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I started life as a ‘copyboy’ in the main daily newspaper in Perth, The West Australian which some call “The Worst Australian” because of its jingoistic, parochial news coverage and ‘dabbled’ in journalism before falling in love with a very attractive journalist who persuaded me to go to University. I did a mature age matriculation, won a scholarship and after graduating in 1971, became a Foreign Affairs Trainee with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. A career as a Diplomat followed with postings in Brazil, South Africa, Uganda (short term) and Indonesia before I was appointed as Chief of Staff to three Presidents of the Australian Senate. In 2001 I was appointed as the Australian Ambassador to the Caribbean (based in Barbados). In 2004 I was recruited as an Adviser to the Prime Minister’s Court. Bahrain is now ‘home’ – till we return to Australia!” The Diplomatic Dog of Barbados is my first published book (Olympia Publishing). I have written two other – as yet unpublished – books; Make me an Aussie is an autobiographical account of growing up as a migrant “Huck Finn” on the fringes of the city of Perth in Western Australia at a time when Australia was going through a period of enormous sociological change and how my Dutch background helped mould my attitudes as a “New Australian”. I have also written a book of humorous parliamentary anecdotes called Lock the Doors about working in the Australian Parliament and meeting with a number of international leaders. |
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| The Author Talks about His Book | |
 In truth, DD – The main canine character of a Diplomatic Dog Of Barbados himself was an inspiration, his struggle and the manner in which he adapted – somewhat slowly – to his change of fortune for even to this day, he never seems quite sure that someday it might all be taken away from him again. He accepts a periodic return to the kennels with the sagging shoulders of resignation and we share the exuberance of his release, the crying and the dashing in circles, the bark of joy. And also I drew inspiration from Miss Wendy – her absolute focus on making DD fit in, her ‘death stare’ when I suggested we give him away when she had been bitten yet again. She was undaunted, irrespective of the circumstances and set-backs, and she was in all ways, his guardian angel. And that was worth relating too.What do you hope your book will achieve? I hope that The Diplomatic Dog of Barbados people enjoy this book of ‘two halves’. The first ‘half’ shines a light on sadness and cruelty and I hope that it evokes in people a questioning of how people can be so uncaring. I hope that they find the second ‘half’ of the book uplifting and that it gives them a laugh or two for it is a story that happily, has a happy ending. I hope that it also gives a small insight into the diplomatic life, and life in Barbados for both are often portrayed in movies and books as glam – and yet there is “another side” which is also worth telling. It is a pick-me-up-put me down book to read on the beach or in a plane or just when the rain comes down and there is nothing on the telly! It is Australian in nature, raw at times, perceptive at others, but always with a healthy dose of scepticism and self deprecation. |
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| About the Book | |
| It is the story of a dog DD , born in the sugar cane fields of Barbados, spurned and abused and mistreated. And while rescue brings some form of salvation and food, it also brings confinement and despair which turns into hopelessness. Then, when against the odds DD is rescued and comes to live at a sought-after address, it is the story of social rehabilitation and the gradual adaptation to a life of comfort and luxury – from junk-yard to jet-set. It is a story of contrasting halves – “where man does not treat dog very well” and then where “dog is treated very well” and rewards his new owners with love and loyalty and the joys that come from seeing a dog wag its tail! We all like a hard-luck story with a happy ending – well this is it, canine style. |
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| Synopsis | |
| He was just a baby. His mother had taught him to fear but not how to survive. Now he was orphaned and alone. And he had to learn quickly or he would meet the same fate as his mother and his siblings. But his manner of surviving was almost his undoing. What would become of this lonely, starving pup? How would he manage to survive as an outcast of society - the island low-life, spurned and cruelly treated? The Diplomatic Dog of Barbados is an uplifting, entrancing story of a homeless Barbados "Cane dog" (or mongrel, as we know them) who "made good" and became part of the island high-life. From junkyard to jet set.A glimpse into the contrasting lifestyles within the Caribbean island of Barbados as seen through the eyes of a dog and the prism of diplomatic life. - o 0 o - "Whether you are a dog lover or not, this poignant tale of contrast and compassion, adversity and accomplishment, will both charm and captivate you. It shows once again that humans really are a dog's best friend."- Amazon UK |
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