Ramblings from the road
I have attended every Melbourne Cup since 1960.
It’s the only horserace in Australia that “Stops the Nation,” with even Parliament stoping for those three and half minutes or so while the race is run and won and another name is etched in the annals of Cup history as the winner of this great race.
Continue reading “Melbourne Cup Tradition”
“Where’s that useless bastard, Norm!!” roared Bruce.
“He’s let me down again. I don’t know why I asked him to run this department. He couldn’t organise a shit fight in a septic tank. Ah, there you are, you poor excuse for a manager.”
Continue reading “Norm”
For a couple of years after Marg and I got married we lived in Ascot Vale, a few streets down from where John the Pommie resided. The two of us used to get a lift into work with one of our workmates called Richard. Richard didn’t have a nickname as such but was forever on the receiving end of a lot of “Dick” jokes such as: “Have you got a second, Dick?” or “Have you got a bit of string on ya, Dick?”
He used to pick us up on the corner of our street, where, while waiting from him, I used to have to put up with all the stories about “Munchester United”, the soccer team the Pommie used to follow “buck home” home in England.
Continue reading “John & Richard”
Dane & Wayne did their apprenticeship together and were good mates. They arrived at work each day in Dane’s hotted up panel van and the smoke fuming out of their car was not exactly petrol related, if you know what I mean.
Continue reading “Dane & Wayne”
I took up oil painting in June 1986; Australian landscapes mainly and some still life when I needed a change of subject. I studied for about two years under an old artist name John Spink who specialised in bush scenes, old huts and billabongs.
Continue reading “The Artist”
“He’s got a lot to answer for, this bloke.”
“What do you mean; He’s got a lot to answer for, this bloke. What the hell are you talking about now!”
That was the start of another argument about music that Marg and I frequently have. Let me start from the begining:
Continue reading “Music Review”
My introduction to rock and roll music came when I heard “Rock Around the Clock”, sung by the late Bill Haley. The song was from the movie “The Blackboard Jungle” and was virtually the predecssor to all other rock songs that followed in that era.
Continue reading “My Music Journey”
We migrated to Australia from Holland when I was 12 years old and my first look at Melbourne was from the deck of the migrant ship ‘Sibajak’, just before we docked at Port Melbourne. The skyline of the city was nowhere near as imposing as it is today and at first sight I couldn’t say that I was over-impressed.
Continue reading “Bonegilla”February 2000
I imagine that every racehorse owner dreams of owning a Melbourne Cup winner, or a Cox Plate, a Golden Slipper, or to stand in the winners circle after winning the Caulfield Cup.
Continue reading “Ole Black Magic”
One day, Wally our office cleaner, was cleaning the toliets when we decided to put a wooden wedge under the bottom of the door so that it would jam and he wouldn’t be able to come out again.
Continue reading “Wally”