Fussy people die': how a trumpet player, a spy and a snake changed my life

A journalist describes spending 74 hours on a three-night Bushcraft Survival Course in Australia’s Northern Territory, in extreme “purposeful discomfort” south of Darwin. The group includes 10 participants and runs skills training led by instructor Gordon Dedman, a professional cruise-ship trumpet player and former Commando who also consults on the TV show “Alone – Australia.” The assistant is a former ringer-turned tour guide-turned raptor keeper. Participants include X, a French AI specialist; two snipers; a former British spy; military veterans; and an ecologist. The account focuses on survival lessons like making fire, shelter, navigation, and water purification, alongside challenges such as eating live mealworms.