11 October

I see reports that Tony Shadie died, my old physics teacher. (Hans Stroeve just confirmed.) Many of my friends would have been taught by him too. Nigel were you in the physics class? I know David was, Lisa I think you too? Kieren you were. It was a large class, these days you’re lucky to find 2 kids in a physics class, nobody does the hard things any more. It was an interesting experience, rambling long discussions sometimes only vaguely linked to the physics. Like how Tony only slept under a sheet year-round, while his wife preferred to be smothered in bedding (echoes of my own life there). Loved it, not sure it was the teaching model for everybody there, but was fun for me. I taught with his son Jason at Lithgow High for a while, many people here know and remember Jason too.