In March 2023 I returned to Lembeh Resort, surely one of the best muck diving locations in the world, for a workshop organised by Wetpixel and hosted by Alex Mustard. Thanks to Covid19, the workshop had been postponed a couple of times but finally it was taking place! I’ve been lucky to know Alex for many years and of course he was as inspirational as ever but there were plenty of other excellent photographers at the workshop and I was very lucky to be buddied up with Nick More, truly an outstanding photographer.

Disappointingly this trip proved to be a significant medical milestone for me. Prior to the trip I had been feeling a little lightheaded and dizzy which became significantly worse in Lembeh. Afterwards, back in Australia, brain scans showed I had “severe ventriculomegaly” which required surgery to my skull to insert a right ventriculoperitoneal shunt, this to be connected to a hose to run down the inside of my neck to my perineum to permanently drain my ongoing overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid. No wonder I hadn’t felt great!