Tom Ware - Storyteller or Raconteur
Tom's into Story. Like to hear a good tale?
The phrase, Master Storyteller almost implies a sort of mystique
It’s strange how the words 'Masterstoryteller’ almost implies a sort of mystique. Here we have a fellow, Tom Ware, who I’m told can tell stories. What sort of stories does he tell? Are they what many people envision: yarns about ghosts or fairy tales for children? Isn't this what a storyteller does?
The word ‘raconteur,’ on the other hand, seems to bespeak humor. One thinks of the comedian on stage saying, “Funny thing happened to me on the way here tonight.” And we then expect from our raconteur a series of stories which will make us laugh.
Tom's tells stories of history, and mystery, and things both real and unreal
But Tom falls into neither of these categories. His tales are certainly not fairy stories for children. Neither could they be classified as overly-humorous. Though from some of them you will get a laugh. No, mostly Tom tells of things which have happened in actual life in Twentieth Century History. Tom’s tales are of the sea, the air, war, relationships between people and people, and between people and their environment. Some are quite philosophical.
So let us look very briefly at some of these yarns. Firstly those of the sea.
Mess deck or office yarns. Listen and remember.
Tales of the sea and of aviation - all grist to the mill.
Tom can speak the language of the sailor for he was in the Australian Navy for six years way back in the 1950s. He gives a presentation on colliers, the coal ships which supplied that vital material to our cities not to far back in time. A Master Storyteller, Tom Ware is able to bring the era to life in the mind of the listener. He tells of some of the mysterious and seemingly miraculous things which happen at sea, such as ‘The Miracle off Long Reef,’ the ‘Mystery of the Mary Celeste.’ and that greatest of all sea stories, the RMS Titanic.
The Raconteur is not necessarily a humorist but he can still make you laugh
Having served as a Communications Officer (akin to air-traffic control) for eleven years, he is able to bring to life the world of the airline pilot and the dramas which sometimes surround the world of aviation. Here Tom tells us of ‘Lost over the Pacific,’ ‘Incident over Dubbo,’ ‘Aircraft Missing’ and his hilarious tale, ‘The Runaway Auster.’ Every one of these yarns is based on a true event.
Tom a few years back. He's been at it for nearly forty years.
Tom has had several 'careers' and a swag of jobs.
Born in South London before World War Two, Tom has experienced that city during ‘the Blitz’ when Adolf Hitler’s Luftwaffe were determined to “flatten London.” Because of this he has an insight into how to tell stories that have occurred in war, such as ‘Korean Christmas’, the ‘Station Masters Bell’ and ‘Portrait of the Son.’
Tom migrated to Australia in 1951, just prior to his fifteenth birthday and has held a swag of jobs and careers. He has worked in Australia, Papua-New Guinea and New Zealand, and even served a year as an Antarctic expeditioner on MacQuarie Island. His story, ‘The Sealers,’ comes from such an experience. He’s a family man with children and grandchildren, so he knows domesticity as well as adventure. Hence he can tell ‘Information Please’ the story of a little boy’s relationship with a telephonist he never gets to meet.
So what do you think? Is there a difference betwen a Master Storyteller and a Raconteur?
So is Tom Ware a Storyteller or a Raconteur? Is he one or the other - or both? Certainly he is flattered by those who call him a Master of Stories. Everyone likes to be good at something. Is Tom a Master of Story? I’ll leave that decision up to you.
You can find out for yourself by going to either of the links shown below.
