“Puncture and Repair” was the alternative title to Bruce Simcock’s talk about recovering from a stroke, and what an inspiring address it was. One morning in 2015 Bruce went for a customary ride along the coast during which he felt a tingling in his leg. He managed to get himself home and his wife Robyn met him in the driveway, took one look and got him off to hospital. He spent 8 weeks there and the stroke left him with a complex language disability called Broca’s Aphasia – which affects one’s language but not one’s intelligence – as well as Apraxia, a muscle weakness of the tongue that makes it difficult to move the mouth in the way needed to produce sounds and words. Bruce and Robyn have taken a positive attitude to the recovery process in the seven years since the event, and have based the recovery on the FAST principles namely, attend to the Face, Arms, Speech and allow Time. They have also adapted FAST to mean Fitness, Attitude, Support and Time, and together they have nurtured Bruce back to a very manageable situation. He now does pottery and is a member of the Lake Monger Community Shed, and he plans to do a barista course with his son in the near future. He has also been a volunteer at Rocky Bay. Bruce’s approach is to not be afraid of trying something new; have a go but avoid over-stimulation! He urges people to grab any support that they can get, and to take time to smell the roses! Bruce is a Vice-President of Aphasia WA which is planning a Conference in Perth during May. Bruce concluded his talk with a Nelson Mandela quote: ‘A winner is a dreamer who never gives up’. Well done Bruce and Robyn!