[woofa.express]

I worked onthe Darling Downs for 5 years, based at Miles which is about mid-way between Dalby and Roma. Enjoyed most everything about it with the exception that seasons / rainfall was unreliable. When, one season, drought became prolonged my employer asked us all to see if we could get some outside employment to tide us all through. Gary went to Sudan in North Africa and sprayed cotton in an area known as the Gazera.
Khartoum was the capital and when in town we stayed at the Excelsior Hotel. Whilst Sudan was a dry state some hotels had bars. It has since changed to totally dry. Well one day I walked into the bar and here’s a bloke dressed a bit like an Australian farmer and wearing a straw hat.
I said ‘goodday’ and he said like a beer. Of course I accepted, we conversed and the blokes name was John McKeechie, an ag pilot from Victoria. A well known fellow who was well known for his funny antics.
About 15years later he flew a rice season for me. Sometimes we talked about our times, good and bad, in Sudan. Here is one of John’s stories.

The previous year he was ferrying back to UK a Pawnee and experienced engine trouble in north Libya. He figured landing in Libya undesirable but more desirable than landing in the Mediterranean. John landed near Tripoli infact at or near the well known war graves site. He was confronted byseveral armed military men and marched away to a military site. Here he was spoken to by a high ranking military official and still surrounded by armed men. He was frightened and said he was infact shaking. The high ranking man asked why he was shaking and John gave a very clever answer.
“I don’tknow if you are bad men and will shoot me or you are good people and will help me he said”.
Well no one wants to be bad and the military man put his arms around John’s shoulders and said, ‘we are good people’. John has set himself up well and was given assistance. He returned the aeroplane back to England.
Goodthinking John.