One of the most memorable nights of my life was when I went to see the National Ballet of Senegal on 26 May 1974 in Newcastle Australia. I remember the performance because it was the most brilliant event I have ever seen. Amazing music and traditional dance. A wonderful night.

But I also remember that night for another reason. There was a huge storm, and when I was on the bus going down the main street to get to the theatre, we had just pulled out from a bus stop and there was a loud crash behind us. A large shop awning had fallen onto the street just a couple of yards behind the bus. If we had left the stop a few seconds later we would have been under a large pile of debris and would have had to be rescued. And I would have missed the most amazing show ever.

A ship called the Signa was wrecked near Newcastle that night, and the beaches near the top of the main street had lost most of their sand. It was a weird scene.

I was a student at the time so I would have had to scrimp and save for the ticket to that show but I knew it would be important to me to see it. The one continent in the world that I have always wanted to visit is Africa but being a boring git, I have never travelled overseas. (I wanted to see Australia first.)