There are a group of former Preston West Primary School kids out there who’ll be eating their words when they read this.
When Roger Young was a nipper in school, the other kids nicknamed him ‘Block Head’ and the teacher said, “They’d better stop calling you that, or you won’t amount to anything!”
Fast forward six-and-a-half decades later and Roger, 75, does not only have a Civil Engineering degree under his belt, but he’s also a retired barrister.
Roger is a resident at Uniting AgeWell’s Kingsville Community and now concentrates on the other great love of his life; nature. He loves being out in the herb garden at the site – the fresh air and greenery brings back memories of his many camps and bushwalks in the Australian Alps.
A photograph on his bedroom wall shows him as a young lad riding his horse. He married a farmer’s daughter, the couple moved to Gordon and had two children, Imogen and Tristan.
One of the highlights of Roger’s life was taking his family on an eight-week camping trip around Australia. “I put the bite on my old man and pinched his Landrover. He only had it six weeks. My favourite place is the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory.”
Roger reckons it was a fair deal. Throughout his life, his Dad’s tough-love motto was, “Get a job, I’m not paying for you.” And his father gave him minimum money for petrol and lunch, telling him to find his own way in life.
Which Roger is proud to say he did. In spades!
Now in the next stage of his life, Roger is enjoying having the time to pursue his more artistic interests.
He used to do rock and roll dancing back in the day, and staff reckon he’s the unofficial karaoke champ at the site, with his favourite song being “You are my sunshine”.
He also adores opera, and staff say he regularly plays hours and hours of Carmen and Tosca – which they by now have grown rather fond of. He’ll also be delighted with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) performances that are regularly life-streamed in all Uniting AgeWell’s residential facilities across Victoria and Tasmania, thanks to Uniting AgeWell’s partnership with the TSO.
When Roger is not listening to opera, he enjoys SBS World Movies, documentaries and reading the newspaper to keep up with the latest current affairs.
Block Head? I don’t think so!
Learn more about Kingsville Community