Tanglefoot

Colin Gascoigne, born in 1914, used to say tongue in cheek "When I was born they started a war to mark the occasion, and everything went flamin' well downhill from there on....."

Born in Sydney to a French mother Colin was branded as a "foreigner" and a "Froggie" even before he started school.

One of his earliest memories involves riding in a jinker to pick up his newly born sister from a shop where babies were sold and being more preoccupied with starring at the horses arse in front of him and wishing he could have a tail too.

Starting school he tripped, was branded a clumsy "Tanglefoot" and got picked on by every bully.

In 1919 he is taken to Wirth Brothers Circus where his aunty "Fuzzie" works as a circus performer. As she prepares for her performing seal act Colin is left in a gypsy wagon with a creepy foul mouthed, alcoholic, chain smoking, phlegm spitting clown who tells dirty jokes. The 5 year old is not amused.

Around 1921 he is taken to Glenroy aerodrome to go on a bi-plane joy flight but misses out when the bi plane before his turn plumets into the ground killing everyone.

In subsequent years his dad is almost murdered during the 1923 police strike, his brother dies, his dog is hit by a train but miraculously revives, and then killed due to a bad haircut. Soon after Colin falls head first of a moving tram almost dying of a head injury.

"There's a few things back then that could've gone a bit better" admits Colin.