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Living Legends: True Tales of Extraordinary Old-Timers

Living Legends: True Tales of Extraordinary Old-Timers

True Tales of Extraordinary Old-timers

by Sandy Thorne
Paperback
Publication Date: 25/06/2014

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An entertaining collection of yarns about thirteen larger-than-life Aussie characters, full of bush wisdom and wit.


Meet fourteen remarkable Australian (and one Kiwi!) jacks and jills of all trades with a wealth of experiences from the good old days to modern times. Hailing from all walks of life, they share their memories with renowned yarn spinner Sandy Thorne in a collection of stories full of wisdom and wit.

There's Danny, the champion jockey who refuses to ever truly hang up the saddle; 'Dusty', the WW II rear gunner who survived thirty raids over Germany; and Dot, the seemingly dainty 97-year-old who was once a bullocky's offsider. Then there's Bob, who's been a truckie, fighter, croc-wrestler and lotto winner; Doris, the once hard-toiling dairy farmer who's as chirpy as a willy-wagtail; and Roy, the Vietnam vet turned world-class waterskier. Between them, the characters in this book have survived the Depression, seen world wars come and go and witnessed monumental changes in everyday life. There's comedy and courage in their adventures, as well as tales of triumph over adversity.

Through their stories, Sandy finds the elements that make up the classic Australian character- a no-nonsense, never-give-up approach that means these people are still firing on all cylinders in their eighties and nineties, and truly embody what it means to be a living legend.
ISBN:
9781921901379
9781921901379
Category:
True stories of heroism
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
25-06-2014
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Australia
Country of origin:
Australia
Pages:
320
Dimensions (mm):
234x152x24mm
Weight:
0.43kg
What I’m reading right now…
The Outback magazine, The Land and The Queensland Country Life newspapers and Moleskin Midas by Tom Ronan, a 1957 lively story of a successful horse and cattle thief in far North Queensland. I mainly read biographies but I recently, finally, got ‘round to reading The da Vinci Code, because it had so much publicity, but although I persevered to the end, it wasn’t my cup of tea. 

My favourite book growing up (why?)…
All Mary Grant Bruce’s Billabong series were wonderful stories of a family on a cattle and sheep station. I escaped into a different world while reading them, pretending to be Norah, the daughter, who had a wonderful life revolving around horses and livestock, and enjoyed life in a happy home. When I was ten I wrote a long letter to Mary Grant Bruce to tell her how much I loved her books and received a charming reply from her son, who explained she had died twenty years earlier but would have enjoyed reading my letter.

My all time favourite book is (why?)…
Naturalist and zoo-owner Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. I love all his books, but that was the first I read. His humorous style of describing his eccentric English family and their patience with him and all the creatures he brought home as a boy, immediately had me addicted. I have always said if I was going to live on a deserted island and had to pick what books I would take, I would take Gerald Durrell’s. 

The book I would recommend everyone to read (why?)… 
The Territory by Ernestine Hill should be read by every Australian to understand what our pioneers endured attempting to settle the isolated areas of this country. The research she put into that huge book, covering the eras of first settlement to the 1950’s,  must have taken her years. Unlike many historical tomes, it’s a page-turner, not a dry read.

The book I wish I wrote… 
The Road to Coorain by Jill Kerr-Conway is beautifully written in a simple, elegant style I wish I could emulate, but I have an irresistible force within me to make everything funny (as in BONZER! the story of my childhood). Can’t help myself.

My guilty reading pleasure is…
Flicking through a pile of women’s magazines that I would never spend my own money on,  at the hairdresser’s, gleaning an occasional interesting reward amongst all the “silly sheilas’ stuff”. I would hate anyone I know to catch me.

The book on my bookshelf that I have never read… 
Along with other books on the World Wars, such as Peter Fitzsimons’ Kokoda, sits Anzacs by Patsy Adam Smith. I am sure all these are well-written, excellent books, but they would make me too sad to read them. However, I can’t bear to part with them as I may be inclined sometime in the future, to arm myself with boxes of tissues somewhere very private and tackle them. 

The book that never should have been turned into a film… 
Mao’s Last Dancer springs to mind, but there must be many others which escape my jaded grey matter just now.

My book is… 
Sure to make readers laugh, cry, be amazed, inspired and thoroughly entertained from Go to Whoa. Living Legends comprises stories of older Australians (and one Kiwi) who’ve had interesting and very different lives.

I’ll never forget… 
The tears in the eyes of 94 years-old Dusty Miller, survivor of thirty bombing raids over Germany as a rear-gunner, as he remembered his many mates who were killed. 

My favourite place is…
Equal faves: In the saddle, looking between a smart, alert horse’s ears at the bush or countryside, and, The Barrier Reef – snorkelling over it, or catching coral trout and red emperor from a sexy fishing boat.

The most dangerous thing I have ever done is…
Climb aboard a maniac of a horse with no saddle or bridle – only equal to punching my father on the jaw when I was twelve/catching wild scrub bulls on Cape York/swimming in rivers where there were crocs/going into the members’ stand at Randwick wearing last year’s hat.

The first time I…
Played my newly-acquired set of drums, after several whiskies, I amazingly sounded exactly like Mick Fleetwood, then Sandy Nelson, then Gene Crouper – I could drum EXACTLY! like them (…in my mind). No seriously, I was astounding myself with my talent, until …consumed with my brilliance while playing along with Let There Be Drums, I put a stick through the main drum. My family and friends were shattered that my truly fabulous concert drew to a sudden close. They sobbed as they removed their ear plugs.

I regret…
Not being born a bloke. From the mid-‘60’s, I still managed to do most jobs (and fun things) that were regarded as “blokey” but was paid half as I was not endowed with testicles, therefore only worth (to my male bosses) half the wages. I also regret (bitterly) selling my 1965 Galaxie and not staying single. 

I remember…
When men looked like men, and shaved every day, when every kid went home from school to their mother, when life was less complicated, less rushed…when car radios had a dial to change the station. Take me back there, please. 

The one piece of advice I should have listened to but didn’t… 
Buy real estate at Coolum (near Noosa), in the ‘60’s when blocks of land near the ocean there were three hundred dollars. I bought horses instead. Brilliant!

I love…
My own company/peace and quiet/doing what I want to do/making people laugh/hearing good jokes I’ve never heard before/mud crab and mangoes/powerful cars, boats and horses.

I hate… 
Snakes, sharks, crocs, mossies, crowds, people who talk about their illnesses and operations, horrible badly-brought-up children, and most ads on radio and television.

I wish…
Slim Dusty, John Lennon and Pavarotti would come back to life – maybe they could form a new band and I could play drums for them? I also wish tradesmen would stop borrowing their son’s shorts. I am always terrified something hideous is going to suddenly hang out of the legs, and as for that view when they bend over….pullleeese! Go home Mr Crack!

I can’t say no to… 
An invitation to go fishing. I would even go fishing with that hideous George Clooney. Put some zincie on his nose, a toweling hat on his scone, and even he would look ok, especially if he was giving me a nice big sloppy… piece of squid from the bait-bucket, out on the ocean blue, just the two of us going for it…pulling in snapper one after the other. His new missus could stay ashore. (not that I’m jealous!)

Yesterday, I…
Crutched 27 rams, being  the thrillseeker that I am, and revelling as I do, in still being strong enough to put them down and drag them across the board. Then I caught and dressed three flyblown ewes. (dressed as in applying chemical to kill maggots) It’s a glamorous life out here where I live on Planet Mars (Lightning Ridge). I love the sheep – they’re delicious! 

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