john.robert_mcpherson
29 Palm Beach (Qld) SLSC training Indonesians in First Aid, Waja SLSC, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. September 1977
29 Palm Beach (Qld) SLSC training Indonesians in First Aid, Waja SLSC, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. September 1977.
The bearded Trevor (TBone) Bone was the team first aid instructor. TBone was our swashbuckling, global circumnavigating, man-of-the-world, and glittering-eyed pirate. He was man who simply exuded confidence and competence and would have been at ease in social settings involving head-hunting cannibals, European aristocracy, Maoist guerillas, Tibetan Lamas or anyone else for that matter -- provided that they served a decent rum. TBone was a man for all seasons. Nothing alarmed him, nobody frightened him, no circumstance could unnerve him, his composure was unshakable and he was always relaxed. TBone was the most resourceful and adaptable man I have ever met. He could have taught Ernest Shackleton the arts of survival and team encouragement. How will I navigate a yacht from Port Moresby to Mozambique? I'll tech myself to use a sextant and plot a course. How do you avoid being attacked by a crocodile while camping at a billabong? What's the best way to survive a tropical cyclone? How would you lift a tonne of marble bath out of a historical home? How when managing a yatch club do you deal with staff who overindulge in betel nut? Which London venues were most likely to feature Acker Bilk and his clarinet and could you introduce me to him please? TBone had the answers to these questions and many more.
Unsurprisingly he easily communicated with the trainees, imparting his knowlege and confidence. TBone and Gil Graham were quite a dynamic duo, with Gil's expansive entrepreneurialism and TBone's steady resourcefulness being a good foundation for any venture.
Our trainees were a diverse crew drawn from all walks of life and from across Indonesia. Michael, the curly haired man on the right was from Timor. The slim young man was the disco king of Kuta. He ruled the dance floor at the only nightclub in town, 'Doggies', inventively named for the two huge statues of dogs at its entrance. I wish I could recall his name. He attempted to teach me the 'Bus Stop', but may as well have attempted the 'Tangle-footed Pangolin' for all that I learned. He did try though. One local actually did bring a pangolin into Doggies. John (Goanna) Mackay took one look at the armoured creature hanging by its prehensile tail and said "It's an armadillo!" If so it was the world's only tree climbing armadillo and it was on holidays from the Americas. The local man saw my skeptical expression and asked "What is this in your language?" Not wanting a taxonomic argument with Goanna I laughed and responded, "Mate, if this bloke says that it's an armadillo, then it's an armadillo."
29 Palm Beach (Qld) SLSC training Indonesians in First Aid, Waja SLSC, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. September 1977
29 Palm Beach (Qld) SLSC training Indonesians in First Aid, Waja SLSC, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. September 1977.
The bearded Trevor (TBone) Bone was the team first aid instructor. TBone was our swashbuckling, global circumnavigating, man-of-the-world, and glittering-eyed pirate. He was man who simply exuded confidence and competence and would have been at ease in social settings involving head-hunting cannibals, European aristocracy, Maoist guerillas, Tibetan Lamas or anyone else for that matter -- provided that they served a decent rum. TBone was a man for all seasons. Nothing alarmed him, nobody frightened him, no circumstance could unnerve him, his composure was unshakable and he was always relaxed. TBone was the most resourceful and adaptable man I have ever met. He could have taught Ernest Shackleton the arts of survival and team encouragement. How will I navigate a yacht from Port Moresby to Mozambique? I'll tech myself to use a sextant and plot a course. How do you avoid being attacked by a crocodile while camping at a billabong? What's the best way to survive a tropical cyclone? How would you lift a tonne of marble bath out of a historical home? How when managing a yatch club do you deal with staff who overindulge in betel nut? Which London venues were most likely to feature Acker Bilk and his clarinet and could you introduce me to him please? TBone had the answers to these questions and many more.
Unsurprisingly he easily communicated with the trainees, imparting his knowlege and confidence. TBone and Gil Graham were quite a dynamic duo, with Gil's expansive entrepreneurialism and TBone's steady resourcefulness being a good foundation for any venture.
Our trainees were a diverse crew drawn from all walks of life and from across Indonesia. Michael, the curly haired man on the right was from Timor. The slim young man was the disco king of Kuta. He ruled the dance floor at the only nightclub in town, 'Doggies', inventively named for the two huge statues of dogs at its entrance. I wish I could recall his name. He attempted to teach me the 'Bus Stop', but may as well have attempted the 'Tangle-footed Pangolin' for all that I learned. He did try though. One local actually did bring a pangolin into Doggies. John (Goanna) Mackay took one look at the armoured creature hanging by its prehensile tail and said "It's an armadillo!" If so it was the world's only tree climbing armadillo and it was on holidays from the Americas. The local man saw my skeptical expression and asked "What is this in your language?" Not wanting a taxonomic argument with Goanna I laughed and responded, "Mate, if this bloke says that it's an armadillo, then it's an armadillo."