After World War I ended an Australian soldier lay in a military hospital in London. His arms were mutilated stumps but he was a violinist, and insisted on making music. The nurses rigged up a complex support system of pulleys and wires, and, somehow, he played the violin again.

Almost exactly 100 years later, Paul Ham, the author of that story, looks fit and well-limbed, and playing with his knife and fork. He expertly portions off a piece of delicious bresaola, sitting in the corner table of Sydney's famous Lucio's Restaurant.