Fangs for the memory

Dot and Robin Clydesdale spent part of their 50th wedding anniversary in hospital after Robin was bitten by a snake while gardening in his Berwick backyard. 23149 Picture: Stewart Chambers

By Callan Date
A BERWICK couple’s 50th wedding anniversary celebrations moved from the family lounge room to a ward at Casey Hospital on Saturday.
Dot and Robin Clydesdale had their special day railroaded after a snake bit Mr Clydesdale, 75, on his arm while he was gardening.
About 20 close relatives and friends were heading to the Berwick house for the day but a change of plans was needed after the incident occurred sometime before 11.30am.
Instead, many guests descended on the hospital throughout the day to make sure Mr Clydesdale was not left out of the fun.
The drama was nothing like the day, 50 years ago exactly, when the couple got married at Berwick Uniting Church.
Mr Clydesdale said he was taken straight to hospital after a medically trained neighbour inspected the bite mark.
“I was a bit concerned. I didn’t actually feel any bite occur but once I got to the hospital they wouldn’t let me go,” Mr Clydesdale said.
More than 15 hours of observation and several tests later he was discharged.
But not before many family and friends, who had headed to the original anniversary celebrations at the couple’s house, dropped in to wish the main man well.
“All the family had turned up at our house and by the time everyone had got here all hell had broken loose,” Mrs Clydesdale said.
“We were all going backwards and forwards from the hospital during the day. Robin said go ahead without him, so we did.”
Medical staff told the couple that a snake was the likely culprit, but no venom had been injected during the bite.
Mrs Clydesdale, 72, said it would be a day they would never forget.
She said they first met when Robin moved to the Berwick area in the 1950s.
Dot, daughter of well-known Berwick man Jim Richardson, said they soon warmed to each other.
The couple, who have three sons and eight grandchildren, said the secret to their relationship was having a strong and loyal family around them.
The latest incident comes only a few weeks after Brendan Williams was bitten by a snake at Wilson Botanic Park.
The 15-year-old was reading a text message on his mobile phone when he realised he had been bitten.
The St Francis Xavier student was transported to Casey Hospital but after two blood tests and a swab of his leg, doctors confirmed that no venom had entered his system.