Stories

Teaching

I never did want to be a teacher, but after two years as a mechanic in Wellington automatic telephone exchanges it was obvious I was making no progress there. My father... › more

Sound an Alarm

I don’t seem to have any stories about Judy. Perhaps by the time Malcolm had got serious about her, I had gone off to the Pacific to unwind. Nor does Malcolm, at the... › more

Terry

These things I have tried to learn from Terry; that it is possible to be effective without being aggressive, and to be kind without being a wimp. He was a beautiful child.... › more

The Scientist

Scientists are just people, with all the variety and idiosyncrasy that you would find in any other group of people. The “mad professor” image that the silly... › more

Korea

Perhaps I had it luckier than most. Koreans offer a lot to the aged, and since I was already sixty when I first went there and my face was already thoroughly lined they could... › more

Abel's Tomb

On another occasion we had been inspecting an orchard in the general vicinity of the Lebanese border in connection with some scale insect problem on apples. The visit started in... › more

Alan

It seems strange doesn’t it, that there should be people in your own family that you grew up with but never really got to know. Alan was seven years older than me, and... › more

The Cow

For the first twenty years of my life, my father kept a cow. Not the same cow of course, but a succession of cows, one at a time. This must have taken a good deal of... › more

Mr Khan

Mr Khan was the CEO of the Agriculture Department and our main contact with the Department during our visit. He was a bright eyed little fellow with snow white hair and a... › more

Bangladesh

Seeing Bangladesh from the air, you could be forgiven for believing the country was awash. Neither the Bay of Bengal, nor the many branches of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra... › more

Help of the Helpless

Somewhere a light must have flashed in the control tower. The big jet roared and shuddered and flung itself down the runway, pressing me against the seat back. The motors rose... › more

Car Wash

The Brahmaputra, where it flows through Bangladesh is more like a lake than a river. Well over a mile wide, its muddy waters stretch like an ocean of warm milky tea as far as... › more