Wednesday 27th: It is a great feeling to be league champions and today we confirmed our status at Sorell by completing the midweek pennant season on top of the second tier of Southern Tasmanian Bowls. The last time I was in a similar winning position I was aged 10 and as a result met the late great Harry Potts.
Tuesday 26th: What a joy to watch the largely understated, well- considered and gracious ‘thank you’ speeches by the British contingent at the 2013 Oscars. Why is it that the actors from the ex-colonies and the other US states cannot put together a speech which is little short of hysterical, emotional and without fail excruciatingly embarrassing?
Monday 18th: It would be fair to label me by and large an isolationist. If that means I think we are crazy to import oranges from the USA and sell them individually on our supermarket shelves whilst Aussie oranges can only be purchased in 3KG bags then so be it. If it means I applaud Malaysia for ejecting a nosy Australian independent senator so be it. Both ‘globalisation’ and ‘growth’ are suspect political con tricks. Growth of course must ultimately be finite and then what? Globalisation on the other hand seems to mean everyone should ultimately experience life at a generic level of the lowest common denominator. Not quite what most first world citizens voted in their politicians to achieve.
Saturday 16th: After a fantastic few days touring Tasmanian and meeting another resident Burnley FC fan it is time to put my feet up and just enjoy our wonderful weekend weather. This week I watched a Bruce Willis movie with sub titles. However the sub titles were in English. This was at the suggestion of a lady from Yorkshire, not because Yorkshire folk want to get the most out of everything but because it makes it a damn sight easier to follow fast moving ‘foreign’ language dialogue. It really works and I didn’t find it the least bit distracting. It also means you can follow the plot even with others talking around you. Listening to the car radio I wondered how radio news editors make the decision to provide voice overs. Regional or foreign accents are sometimes difficult for listeners to follow and radio doesn’t have the luxury of sub titles which, even on TV current events programs, can be insulting to speaker and some viewers if not used with tact.
Monday 11th: Its pretty easy to get hot under the collar about something specific and it is very frustrating when you as an individual cannot change anything. So it was last week when I read that some cultural groups are having abortions specifically to avoid having baby girls. Now clearly when that ‘group’ is identifiable because it forms an immigrant population in a modern first world country you might think politicians would take immediate steps to prevent what is in effect a crime against humanity (well 50% of humanity) on their doorstep. If you live in Britain the clear message from a Health Minister, Earl Howe, is don’t hold your breath… Meanwhile a fox has attacked another baby in a London suburb. The only protest march I have ever been on saw more people (approximately 500,000) marching against the abolition of hunting. Back in 2002 that was far more than protested against the Iraq war the next year. The lesson for both groups of protestors? Tony Blair doesn’t give a fig for your views. Ten years on Iraq remains a sore on the backside of humanity and the fox population in the UK is out of control.
Wednesday 6th: I have long been convinced that life is mainly cyclical, that history repeats itself and that little is really new in humanity’s experience. Take same-sex marriage, politicians brought low by corruption and sex scandals, poor and negligent health care to mention just a few issues headlined today. I reckon drugs will be legalised in the not too distant future and that the European Union will break up into smaller, less formal alliances. There really is nothing new under the sun….
Monday 4th: The warship with the largest calibre gun in history was Scottish. The gun ‘Mons Meg’ had a calibre of 22 inches and the ship, the Great Michael was launched in 1511. A great admirer of Scotland perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover it was a Scottish warship over 500 years ago that was the first precursor of the modern warship. With twice the displacement of its ill fated contemporary Mary Rose and a crew of over 400 she was a testament to the spirit of Scotland, albeit a spirit too often divided by nobles and churchmen.
The Great Michael
Sunday 3rd: Our Prime Minister Julia Gillard said about two departing ministers “I know I’ll continue to see them as human beings for a long, long time to come”. Now isn’t that the weirdest choice of words? Or are our politicians really all aliens in disguise? perhaps though she was simply being generous ….!