Pizzles in Paradise

BOOK REVIEW
By Robin Marshall

PIZZLES IN PARADISE, a vet's memoir, by John Hicks. Hazard Press, 223pp RRP $NZ24.99 (softcover).

Everyone loves a good vet story - who hasn't read a James Herriot story (or seen the TV series or film?).

In Pizzles in Paradise, the latest New Zealand rural slice-of-life offering, John Hicks tells of his life as a veterinarian, firstly as a student in the UK, then to a predominantly dairy practice in Taranaki, and finally to the wilds of Western Southland.

There are several parallels between Herriot and John Hicks, who tells the story of his formative years and how a city-slicker Liverpool lad came to be a country vet in New Zealand.

Mainly, Hicks's love for the outdoors brought him to the southern South Island, much as Herriot loved exploring the nooks and crannies of Yorkshire.

Hicks decided to become a vet after discovering an empathy with dogs particularly, and a stint with the local (small animal) vet sealed his decision. But in those days in England vet school, though fully funded by the government, was not and easy course to get into - particularly for a rather average student. One had to prove that one was capable of actually making it. After missing the muster for several on first try, Hicks hunkered down to polytech to nail physics, his only failed subject. Once that hurdle was cleared, it was on to learning in earnest.

But it wasn't all work and no play in those days - far from it. The ensuing years at university are peppered with funny anecdotes of working holidays and seeing practice with local vets.

Just a month after finishing uni in darkest England, Hicks was calving cows in Taranaki. The New Zealand of 1973 was somewhat of a culture shock: "This was an alien landscape. So frequently we have been told that New Zealand is very English. True, a similar language is shared, but these are two very different societies. Moreover, those observers would have to have been architecturally, botanically and topographically dyslexic," writes Hicks.

Five years on a brief stint back in the UK followed - but small animal practice just did not hold the interest, so John and his wife, Viv, made the trip back to a New Zealand in the grip of recession. Jobs were no longer easy to find, so he accepted a locum position in Western Southland. This led to the discovery of the scope of outdoor recreation in the area, and he later accepted a opsition as a senior vet of the practice.

The joys and horrors of farm animal practice (sheep, horses, cattle, and deer in the early days of recovery and farming) are relayed in true Herriot style - lots of anecdotes and wonder at the advances in veterinary medicine. There were ups - and plenty of downs - but Hicks has been smart enough to maintain a good balance of work and play in his adopted homeland. A message we should all heed.

ISBN 1-877393-05-3; softcover; available from booksellers.