Random Musings of a Disorderly Mind

Have you ever woken up wondering what the day will bring? If this includes fishing around inside someone’s intestines, being sent photos of bodily fluids, or even pretending to be dead, then you may just happen to be a surgeon. If it includes retrieving arrows, knives, and other foreign bodies from various anatomical locations, then you may be a trauma surgeon. If it also includes rescuing patients from spitting monks and overdosing pharmacists, then you probably work as a doctor in Southeast Asia.

From the relative safety of a 1970s UK medical school to the extremes of modern-day Cambodia, enter the world of funny, sad, baffling, and, at times, unbelievable encounters with patients, teachers, and colleagues over five decades.

Koalas and Kangaroos

Embark on an unforgettable adventure along the east coast of Australia, starting at South Point, the southernmost tip of the mainland near Melbourne. The journey takes you by train through Canberra and on to Sydney, where iconic sights like the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Manly Beach await, along with countless cultural landmarks. A side trip inland offers the breathtaking views of the Blue Mountains.

Continuing north by road, the first stop is Walkabout Park, where you’ll have close encounters with koalas and kangaroos. In Newcastle, discover the world’s largest coal export terminal.

The adventure includes an immersive Aboriginal cultural experience, relaxing on the beaches of Byron Bay beneath its iconic lighthouse, and diving into the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. A visit inland reveals the stunning Atherton Tablelands, with its numerous waterfalls.

North of Cairns, explore the Daintree National Park, the world’s oldest rainforest, before capping off the journey with a thrilling 4X4 expedition to Cape York, the northernmost point of Australia.

Memoir of a Nobody

In 1980, sixteen-year-old Molly and her mother move to a new town, triggering her mum’s already fragile mental health to spiral out of control. Strangers in a strange place, the townspeople do their best to help, but the challenges run deep.

Molly’s parents had separated when she was five, leaving her older brother, David, as their mum’s primary carer. Both siblings endured bullying at school, while weekends were spent working alongside their mother – often unpaid. The routine involved travelling to distant towns, working through the day, followed by wining and dining in the evening, and then sleeping in the car. Early the next morning, the cycle would repeat, with David and Molly bearing the brunt of their mother’s erratic moods.

David, rebellious and worn down, eventually left home, leaving nine-year-old Molly to become her mother’s sole carer. Now, she must face the daunting task of managing her mother’s instability alone. How will Molly cope with the weight of her new responsibilities? Will she and her mum receive the help they so desperately need? And what role will her absent father play in their lives?

This deeply personal and poignant true story recounts Molly’s highly unusual and challenging early life, offering a raw and moving glimpse into resilience and survival.

Dicing With Death

While there was terrorist-related activity happening somewhere in Northern Ireland daily, Belfast bore the brunt of it, and the two-mile stretch of road between Willie’s home and the school had more than its share. He travelled that corridor of death to and from school every day. In school, he was prepared to put his life on the line protecting the rights of disaffected young people. He tried to keep the older boys out of the arms of the IRA, who would recruit them into the Fianna (Junior IRA), and out of reach of the security forces who would arrest them for petty crimes and then release them on condition that they became informers. He was ready to protect them against all comers. He walked the middle ground, neither on one side nor the other. The police and the soldiers were professionals. They could look after themselves. He did not support the IRA, nor take orders from them, nor allow himself to be used by them. He saw his role as protecting the young people in his care. He was walking on quicksand, knowing that if he put a foot wrong, he could vanish without a trace.

Living the Dream!

This is the story of my life, from childhood struggles with polio to leaving home at seventeen for an apprenticeship with British Aircraft Corporation, working on the iconic Concorde. My career path took me through Westland Helicopters and British Rail, before a 22-year career at British Airways in London, where I became a Senior Airline Engineer, licensed to maintain a fleet of company aircraft.

After that, I turned to flying for pleasure and eventually became a Chief Flying Instructor, starting my own flying school. Over 36 years of training pilots, I experienced fourteen engine failures, three near misses, and two bird strikes—the most dramatic being a fight with a buzzard that smashed through the windscreen, hitting my student in the face, leaving him with a black eye and a split lip, and ending up draped around his neck like a scarf. I also survived a cockpit fire shortly after takeoff that burned my left leg.

Then there’s the story of a mild-mannered, religious pilot who became a good friend. He once told me about the day his ejection seat failed during a jet spin-out, sending him plummeting toward the ground. Resigned to death, he was saved by a voice in his head that he believed was God, offering the solution just in time.

A Piece of the Action

What is it like to spend a lifetime doing research in a wide variety of fields in the physical sciences? Studying distant planets, binary stars, neutron stars, stellar mass black holes and active galaxies using optical and near-infrared ground-based telescopes. Designing and constructing equipment as a member of international teams studying the high-energy X-ray emissions from many of these objects. Flying these detectors on short duration sounding rocket flights, utilising huge balloons to carry experiments to high altitude, or installing them on long duration satellite missions. Being a scientist engaged in fieldwork studying the physical properties of the world’s oceans, or the sea ice and glaciers around the coastline of Antarctica. This lifetime involved living in the UK and Australia for many years, with a four-year interlude in the USA, as well as working in or visiting many other countries. How lucky can you get? This book describes numerous projects in an unusually diverse range of research areas – the fun and adventure of STEM activities – without getting into excessive technical or specialist detail.

A Womb With a View

This book delves into the life of the Church of England at a near grassroots level during a period of seismic change. It seeks to capture the essence of experimental ministry during a time of national uncertainty. While it doesn’t provide definitive answers, it explores various possibilities with honesty and humour. The narrative shares the joys and challenges of parish ministry in diverse settings: from the heart of a bustling city to the serene depths of rural Wensleydale, from a sprawling inner-city housing estate to the hills and coastlands of Cumbria. It enthusiastically engages with ecumenical matters and approaches interfaith diversity with a certain naivety.

“Here are the workings out of a practical theologian – a priest working across disciplines, and most powerfully working with and alongside communities.”

– The Ven. Chris Burke, Archdeacon of Barking.

“He created a platform to build on of the largest centres for social action and community activity in the country… Malcolm is courageous beyond belief and a true advocate of his faith and belief in human kind.”

– Mark Law MBC. Chief Executive, BARCA, Leeds.

“I found this lovely book quite a nostalgic read, because it reminded me of the church into which I was ordained nearly 40 years ago. I also found it deeply moving, endearingly honest, and at times profoundly inspiring. Malcolm - who is a natural entrepreneur – manages to tackle some very serious subjects without ever taking himself too seriously and he enables some powerful reflection on the meaning of ‘success’ in ordained ministry without trying to provide to many answers. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.”

– James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle.

Pandemic in Paradise

Pandemic in Paradise tells my story of pregnancy during a global pandemic. From the challenges of lockdown to the raising of my first child, I share the ups and downs of my pregnancy journey under those strange, difficult, and unique circumstances. Despite the obstacles which COVID-19 and the lockdowns presented, it is also about celebrating the gift of my son.

We Were Tourists

Jim Toomey was already a successful drummer when he became a part of a new group, The Tourists, in the late seventies. He formed the group with Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, Peet Coombes and Eddie Chin.From their early beginnings in London, finding their sound and their voice, through their success, their recordings, TV appearances, and their tours across the world, this is the story of The Tourists, told by the man sitting behind the drums.In a series of anecdotes and tales of the band's journey, we gain insight into the inner workings of a successful band; the fun and success, but also the work, the creativity, the pressures of seemingly endless tours, the good and the bad sides of the business, and the all too familiar trajectory of a band which sowed the seeds of music which endure 40 years later.

The Craic and Life in the Mountains

A nine-year-old boy hooks a twine-held bundle of hay over his shoulder and climbs the harsh steep mountain on a winter morning, with his brother Pat. They trundle upwards against the harsh terrain and elements to fodder the cattle on the hill top.Some 30 years later, Sligo, his adopted town, is in crisis as development tax incentives have expired and three government ministers are refusing to extend those incentives. That young boy emerges in his elder self, strident and resolute, and fights another uphill battle.Another 20 years on, now in Derry, the calling from the mountains of his birth surface within him, urging him to return to regain lost fragments of his soul. His return regenerates and reignites the lost spirit within as voices forgotten in a busy life emerge from the shadowy vibrations of the past to soothe, heal and repair his soul. The journey sees a re-emergence of the people, characters, events and places that formed his character in a rich tapestry of recall.

Tell Me Why…

If you have ever faced a situation that turns your known world upside down, then my journey and its learnings will help you make sense of it all and allow you to establish your own path through it.Having unwittingly entered into the world of cancer with a terminal diagnosis at the age of 44, I felt compelled to share my journey with others facing similar life-threatening challenges. I have learnt so very much about myself, complimentary therapies and nutrition that can literally make the difference between life and death. Knowing yourself and the true power of your mind is vital and can help you in so many ways, you would not believe it.My learnings are under-pinned by the story of my own journey, so I hope that it will allow you to grasp the emotional aspects as well as the difficult decisions and physical trauma that is presented along the way.After reading and learning about my experiences, you will feel more empowered and more confident in taking control of your situation and moving it forwards with courage and conviction!

School Shit

Kevin candidly presents the highs and lows of a teaching career spanning four decades, and useful advice on how to motivate children to learn. The book is intended to appeal to practising professionals, anyone considering teaching as a career, and those with an interest in what goes on behind school doors. Kevin's style relies heavily on humour, particularly when recalling children's mischievous natures.        The fun element is being systematically squeezed out of learning and teaching. Fear of failure underpins the ethos of many of our schools. Children and teachers too often find themselves operating in a stifling educational culture that prioritises performance data. Educational success is defined by the measurable.Child-centred education has become an anachronism. The case is argued that individual children and their unique talents and abilities matter. Radical changes to school practices are advocated if our institutions are to do justice to school populations of the future.