Almost a Farmer (ePub)

The author describes his life from primary school years on a farm to becoming a University Lecturer. For two years he travelled 10 km to school by horse and cart and threw stones at rabbits. He also trapped rabbits to sell skins for pocket money, but kept some as pets. A free roaming hawk perched on his shoulder, and an 'owl' came when called for supper. He aimed to be a farmer, but it was not to be.After study at an agricultural college he worked on two farms, but to marry the daughter of the second farmer he wanted an occupation without cows, so joined the South Australian Department of Agriculture advisory service. After a wrong turn on a country road on their honeymoon they were lucky to survive. One and a half years later it was decided he should attend the University of Adelaide and gain qualifications for research. Unfortunately his wife needed six weeks in hospital for repair of a detached retina; without lasers.The book continues with challenges and successes of university life, completion of study in South Australia and travel by ship to attend Reading University in England for a Ph.D. degree. Both universities posed a challenge of existing on a minimal budget, with highlights, unexpected events and stumbles; such as a wheel falling off the car on the way to an exam, a child nearly born premature on the Italian ship, and eviction from a flat for leaving a burnt cake at the landlady's front door. The whole is interwoven with family life and the history of places.