Imperfect Recollections

Welcome to the fascinating world of general medical practice in Australia.

This book is a collection of stories from the author’s rich and varied career spanning over 40 years.

During that time, he has been a country GP, delivering babies and doing anaesthetics, a retrieval doctor with the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, worked in the emergency departments of various hospitals and followed his passion of motor sport medicine, especially internationally in the fields of Formula 1 and World Rallying.

The stories are both funny and poignantly sad. They are told in the style that invites the reader to sit down, share a glass of something with the author and tell a few tales, like old friends.

Many of us see ourselves or people we know in these pages… You may be right or you may be wrong, but then that would be telling!

Intrepid Souls

Intrepid Souls is the story of millions of minorities who live in India, struggle for equal rights, humane treatment, and survival. The hatred projected by the Hindu majority, especially towards Muslims, is immense, uncontrolled, and often supported by those in charge of maintaining law and order. This book provides an understanding of the inglorious and dangerous idealism of the Hindu nationalism which will eventually lead to instability and insecurity in the nation. A nation must support its minorities and in turn, the minorities must support the nation for its survival.

This is not the India where Farrukh Jamal grew up; nor where her ancestors lived. They loved this land and worked hard to make it a wonderful place as the Muslim minority of today is doing. However, the sense of belonging inherited by them via their ancestors is now being obliterated through violence and coercive efforts of the majority to remove Muslims from the fabric of Indian society.

She grew up not just facing discrimination but also fearful of unprovoked occurrences of riot and violence. Intermittent wars with Pakistan also jeopardized the lives of the Muslims in India because they were perceived as enemies. What protected her was the profound love of her parents, their emphasis on education, the kind and impartial treatment of the nuns in her English Catholic school and the support of friends regardless of religion.

Isabel Cowe: Shore Gull and Suffragist

Isabel Cowe was the owner of The St Abb’s Haven boarding house from 1914 to 1931. A native of St Abb’s and of fishing folk, she was a popular figure in the village. Throughout her life, Miss Cowe fought against the injustice of the Parish Council on a number of issues which she believed were detrimental to the community, earning herself the title ‘The Provost of St Abb’s’ from those who came to know her and respect her.

Isabel Cowe was no ordinary woman, devoting her life to serving others through charitable work for organisations such as the RNLI and the Children’s League of Pity. It was through her tireless devotion to the RNLI and the St Abb’s lifeboat crew that she earned one of her greatest accolades when awarded with the RNLI’s Golden Brooch.

As an influential female business owner, in a time before women were granted the vote, Miss Cowe gravitated towards the Suffrage Movement, becoming a member of the Women’s Freedom League.

In October 1912, she was to help organise and participate in the gruelling 400-mile Scottish Suffrage March from Edinburgh to London, which was a precursor for the Great Pilgrimage of 1913.

On her death a sundial was erected in her memory in the grounds of The Haven. The sundial, which still stands to this day, was funded by over 200 subscriptions from the length and breadth of the country by the many people who had come to know and respect this great woman and pioneer.

It's Hard to Be Good

Times were hard in the 1940s and early '50s: kids went hungry and food was rationed; some families had to beg, steal or borrow to survive. But Charlie found his own way out. On a routine basis, together with his childhood gang, they became kid grafters (bang into crime). They did what they had to do, providing food to put on their family's table amongst other things. 

In 1953, aged 13, Charlie and his gang were always bunking off school. He went on to make further progress with his life. With his baby face and dressed as an office boy in a blazer, shirt, and tie, he was darting in and out of buildings in the city centre of Liverpool, buildings which provided rich pickings as he raided their cash drawers and safes.

Charlie meets his mentor: an older woman, who was a professional in the business. She teaches him how to rob high-class jewellers of their expensive diamond rings: a well planned-out scene which is typical of the classic, highly rewarding cases of jewellery robberies of the time.

Here's what Charlie has to say about his younger self: 'In 1954 and at the age of fourteen, I was earning more money than a professional adult. I was the richest poor teenager in Liverpool.'

Jam Tomorrow

Jam Tomorrow is a light, and sometimes irreverent, account of starting and growing a business. In his ‘tell it like it is' style, author Wayne Palmer shares with us his experience of the challenges, pitfalls and triumphs through a 20-year journey in development, manufacturing and design. Wayne’s company, Thinking Space, started in a dining room and is now a major player in its sector, exporting internationally.

For anyone thinking about starting or growing a business or just curious to know what it’s like, this book provides a straightforward insight into Wayne’s first hand experiences.

Busting some myths and sharing some gems, this book is not about business theory – it’s about business reality. 

Let That Dark Horse Run

Have you ever wondered why someone snaps? Just lose it mentally? Forensic experts conduct investigations to answer these very questions. Sometimes there are glaring reasons and sometimes there are not. Most would never understand the depth of the mental suffering of the person in question. This of course doesn’t absolve the person from any dastardly deeds. The mind of the individual may reach a fork in the road. That mind could either take the right fork to commit suicide or take the left fork and kill those who have perpetrated the most grievous harm towards them. Or further still, they could just keep going straight and suffer horribly, dying a little every day. Did anyone know of their mental suffering? Did he or she try to obtain mental health care? But there was no one and no one cared or helped. I suppose you wonder why and how that I could possibly speculate? Please read on…

Life's Golden Thread

This is an account of the life of a Jewish psychiatrist growing up in Melbourne, Australia in the 1940s and 1950s as a child of a traumatised immigrant mother who had a limited capacity for love. The consequence of this was poor self-esteem as well as an inability to become emotionally separate and realise his potential for love and relationships. Another result was a difficult first marriage, the psychological manifestations of which are discussed in the context of growing psychological self-awareness and eventual emotional re-birth that also contributed to a deeper understanding of psychotherapy. Dr Rose discusses his medical student days culminating in his decision to study and enter into a career in psychiatry that was varied and rich in nature. He subsequently had successful careers in the fields of psychotherapy, treatment of sexual difficulties and forensic psychiatry. Dr Rose gives considerable detail with rich anecdotes of his life in each of these fields including de-identified case descriptions. He describes his experiences of working in the mental hospitals of Victoria. He also describes his experiences in the 1970s and early 1980s in the field of sexology at a time in which many of the experts led colourful lives, as well as his rich experience in civil and criminal forensic psychiatry. Finally, Dr Rose writes about his surprising encounter with Christian religion and how this together with his second marriage led to the sense of fulfilment he has today. A golden thread has indeed been woven through his life.

Life's Too Short to Wear Dull Shirts

Graham Badrock was born in 1954 in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. That indeed made him a baby boomer. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, life was uncomplicated and easy. He recalled asking his father, “Are we middle class, Dad?”

The family didn’t seem to go without, and it wasn’t until he was older that he had time to reflect on his good fortune. As he grew older, his leisure time was spent trying to find a girlfriend. When found, they embarked on a wonderful adventure, indulging in things that today might be off limits to their children.

They moved to Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula several years after being married. Had the ‘Don’s Party’ times in their spa, much to the delight of the neighbourhood.

Tried to learn to sail and almost drowned, conquered rock climbing with a degree of terror at Mt Buffalo.

Grew up finally and moved to the Victorian town of Bright. Ran a bed and breakfast for over 19 years until the novelty of being nice every day took its toll. Finished signwriting after 45 years as technology caught up with him, thank God.

Travelled all over the place, Norfolk Island where they almost crashed and escaped Lord Howe Island.

They say, “Everyone has a story.” This is ‘his’ so far.

Living in Interesting Times: Curse or Chance?

These are the memoirs and reflections on the most acute issues of the contemporary world by a boy from the Estonian countryside who, through accident and pure ambition, ended up as a professor at Moscow University and adviser to President Gorbachev on matters of international law. After a stint as head of Estonian diplomacy at crucial moments in the restoration of its independence, he later became a centennial professor at the LSE and chair of international law at King’s College London. This is not a traditional autobiography. Besides reflecting on issues he dealt with while advising Soviet leaders, such as Yakovlev in his speech on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the status of the Kuril Islands, and their repercussions in today’s world, the book analyses the roots of the crisis within liberal democracy, the upsurge of populism, the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia as a great power. A Marco Polo fellow at Jiaotong University in China and recently awarded the highest Russian Order for foreigners – the Friendship Order by President Putin, Professor Müllerson, who lives in London, feels equally at home discussing the renewal of great-power competition, the problems of the European Union including Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the negative impacts of political correctness both in the former USSR and today’s West. Having lived equal thirds of his life in three different worlds and worked in and visited many countries as a UN diplomat, he is a man who understands small country mentality, though being ‘spoilt’ by great-power mindset. 

Love and Music Volume One

This is a joint autobiography of two singers whose lives have run in parallel from 1961 until the present day. It is based on the couple's letters and diaries. They met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1961 and married in 1963. Love and Music - Volume One illustrates the training, dedication and grit that preparing for a life in the musical theatre entails. It also shows the enjoyment that such a life brings not only to the audience but to the performers themselves. As they say: "It's a great life if you don't weaken, but if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out!!!"

Love Beyond Love

This very personal and moving love story takes us from the anticipation of the very first date through to the moment of the very last breath. It encompasses sheer joy, romance, fortitude and sadness. But love and memories live on forever because this is a Love Beyond Love. – Jan Smith (a friend)

Love or Money

Based on true events. Scott, a boy from a broken but good home suffers years of bullying from a very young age all before turning to fight back. And he quickly gets a taste for it as he realises he can fight back. He is more than capable of hurting people, which pretty much sets the tone for the future.

Along the way, he meets a series of crazy, messed-up characters from the Essex underworld, getting himself into deep muddy waters but finding a way through, a way to “stay afloat”. Pacman was a powerful, influential and charismatic Londoner who came to Essex and into his life with promises of being able to afford anything he would ever want or need. The same way he trapped a gang of about 14 people into believing he was their future!
Seeing hundreds of thousands of pounds pass hands every day, Scott was drawn into the dark world of gangs, robbery and hard drugs after finding a serious thirst for cash from a very young age. Would he ever escape this man and his gang without serious consequences?

The legend of “the Essex boys” is still going strong, well, this is one Essex boy that didn’t get caught and the gang… they were ten times more ruthless and twenty times more dangerous for sure! There were no rules, no loyalty and no morals! Love or money meant exactly that! Your money or everything you love… your call! On the brink of death, would Scott ever come back to the living? If so, how?