Lone Sharks?

Anyone tempted to question the bountiful evidence of Professor Thrupiece's fearless nature and well-deserved reputation for physical fitness - particularly as a younger man* - will be forever silenced by pictures now released from the Official Professor Thrupiece Photographic Archive [OPTPA] formerly housed in the Branscombe Library but recently transferred to the state-of-the-art Thrupiece Photographic Archive [TPA] in an undisclosed location somewhere near Clifton Maybank. Licensed to The Threadbone Corporation for worldwide distribution, precious and previously unseen materials are casting new light on the Olympian athlete that was the young to middle-aged Professor and causing the doubters to think twice before shamefully denigrating his many and varied achievements.

* we are thinking here mainly of his enviable reputation in the field of "manly" outdoor sports/adventure rather than his unquestioned record of indoor conquest. Though a renowned and fully-certified all-weather outdoor horizontal-jogger, those who knew him well are united in their belief that he was never more impressively or expressively "himself" than when "pulling out the big one" and coaching ingenues within the confines of his own domicile. Many of these performances were private, so that his unrivalled reputation inevitably rests on the testimony of those either caught up in or closely observing the events concerned. Their stories are, however, impressively consistent and we at professorthupiece.com are inclined to believe them. It should be added that data collected from the Professor's "training partners" after their arrival at the triage station at Herston General Hospital adds weight to the many accounts of his "arresting physicality".

To re-list all of the Professors many sporting and adventure-based accomplishments would be tedious [see multiple blogs] and [for once [Ed]] we will refrain from doing so. Instead we have decided simply to add a further category to his accomplishments: excitingly one which has never been highlighted before - Professor Thrupiece the diver/endurance swimmer and sharkhunter/ tamer extraordinaire.

Taken several decades apart the similarity of pose evident in these two pictures attests to a sound technique and a well-balanced ["full"] package. Professor Thrupiece often averred that the secret of longevity in physical activity was continuous application allied to a willingness to refresh and experiment. Photographs courtesy of the TPA digitally restored and enhanced using the Threadbone Corporation's patent technologies.

Two pictures in particular reinforce the assertion that shark-training was an ever present in the Professor's workouts from at least his early 20s into his 40s and 50s, with some anecdotal evidence suggesting that he remained a participant in the Canford Cliff's Shark Hunters' Annual Club Swim well into his mid 70s. Never one to do things by half, Professor Thrupiece is known to have wrestled several sharks in a single session, defeating one on points [judges scorecards averaged 5:2] and another in a technical knock-down. It is said that he offered the latter a rematch, but so low was its post-fight self-esteem that it declined the invitation. It's jaw bone can be seen above the bar in snug of The Square and Compass, Canford Cliffs. Visitors to the bar are agreed that "it doesn't look best pleased".