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MUG 60th Anniversary
2024
A reflection on the life of a diver
ONCE A DIVER, ALWAYS A DIVER
Sultana, our MUG secretary, has asked me to write something about Blob for the MUG Weekly.
For those of you who know Blob, or those who don’t know - Robert Latimer -
...here is a small glimpse from my point of view on his life.
Nowadays the lingo would be...POV.
As I hold the Blue Booklet that Blob wrote in 1977 about MUG in my hand, I think about all these years gone by and how blessed I am to be able to ask him about his adventures and to see his blue eyes light up as he delves back into the treasure trove of his memories.
There should be one last copy left of this Booklet at MUG, but for anyone who hasn’t read it, you can download it from this page below, where you can also see Blob’s diving album and some words he said when the MUG had to leave our historic Clubhouse in 2020, and we came to the end of an era.
Nowadays, if ever we accidentally drive past the old Clubhouse and what remained of it,
we get a feeling of melancholy, as I am sure many of you can relate.
When we met Sultana at the new Clubhouse for the first time this year 2024 in early November,
Blob was pleased to see MUG’s new home and some of the old souvenirs along with it:
the Anchor, the Cannon & the Decompression Chamber.
We love the MUG Historical Wall in the Bar as well as some of Blob’s relics he brought up from the sea. Thanks to everyone involved in making the new Clubhouse as it is today...
a special thanks to Cassamjee whom we heard is the mastermind behind it all.
The footprints we leave on this earth will remain for future generations to enjoy.
I believe Blob is the last surviving Founder Member of the MUG.
He was only 17 when they founded the MUG in May 1964,
along with his brother Nick and their dad Vic Latimer.
Here below a list of all the founder members.
Blob’s love for diving has taken him to many places...
from Mauritius to South Africa and Namibia (Southwest Africa in the 60’s) as well as Scotland and back to Mauritius.
In Mauritius, together with his dad Vic, they trained the first Diving Teams for both the Mauritius Police Force
and the SMF, in the Royal Navy Swimming Pool which was on the army base in Vacoas,
before Mauritius gained Independence.
Vic did the lecturing and Blob did the practical demonstrations in the pool.
During these days they also located the wreck of H.M.S. Sirius, you can read more about this and many other adventures in Blob’s MUG Book.
Blob worked as a Commercial Diver in Southern Africa in Durban with Phillipe Paturau;
in Cape Town where he did his South African Navy Hard Hat Diving Course
and also qualified in Mixed Gas Diving as part of a 6 man diving team;
in Southwest Africa during the Angola War
and on the ships Rockeater – diving for diamonds - and the Gemsbok, a salvage ship.
In Scotland he was based in Dundee & Aberdeen
where he worked as a Hard Hat Diver
for “Fly a Diver” and was flown all around the coast of Scotland
for various missions.
In the photo below he looks just like an undersea astronaut.
Later on Blob settled in Mauritius with his wife Kathy,
who has been his sweetheart since she was 14 years old.
Blob embraced his Scottish heritage when he married into Kathy’s Family Clan.
Here in Mauritius, amongst other ventures,
Blob started his own Photography and Filming Company, LATISCOPE.
He did underwater filming, graphic design, advertising, photography and videography in the days long before smartphones...
when equipment was still very heavy
and the formats were Super 8, VHS and U-matic film.
Blob recalls
...diving with Jacques Cousteau in Mauritius and collaborating with the Australian couple Ron & Valerie Taylor in Mauritius and Cape Town whilst filming the documentary Blue Water, White Death.
...doing a Survey for the Government of Mauritius of the island of Agalega
which included film, photography and a report.
...going on a rescue mission with the Australian Air Force
to St. Paul’s Island in Antarctica to help the stranded crew
of a Japanese Fishing Trawler.
The subsequent news broke in 14 countries around the world.
Blob was also a past Grand Master and active member for many years of the Mauritius HASH House Harriers...the running club with a drinking problem!
If I had to list all the projects that Blob was involved with, it would take me a year to do!
He met so many interesting people while in Mauritius, members of the British Royal Family including Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Fergie and even Princess Stephanie of Monaco.
Kathy was a ward for the British High Commission for many years, and this led to Blob becoming a “Jack of all Trades” for the British, Americans and the Australians who always used to call him for numerous exploits in Mauritius as he could speak Creole and knew how everything worked on the island.
During the later years,
Blob and I visited the MUG regularly on Tuesday Nights
& even if he was not diving underwater anymore,
he always enjoyed diving into a huge MUG of BEER!
Say this in a Scottish accent and it will rhyme!
Here below are a few snapshots of Blob’s MUG Files at random:
Now...let’s go back a few steps in time.
1950’s
The Latimers went from the UK to South Africa when Blob was 2 years old.
Blob came to Mauritius in 1958 with his parents Vic and Pauline and his 2 younger brothers, Nicholas and Ruggles.
The picture below was taken in Las Palmas, when they stepped off the MV Carnarvon Castle once en route to Cape Town.
Blob was 11 years old at the time they came to Mauritius and finished his schooling
in St. Esprit and Maserier.
He recalls riding to school with Nick on their bicycles and coming back up to Curepipe
on the train...
sharing food with their classmates at breaks, tasting those typical Mauritian delights like 'gateaux piment inside di pain', and introducing their friends
to peanut butter & jam sandwiches!
He was a child member of the Mauritius Military Gymkhana Club which became the Military and Naval Gymkhana Club and then became the Mauritius Gymkhana Club as a Civilian Club after Independence.
Blob became a member in his own right as soon as he was eligible.
The Gymkhana is the oldest Golf Course in the Southern Hemisphere
and the 4th oldest in the world.
THE BAND
Blob was also a keen musician and together with Nick they started their band “The Whirlwinds” even before MUGs.
Blob learned to play guitar very early and remembers fondly how Tommy Steele taught him to play his first chords C,F & G on the MV Carnarvon Castle.
Tommy was playing and performing on the ship, and Blob loved the guitar so much that Vic bought him his very first plastic guitar
when they stepped off on Las Palmas.
The other band members were their childhood friends George Dumbell (Drums), Mike Taylor (Rhythm Guitar), Martin Browne (Singer), and in later years,
Jean Michelle de Senneville (Rhythm Guitar) and Pipo Nairac who played Guitar.
Blob was on Lead Guitar and Nick on Bass Guitar.
The Whirlwinds had their last musical jam together in 1998
at the Grand Baie Yacht Club but they still get together for lunch and laughs
at George’s every few years.
Blob studied Graphic Design at Loughborough College of Art in the UK.
Later on while living in Creighton Avenue, East Finchley,
he met up with Cliff Richard who lived in the same road and used to rehearse
in the Church at the end of the road during his very early days.
BROTHERS AND BEST MATES
There was only a year age difference between Blob and Nick,
they were best friends and did most things together...
from diving to playing music, boating, partying and being young and carefree boys on a tropical island.
As young adults they both worked on ships in South Africa
as divers and shared a very close bond.
Nick got married to Gloria quite early and they had two sons,
Clinton and Anthony.
Sadly, Nick died in a car accident in South Africa
before he could meet his daughter, Nicole.
This event has scarred every single member of the Latimer family
for years to come...even to this day.
Nick’s son Anthony, or Ant as we all know him,
has followed in his dad & Blob’s footsteps and became a Freediver,
holding 3 South African records.
His first SA record was in 2011, in Egypt, a few months after his first freediving course.
Then another one in Cape Town in 2014,
and the most recent one was November 2023 in Cape Town.
After years of focusing on growing and developing the sport in SA,
and coaching their best talent to help them achieve success,
Ant has now decided to compete again, getting ready for more records!
Blob’s youngest brother Rug went back to the UK and married Joy.
They had a son Nicholas and a daughter Louise...
and they have recently become grandparents to Louise’s son Morgan,
our adorable great nephew whom we love to bits.
LOVE AND LOSS
Blob lost Kathy to cancer early in 2009 when she was a mere 56 years old.
MORE ENDEAVOURS
Blob was also a Co-Founder of the MMCS -
Mauritius Marine Conservation Society –
He worked with the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation for many years
through filming and photography.
His parents were involved in the Foundation of the PHWA –
Physically Handicapped Welfare Association in Mauritius
and his mom Pauline received an OBE for her contribution
to many charitable causes in Mauritius.
SANTA CLAUS
Blob has also been Santa Claus for 55 years before he retired during Covid.
He spent years making children smile, and many parents and grandparents
still swear that he is the only true Santa Claus.
Blob never asked for anything, but whenever anyone offered him payment,
he would ask for a cheque in favour of the PHWA,
continuing in his parents’ footsteps in his own way.
Below a few memorable pics of Santa Claus.
Now, Blob is 77 or as he says,14 (2x7).
He is enjoying his life taking things easy at home with our two dogs Twinkle & Fuzzy.
He still loves his beer and good times with close friends and family,
the occasional jamming on his guitar and spending time keeping in touch
on Facebook and WhatsApp.
He still enjoys going for a swim in the sea,
he can float for hours on his back with a beer on his chest!
Sometimes, at night, he still dives in his dreams.
At times, he also gets nightmares from the many (not so glamorous)
diving expeditions he went on.
Such is life as a diver – once a diver, always a diver.
And, more importantly as Blob always says:
“There are Old Divers and Bold Divers, but no Old Bold Divers”
As I conclude this, I realise there were so many things I have not mentioned.
Mine is but a tiny glimpse on a life well lived.
As for all of you who have any ties with the MUG...past, present and future:
POTIARIS MARIUM – May you be master of the seas.
Make a difference, deep down or up here on solid ground.
And always – safe diving.
From Blob’s very own mermaid,
Zan
MUG Fundraising Details
Local Donations
Pay with Juice
MUG
(Mauritius Underwater Group)
MCB
000410904775
Global Donations
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MTIUS UNDERWATER GROUP
MCB - Mauritius Commercial Bank
IBAN - MU31MCBL0941000000904775000MUR
Current Account - 000410904775
SWIFT Code - MCBLMUMU
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mug.treasurer@gmail.com
MUG thanks you in advance for any donations
