Switzerland and two days working at home in London with Sam and the kids. It's like an hour flight from London to Geneva," Ross said.
Ross, who was presenter of the critical breakfast shift for nine years at 666, was keen to get back on the airwaves - and didn't muck around filling in at ABC Radio Canberra.
"I landed in Sydney Monday night this week and drove down here Tuesday morning and did the Afternoons show," he said.
So far, he has done Afternoons and Drive and will be presenting Mornings for the next two weeks, with his final shift after that presenting Saturday Gardening.
"It's been incredible, the response," he said.
"Just the responses on the text line, people have been so nice, so kind."
Ross, who has two older children in Canberra, Callum, 27, and Hannah, 26, is looking forward to spending more time back in his old stamping ground.
"When I left here, we didn't have the tram, so that's the first thing I noticed when I drove into Canberra," he said.
"And there's lots of new buildings up where old buildings were. I've been for a run around the lake a couple of times and that's still as beautiful as ever.
"When my [younger] kids got back, having been in London and Jakarta and Bangkok, some of the biggest cities in the world, they came back here and just fell in love with Canberra.
"They couldn't get over the wide open spaces and how peaceful it was."
