My 1900 Plus Days of Hell, Other Stories and Moving On

Hello my name is Terry Dukes; I am Fifty Five years old and had been travelling round the world working as a SCUBA diving instructor and working in my trade as a Fitter & Turner for about 20 years. I think I started travelling when I was around 29 years old. My travels came to an abrupt end five years ago when I was involved in a car accident in Malaysia in which I suffered severe traumatic brain injury. I have undergone several operations and quite intensive rehabilitation to get me back to the condition I am in nowadays. I have been out of hospital for roughly three years in which time I have been living with a family in a town called Gosport in the county of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. I started writing this book around three and a half years ago when I was well enough to start using a computer again.

Until I had my accident, I lead a very full and active life; I am also a second Dan in Karate which I taught for a few years as well as a SCUBA diving instructor. I have always been good at telling stories and have many to tell about my life as a SCUBA diving guide/instructor, my travels around the world, teaching Karate and repairing ships to name but a few subjects. Because of my brain injury I can not do a lot of activities I use to do. So I feel now would be a good time to ‘put pen to paper’ or my case ‘dictate into a microphone’ and bore you all as friends of mine would say. I would prefer enthral to bore with tales from my life so far.

This will be the only time that I write about myself as I. From now on I will be refered to by my name of Terry. I was advised to write this way in the ‘third person’ by a proof reader some years ago.