“No, I wasn’t afraid, we had our trip planned out and would discuss it each night in the tent. We did have a run-in with the police.”

When I was last at Murray Haven during one of my discussions with the Pioneers Group, a certain gentleman captured my attention. Sitting quietly in his chair as he sipped on a coffee and dry biscuit it was his smile that caused me to look twice. The tall, handsome gentleman did not contribute to the discussion, I figured perhaps he couldn’t quite hear what we were talking about as he was sitting so far away. I went over to him with Jo Boonkamp to say goodbye and as he smiled back at me, I was intrigued. “This man has a story,” I said to myself. So, with nothing to lose, I introduced myself, asked his name and floated the idea of him having a chat with me.

“I’m John McDonald… I suppose a chat couldn’t hurt,” he said with an air of