Review: Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs

I am currently actively avoiding doing PhD literature review, and instead I am reading a book "Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: she thinks I'm a piano player in a whorehouse". 

Author Paul Carter has spent much of his life working rigs, the book is generally mildly amusing, but sometimes becomes snot-sprayingly funny.

For example, Paul Carter on dealing with crappy nappies: "Even with my sister’s three boys, I am told I handled them like rabies-infected carrier monkeys. She made me change a nappy. I have seen men cut limbs off, all kinds of nasty accidents on the drill floor, but a nephew’s shitty nappy made me gag and resemble someone trying to deal with an untidy parcel filled with a mixture of nuclear waste and velcro" (2005, p. 128).

The parts about working in Nigeria were terrifying. Some of the stories of his youth and behaviour with animals was appalling. 

But worth a read, on a quiet day, with an enormous pot of tea, where you can chortle away to your heart's content.


Sam

• Reference: Carter, Paul (2005). Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: she thinks I'm a piano player in a whorehouse. Australia: Allen & Unwin.