In 1970, a wide-eyed adventure hungry young journalist was tired of being a Prisoner of Mother England, so he waved goodbye to his native shores and - like millions of lilly-white, naive Poms before him - set foot on Australian soil to commence an amazing journey of self-inflicted transportation.....and survival!
He yearned for knowledge and was eager to explore and report on his new and very different world and its ‘kulture’ on the other side of the globe. His naivety led to some hilarious and often dangerous predicaments. To whinge, or not to whinge. That was often the question.
The biggest threats to his survival came not only from the sun, the sea, the snakes and the spiders, but also from the larrikin Aussie men and the luscious Aussie women who saw him as a novelty; an English plaything to be toyed with, teased and….even tormented.
With his socks, sandals and spindly legs, he was introduced to such modern conveniences as ‘The Shower’, the Hills Hoist and the Wine Bladder, all of which he still uses, especially the bladder. The book recounts true tales of what confronted him as a Ten Pound Pom and how he in turn handled, or mishandled his tormentors.
‘Wonder, Thunder & Blunder Down Under’ thrusts the reader back almost forty years to an era when entry to the huge, arid continent was relatively simple and uncomplicated; to a time when Poms were deserting the Old Dart for compelling reasons; when Australia offered a future, hope, sunshine, space, a much better standard of living, plus, of course a magnificent adventure.
It highlights the amazing contrasts between the booming new world nation of Australia and its’ cobwebbed former Imperial Master, Great Britain. The book is a Pom’s eyeview of Australia that will evoke nostalgia within millions of ‘New Australians’ and hurl them on a mental journey - back to the streets, the smells and the sinews of their youth, as well as to their first nervous but exciting years Down Under.
It spans twenty years of the journalist’s life and also takes the reader with him and his closest most colourful Aussie ‘mates’, to England, Africa, Israel , Mexico and America, before returning them all home to Australia, which the author considers to be the most wonderful country in the world.
‘Wonder, Thunder & Blunder Down Under’ is a delightful and stimulating blend of true, amusing Aussie-born anecdotes and journalistic encounters that vary from hilarious to horrifically tragic. It is a compelling, witty, entertaining read.
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