An Interview with Dr John Troughton

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How do you make a man, let alone a champion? Sportsmen “play for the honour of the game”? Champions “belong to the people”? Who was Horace Lindrum anyway? What is snooker? So many questions to be asked. Sarah Kanowski tasked to find out.

History is history and historians adhere to truth and transparency in recasting it. Jan Lindrum preserves these values brilliantly. But life is emotional and Jan describes the history of her own family as it was in Australia last century, visually, accurately and with all day to day emotions. This interview is like a living stage play, the characters come to life even on radio and are woven together to show the reality of the interplay of real lives, of famous Australians.

It’s about people; ordinary people, normal lives, following their drive, overcoming adversity, thriving. Where they came from, where they went and why. Jan visually creates an image of the trials, tribulations and experiences of early youth, that, supported by a devoted mother, Clara, created a resilience that allowed the young man Horace to perform at the highest levels of his profession. Disability and hardships just had to be overcome. Creating world records, yet still with an ability to communicate with and entertain common people. Surely an example to today’s sportsmen and women.

How did it come about? Only Jan can tell it. This genuine history tells us so much, so many lessons to be learnt. Sarah Kanowski extracts the detail, with context, to bring to life 20th century Australians living out their lives that brought so much pleasure to so many people. Just as this interview did to me now.

– Dr John Troughton. November 2017.