My name is Sylvio Belcourt. I am the owner and developer of sylviobelcourt.com

I once was very active on FB and proudly shared my activities and adventures with my friends. More importantly, I followed many friends and friends of friends blogs and learned about their families and life achievements. It was great fun and I met so many wonderful people.

Then I realised that everything I publish on FB is their property. 

That's when I though, there must be another solution to publish my photos. I spent years building sylviobelcourt.com. I have learn so much about the latest technology and social media concepts.

I still visits FB as often as possible because there are many genuine friends to connect with and it is a real pleasure to place a "like" or comment on their blogs not to mention the birthday greetings.

I was born in Mauritius on the 12th Dec 1946. I left the island in 1967 to migrate to New Zealand and after one year moved to Melbourne, Australia where I have lived since then. I speak three languages, namely French, English and Creole (The native language of Mauritius).

I retired on my 65th birthday, 11 December 2011 and never looked back.

Up to now, I've had a very busy life doing what I liked best; never a dull moment. But mistakes, I made plenty, too many. However, my biggest joy is that I have learned so much from my mistakes. I have learned to be more understanding, forgiving and most of all tolerant of everyone around me. I have learned to accept people for who they are. My belief is who am I to judge others when I have myself so many faults. I have learned to be more giving than taking. It's a real feeling of satisfaction.

Let's move forward.

Setting up this site was interesting and challenging. No doubt that the knowledge I acquired over the years about software development along with PHP, Java and MySQL helped.

My professional career is one my greatest achievement. I started work as a draftsman in Port Louis, Mauritius (where I was born) before living for Auckland NZ and later Wellington. There I studied and did many manual jobs such as factory work, cleaning parks, waiter and singing/playing the guitar and piano in restaurants to earn a student income. A year later I moved to Melbourne and studied Cobol and RPG programming at IBM. From there, I worked in many industries and eventually move to System Analyst. My career went from strength to strength and eventually I achieved the position of IT Manager. I then took on the challenge of leaving the workforce to run my own business Microprogramming, which was about importing components from Taiwan and assembling PCs. Software development became a major asset to the business and I spend three years developing my own Accounting Software MPS (MicroProgramming Software), a complete package consisting of General Ledger, Debtors, Creditors, Inventory Control. Purchasing, Payroll and Job Costing. Many small to medium side organisations used the software which kept me very busy with support and custom modifications.

Difficult and stressing times along with "The recession we had to have" eventually forced me back to the workforce. Project Manager, Crystal Report Writing, Book Keeping and many other small jobs kept me active for years and my last one before retiring was working as Office Manager/Financial Controller for a manufacturing company.

Over the years, I obtained many additional certificates from various colleges to enhance my knowledge and I’m still learning new skills.

Description of some of the certificates:

Pianoforte Grade III from the Royal Schools of Music, England
Project Management from University of Sydney
Diploma of Freelance Journalism from Australian College of Journalism
Management Skills from Holmesglen Institute of Tafe.
Payroll and Office Tax Procedures from Applied Education
Certificate III in wholesale operations from Pinnacle Training Solutions
Elected Member of the Australian Computer Society in August 1999.
Accpac General Ledger from Computer Associates
Electronics Security Alarms from Chisholm Institute of Technical and Further Education
Data/Communication Cable Licensing from Chisholm Institute of Technical and Further Education.
Documentary Video Making from the University of Sydney
Film Making and Directing from Prolific Productions
Visual Basic Pro from Holmesglen Institute of Tafe
Owner Building from Holmesglen Institute of Tafe
Photoshop - Intermediate from Holmesglen Institute of Tafe
Get to know your 35mm camera from Holmesglen Institute of Tafe
Certificate in Sailing Skills from Brighton Yacht Club
Marine Radio Operator's Certificate of Proficiency VHF (MROCP)

My Hobbies are:

Amateur Radio Operator Call sign: VK3JKG. Sending and receiving Morse codes were a requirement then.
Flying (General Aviation - small aircraft I got my pilot licence in 1972 while living in Hobart and working at Cadbury Schweppes, Claremont. I now own and fly three drones instead of small plane.)
Sailing (Macgregor M26)
Touring, caravanning and boating/sailing around Australia
Playing tennis
Playing the piano, ukulele  and guitar.
Travel overseas. (When I travel, I prefer to meet local people rather than Duty Free shopping)
Dancing. Rock n Roll, Ballroom and Square Dancing
Documentary and Film Making
Photography. I spent years doing professional photography and video.
Country and Western Music
Classic Car. ( I owned a 1954 Citroen Traction Avant for over 30 years. I sold it in 2018)
Model Cars. I have over 100 Citroen model cars in the collection along with many Citroen books.
Since 1969, I started collecting red wines and sold over 300 bottles when moving from Mornington to Bairnsdale.
Electronics. I have a passion for gadgets and over the years have designed and built many projects from scratch.
Writing. I published the monthly journal MEA (Les Mauritiens en Australie) in 1996. I have my own writing and publishing blog
In my retirement days, I spend any spare time fiddle with mechanics, home renovation, electronics, rigging my sail boat and more recently I have added star grazing to my hobbies.
I am passionate about designing websites and learning new techniques as well as keeping my skills and knowledge up to date.
Last by not least, I enjoy going out for coffee and to restaurants and I have an appetite for great cuisine of all cultures.