The adventures of Tintin

As a child, I loved reading Tintin and getting swept up in his thrilling adventures with the fiery but lovable Captain Haddock. As a dog lover, I had a soft spot for Snowy — brave, clever, and always at Tintin’s side. Created by Belgian artist Hergé in 1929, The Adventures of Tintin became one of the most beloved comic series in the world, translated into more than 70 languages. With its exotic locations, daring escapes, and sense of curiosity about the world, the series may well have sparked my own lifelong love of travel and exploration. Hergé was known for his meticulous research, often spending months studying the culture, geography, and history of the places Tintin would visit — all before the internet — which gave the stories a vivid sense of realism and depth.  

The llama incident

At the London Zoo once, I got a little too close to a llama. Thinking I could connect with it the same way you can with a horse — by gently breathing into its nose — I leaned in with all the calm and goodwill I could muster. It promptly spat in my face. In retrospect, I really should have seen it coming. I’d read Tintin as a child, after all — and the exact same thing happened to Captain Haddock! As you can see from the scene below, I was in good (and very soggy) company.

Ouch !!!

I learned two vital lessons during my hike in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park today.

Lesson 1: Don't wear open shoes unless you want to get bitten on the toe by a whopping big bull ant.

Lesson 2: Don't put the dead body of the ant into your pocket to potentially show to the doctor because dead ants can miraculously come alive and bite you again where no man wants to get bitten.

Lessons in life sure can be painful!!

Two Childhood Memories

I wrote these two childhood memories for an English class:


I have a couple of very vivid childhood memories. Both are about embarrassing things that happened to me at school.

First of all, let me tell you that my father used to be a dentist.

One day, when I was 6 years old, I was sitting in class listening to my teacher.  She was reading us a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Suddenly Mrs Ford, another teacher who taught the older children, came rushing into our classroom.  She was a big, loud woman who used to shout a lot and pinch our ears and I was very scared of her.  She said in a loud voice, "I want Myburgh!"  Myburgh was my surname. Then she grabbed me by the arm and walked me out of the classroom and down the school corridor. I was terrified.  I didn't know what was going to happen. Maybe I had done something wrong and she was going to pinch my ear!

But she didn't.  She walked me to her classroom and made me stand in front of all the children.  Everyone was looking at me.  I didn’t know where to look so I looked down at my feet.  Then she said, "Myburgh, open your mouth and show them your teeth!"   So I did. What else was I to do?   Then she said  "Students, look at his teeth.  These are the teeth of a dentist's son.   Look how they sparkle and shine!  You too can have teeth like this if you look after them."  Then she said "Thank you Myburgh - you can go back to your class now."   I ran out of the classroom, wishing that my dad was an engineer or a business man or fireman - anything but a dentist.

My second memory happened when I was seven years old.  I had to have an operation on my legs.  I went into hospital and came out with my legs in plaster paris.  I could not walk for 6 weeks and had to move around in a wheel chair.  When I was in class, I could not walk to the toilet.  So I used to pee in a bottle in class. Then, when I was finished, the bottle would be put on the floor beside me.

As soon as the bottle was on the floor, my teacher would start to watch the students carefully.  She was looking for someone who was or had been naughty.  Then she would say "Right, Patrick, you haven't done your homework."  Or "Nicky, you're talking in class."  - "Go to the toilet and empty out the bottle!"  They would come over to me and take the bottle and look at me as if it was all my fault.   So for 6 long weeks, I was the class punishment.

So those are my two vivid memories.  I have many happy memories but these are two memories I wouldn't mind forgetting.  Except that they make good stories at dinner parties.