I am a retired University Administrator living in Holsworthy, East Devon, with my wife Jeanette, a prominent quilt maker in the region. I spent the first part of my career working in English Universities and Polytechnics. I moved to Australia in 1981 to take up the position of Registrar at The University of Western Australia.
I retired in 2000 and Jeanette and I moved to a country property just outside Perth W.A., where we acquired Chloe, a Border Collie Cross, but crossed with what we are still not sure. She became a very important part of our lives, so much so that when we returned to England in 2007 to help look after Jeanette`s mum, who was then in her late 80`s, we felt that we had to have her with us. And so after six months quarantine with neighbours, much angst on our part, and considerable cost, she finally fronted up at Heathrow, courtesy of Quantas and a company called “Jet Pets”, who had coordinated her transportation with great care and consideration, certainly more than the unfortunate convicts received when they made the journey in the other direction in the nineteenth century.
My book Home Thoughts On Abroad began as a series of letters, purportedly from the dog, as a means of saying thankyou to the people in Australia who had looked after her during her quarantine. I had no intention of seeking a publisher, until I was persuaded to do so by people who had read and enjoyed the letters. I was naturally surprised when Austin and Macauley expressed interest in them, and somewhat doubtful about getting involved in such an enterprise. But in the end vanity prevailed. The book is now out there, and hopefully will provide readers with a few laughs. Anyone who has had had any connections with Australia will find the book of special interest, particularly so if they are dog lovers.
Malcolm Orr, January, 2012
