Cowboy Blues
New Idea - 20th January 2007 - Page 29
Big Brother Star David Graham has lost the love of his life and is fighting to ensure he doesn't lose his drought stricken farm too.
Staring across his paddocks at a spectacular sunset shot with distant lightning, Big Brothers David Graham wishes his boyfriend Sherif Kanawati was with him to share the moment.
But brokenhearted David must now see the sunsets alone on his 2000 hectare property in Goondiwindi, Queensland, now he and Sherif have split up and Sherif has returned to Sydney.
“It's absolutely heartbreaking we’ve separated. All I ever think about is him, so I'm to bury myself in work and the farm,” David . “But every day I wake up and it hurts.”
Having publicly declared his love for Sherif on reality TV show, David was sure they’d tie knot. Sherif was just mitten, saying David was his Prince Charming who came riding on his horse.
David cites his constant traveling for charity work after Big Brother and his love for the farm as the reasons for the break-up. “I didn’t make Sherif the priority. I didn’t concentrate on him enough and now it's too late,” David says sadly. “It's the worst start to the year.”
He's now working long hours on his farm, four-and a-half hours from Brisbane, tending to his sheep to forget his pain and to save his farm from ruin. He's about to welcome the first group of tourists to his farm in a venture he hopes will bring much-needed income to the drought-ravaged property, and show city dwellers the beauty of the life he loves so much.
“It's early days yet, but I'm really looking forward to it,” he explains. “Out here it's a weekend "'jackerooship". My guests will get their hands dirty shearing sheep and mustering stock on horseback or on a bike, or just relaxing under a starlit sky yarning the night away.”
David loves his farm and is committed to ensuring it survives during the drought. Summer storms threaten, but the clouds are empty of rain. The grass has died and the dams are down to mud.
“It hasn’t rained substantially out here for a year, but it's always drought or flood with a few good years in between,” David continues. “But we're still lambing and, even though I've been sweating like a dog working with the sheep and feeding my lambs, it's amazing every day. I couldn’t ask for a better place to work.”
David's priority is to fight to save his farm from the drought, but he's also committed to raising awareness of gay issues in rural areas to help others live life openly. “I want to be an example to other gay farmers that you don’t have to move to the city or resort to suicide,” he says.
