I was unwashed, unshaven, and unprepared when a strange man with a white beard came strolling down the driveway, taking photos as he went. We value our privacy and I was in no mood to tolerate anyone invading it. "You seem to be lost!" I challenged him. "Hello, Peter", he replied, "I'm Bill Crowle from Canberra".
That took me back, quite a few years back, to my time in Canberra when I was still operating Canberra Computer Accounting Systems and Bill's wife Mary had been the accountant with one of my clients. I have had good relations with all my clients, and enduring friendships with some of them, but somehow Bill and Mary had dropped off the radar.
I don't know what made Bill drop in on me after almost three decades. Perhaps it was because, as he told me, his wife Mary had died a few years ago, and he was trying to re-connect with some people from the past. I expressed my condolences and we exchanged pleasantries, even though I still felt uncomfortable in my unwashed and unshaven state.
He left shortly afterwards but left his email address for future contact. He also left links to some YouTube clips of trips he and Mary had taken after he'd retired in 2001. The one above was of their trip to Thursday Island where I had lived and worked in 1977, and it brought back many happy memories for me, although Bill's wonky camera work didn't help.
Thanks for letting me see this clip, Bill, but don't give up your day job!
P.S. Those memories made me dust of some of my old photos, including the ones I took on my return trip to Thursday Island in 2005 - click here.
