My talks to Probus Clubs

My talks to Probus Clubs have produced a special interest in the character of Len, former World Cup player, now coach, as he moves to assignments in different communities. In the three novels published to date he is confronted with murder and mayhem, plots for sabotage and assassination, and attention from ladies who find him attractive.

What is his background, his ambition, his life skills, and his mental and emotional attitudes?

Len was raised in Termez, the town a military base for 100,000 Soviet troops during their war with Afghanistan. He and his young sister worked part-time in the family market stall and were often threatened by war weary soldiers of mixed disciplines and cultures, fired up by the exploitation and rape of occupied territories, and fearful for their own lives when they return to the front.
To survive, Len learned street-smart skills and was trained in Karate by an uncle. His attitude to females was conditioned by these circumstances and their vulnerability. He places them on a pedestal, strives to protect them, and is reluctant to form lasting relationships because of his nomadic ambition to secure an A-league posting.

Spotted by a Polish football scout during his youth he was selected for the Polish Youth Team where he attended university in Warsaw in the mornings and football training in the afternoons. He progressed to the World Cup winning team of 2002, as captain. He was later imported to Australia to become a marquee player for Canberra City. He decided to become an Australian citizen like his grandfather had done years earlier to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme.

In his spare time in youth, he went Alpine climbing in the Southern Himalayan Mountains with his best friend Andrei. Their knowledge and skills were honed in friendly competitions. During football breaks he would take his young niece Liana along to teach her alpine skills that later saves her life in the Mount Kosciusko Hinterland.

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