Pittwater Life April 2024 Issue

Warriewood’s Piano Man
News
Every day at 4pm, Dr
Bill delights the fellow
residents of Arcare Warriewood
Aged Care home with
his brilliant Piano playing –
all the more impressive given
Bill is 102 years old.
It takes me by surprise
when I think about it, but I’ve
never met anyone who was
over 100. If I had any preconceptions
of what a centenarian
might look and act like,
then Dr Bill blows them away
pretty quickly. He launches
into some Gershwin on the piano
and looks me straight in
the eyes as he says: “I’m not
really a fan of the acoustics
in this room. And these keys
[he nods at the baby grand]
are wooden rather than ivory
– but it still makes a good
sound.”
It certainly does. And it
continues to do so as Bill
goes through his repertoire
of Rachmaninov (“my real
favourite”), Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’
(from Porgy and
Bess), and Burt Bacharach.
“Classical and music from the
1940s and ’50s are my favourites,”
says Bill.
Bill’s daughter Sue turns
the sheet music pages lovingly
as Bill plays with his mouth
slightly open in concentration.
“I’ve always done that,”
Bill laughs.
“He absolutely loves playing,”
says Sue proudly. “He
used to play every evening at
home while mum was cooking
dinner,” she remembers
fondly.
Now he plays in the beautiful
tearoom at the Arcare
home in Warriewood which in
many ways has the feel of a
grand art deco hotel.
Bill says he learnt when
he was only five and so has
played for 97 years. He played
throughout his school years as
a border at Shore School, and
then at university, where he
played hymns on the organ.
“I’d love an organ,” says Bill,
with mischievous eyes, “a
Wurlitzer would be wonderful.”
Until the organ comes
along, Bill is happy to sit at
the baby grand every day at
4pm and tinkle the ivorylooking
wood keys.
“The staff always love listening
to Bill as they go about
their work,” says Sue. “And he
normally has one or two people
come and sit and listen.”
It’s one of a few things
that keep Bill seeming much
younger than his 102 years.
His hearing is not good and
he relies on a walker to get
around, but other than that
you would guess he was in
his 80s.
And he has certainly lived
a life.
Born in 1922, Bill became a
radiologist and oncologist, being
one of only two Australians
of his generation to get a
fellowship to study in the UK
– where he met his wife, Joan,
who was on a working holiday
in London at the time. He
worked in his field until the
late 1970s, when he became
one of the first people in Sydney
to practice hypnotherapy
– helping people with anxiety
and addictions.
Joan died in 2010 and it
was 2019 when Bill moved
into aged care at Warriewood.
He bought a small electric
keyboard for his room during
COVID.
Towards the end of my own
private concert, I ask Bill what
his advice would be for a long
and happy life.
He considers before saying:
“You need to find a way to
escape the rage and noise of
this world sometimes,” says
Bill. “It’s important that you
concentrate on your breathing.
That you relax as you let
your breath out. And that you
find happy things to think
about and to do. I have my
music and crosswords and I
still like to go for walks. You
need to find a way to break
free from the real world.”
– Rob Pegley
20 APRIL 2024
The Local Voice Since 1991