Author: jkirkby8712

A sister’s birthday today, but as Jill suggested on the phone this morning, she was feeling a little too exhausted in body & mind to really enjoy the occasion with problems of another sibling taking a bit of precedence at present.  Anyway, greetings were exchanged, and a very lengthy update on current situation discussed in our early morning phone conversation. It was to be hoped that plans for the coming weekend would go part of the way to solving some of the issues of concern.

Another concern, on a more national front, relates to one of my principal topics of interest in these pages, situations concerning our refugees. I made a brief comment on Facebook this morning which created a bit of response, as it justifiably should. I had this to say.

• ‘Our Prime Minister recently showed a lot of compassion for the survivors of the Queensland floods who lost family members, as did most Australians, I’m sure. I wonder if we could extend that compassion a little further?  So an 8 year traumatised boy, whose parents drowned and he almost drowned in the recent Christmas Island boat tragedy, has been returned to detention on Christmas Island, despite having existing family in Sydney. This boy must be a terrible  threat to our society!!!  Terrible decision, Mr Immigration Minister.  Other detained children report that Seena runs to the fence when new boat arrivals come to the camp in buses. He tells the other kids that his Mum and Dad will be on that bus. When they do not get off he says they will be on the next bus.  Why do we need to keep this boy locked up? ‘  My attention was drawn to this situation by an organisation called  ChilOut – Children Out of Immigration Detention, and I found myself wondering later, just how accurate and perhaps ‘unbiased’ their reporting was. It seems to have been confirmed by later news reports I came across such as the following from the Nine Network:

“A nine-year-old boy traumatised after losing both his parents in the Christmas Island shipwreck will return to detention despite have relatives willing to care for him in Sydney.  Relatives fear the Iranian-born Seena will return to his daily ritual in detention of staring blankly at the gate waiting for new arrivals, in the hope his mother will be among them, The Age reports.  The only child will be returned to Christmas Island’s detention centre today after the funeral of his parents in Sydney on Tuesday, even though he has around 10 relatives living in Sydney.  Seena’s father was buried on Tuesday, but his mother’s body has not been recovered.  Seena’s extended family have expressed concern about the state of the boy, who insisted that he be buried with his father at the funeral.  An aunt who is in detention with Seena is reportedly too traumatised by December’s Christmas Island boat crash to comfort him, cousin Jaffar Ali Alghban said.  ”We are more than happy to take responsibility for him,” he said.  The federal government has refused pleas from survivors of the boat crash to be allowed to stay in Sydney while their asylum claims are being processed’.   ChilOut had been asking readers to write to the Prime Minister, and the Immigration Minister asking that the child be released immediately to his family in Sydney, with the hope that the Prime Minister’s compassion for Queensland flood victims could be extended to this little orphan of another tragic drowning.  Interesting, though not optimistic of seeing a favourable to that request, but if there is enough public ‘outcry’, well, from little things, bit things grow, as they say.

• Some interesting responses to my original Facebook entry. For example, Greg wrote that:-  I agree Bill, but when you look at the comments in the Herald Sun then the dog whistling becomes an issue – especially for a minority government. Scott Morrison – where did he come from? And of course Kevin Andrews is still there!!! Joe Hockey stood up – but the others have acted in a rather awful way.Where are the leaders we need? Joe Hockey stood up, – but the others have acted in a rather awful way. Where are the leaders we need?  Jane [from the UK] wrote: Bill that is so sad x x I feel most MP s all around the world only tend to display compassion when their actions will be a benefit to them. Usually at election times !!!  From Christine, came Like Greg’s “Where are the leaders we need?” Seems since “political correctness” became correct, no-one is willing to go against criticism etc & lead.  Sad to read of that boy Bill…no easy solution but human compassion would think he should be with his relatives L…
• I responded to those comments with some more of my own:-  I guess that was partially the point of my reference to the situation re your last point Christine, where young children are alone, and there are family available, surely some flexibility in the rules can  be applied! I still think many of our ‘leaders’ continue to adapt the approaches to this question [of refugees] that they ‘assume’ what the rest of the population thinks – there are votes in going the perceived way of the people.our ‘leaders’ continue to adapt the approaches to this question [of refugees] – but is it really what the average citizen thinks – or are some of these politicians who are starting to speak up against the political trend a truer indication  of the way we want these refugees to be treated.  Spin and scare campaigns by both sides over the past decade have tended to bully public opinion – but I think perhaps that public opinion is becoming tired  of being bullied or pressured – that red headed woman from the fish and chip shop up north tried it a few years ago, and where is she now? Gone, where she belonged!  I didn’t see the Herald-Sun comments, sorry Greg, but I’ve had a quick look at the web site you mentioned, and the above points seem to be borne out in respect  to, not just refugees, but Muslims and other groups as well – we do need more Joe Hockeys and others  in parliament to start speaking out more against the rednecked attitudes and comments that the public often seems to willing to believe.  And Jane, yes, in many ways, I think you are right too 🙂

 I  finished my Wednesday at a Family History Group general meeting – was good to see a reasonable turn up of members, willing to keep the group operational and active, after last year’s concerns that ‘things’ were falling apart, and disbandment looked likely

Postscript to refugee issue   ‘Mr Bowen [Immigration Minister] says he will apply the new laws allowing children out of detention.”It will apply to him [the young boy from Iran] urgently because he has been through a very traumatic situation,” he said.

I went out again last night – this time to see a movie, and while other aspects of the night [as shall be revealed] spoilt the night a little, it was an extremely worthwhile visit.  The movie was ‘THE KING’S SPEECH’ which in short was the story of the man who became King George VI of Britain, of his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch  who was plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, ‘Bertie’, through his wife’s persistence [the eventual Queen Mother], engages the help of an unorthodox Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war [or as one reviewer put it –   ‘the story of King George VI’s transition from a blubbering stutter-stricken wreck to a smooth spokesperson for the throne’. The patient/psychologist, teacher/student plotline runs parallel to that of Albert’s ascension to the throne due to a scandalous marriage perused by his brother Edward VIII (Guy Pearce). 

I have to say that I found the movie and storyline totally absorbing, with that impression added to by the brilliant acting, especially by the two lead male roles – Colin Firth as ‘Bertie’ [King George VI] and Geoffrey Rush as the unorthodox speech therapist. There was one particularly interesting point made about the film by one writer, which basically directed the urgency and necessity for the stammer problem to be overcome – with the advent of the wireless, no longer could royalty parade the streets at a distance and rule from the sanctity of their palaces, but they had to be heard as well..  ‘Set during the 1930s, when the British royal family were slowly making peace with the realization that the monarchy was no longer about ruling and governance but about stage managing media representations. Not long into director Tom Hooper’s feel good slice of historical fiction Michael Gambon as King George V enunciates an impassioned spiel about how the royal family can’t pass policy, can’t govern, and that the media – particularly the strange beast called the wireless – has recast them as a group of actors’.

As with my comments about Bryce Courtney novels on Sunday, the historical aspect of the movie, even though embellished for the purposes of entertainment, etc, was a particular fascination for your writer. Luke Buckmaster, writing in ‘Cinetology’ about the movie, explains this ‘impression’ much better than I ever could.  He says:-    ‘The dramatic momentum in The King’s Speech flows far too fluidly for it to be bought in the context of historical veracity as anything other than “inspired by.” Hooper suavely and cleanly fulfils the dramatic rhythms required for interesting storytelling, a telltale sign that liberties have been taken, truth stretched. However, it’s a fool – or a person destined for disappointment upon disappointment – who measures individual scenes in recreations such as this against historical knowledge to determine artistic worthiness. Adapting a “true” story has never been about being faithful to facts, per se; the genius lies in taking fiction and finding ways to make it truthful. This often manifests in broad strokes and emotional messages, and The King’s Speech demonstrates its brilliance in these departments in a tent pole moment in which Firth’s character, a king cursed with a most undignified of afflictions, musters up the courage to articulate an all-important declaration of WWII address to the people of Britain. We feel the gravity of the moment, not for its external ramifications – talk of a war that led to the death of millions of people – but for its personal significance in the life of one man who simply managed to spit it out’.    So if you are a student of history, but don’t mind occasionally straying from the precise facts and details in order to try and bring that ‘history to life’, this movie is a must see. I’ve not yet come across anyone who was vigorously critical of it.

 Meanwhile on the ABC television tonight, another fascinating episode of Q & A, and although at the time my mind was disturbingly on other matters involving one of my siblings and a family crisis up north [the details of which won’t be displayed in this forum], it was another interesting panel of guests facing the questions from a live studio audience. On the panel, we had John Pilger [journalist and author], Greg Sheridan [the ‘Australian newspaper’s foreign editor], Lydia Khalil [Middle East specialist], Craig Emersen [Federal Minister for Trade], and Helen Coonan [former Liberal Communications Minister]. I imagine that with Lydia on the panel,  quite a deal of discussion revolving around Egypt, Israel, etc, but in actual fact, from what I heard, 85% of the questions and subsequent debate & discussion [and argument I might say, particularly between Pilger & Sheridan, who should have been on the same side] involved the Wikileaks saga and their spokesman,  Julian Assange, and the rights and wrongs of all sides of that particular international ‘area’ of concern. Examples of a couple were:-

In the wake of charges of sexual assault being laid against Julian Assange, an incredible wave of misogynistic abuse was directed at Assange’s alleged victims by some supporters of Wikileaks. My question to the panel is, do you believe that, Julian Assange should be afforded heroic status and considered above reproach at the expense of affording appropriate weight to the investigation of serious allegations?  Or,

The Australian Government was quick to label Julian Assange a criminal despite the fact that he has not been charged with any crime and despite the fact that the information he released has been embarrassing at worst. Shouldn’t a government that is so fervently intent on bringing democracy to the middle east, practice what it preaches?

While apart from a couple of questions related to Egypt’s future and hopes for a peaceful outcome, it was inevitable that the following question concerning the controversy over a recent comment by Tony Abbott would be raised, viz,

While Tony Abbott’s “shit happens” comments could be construed in a number of different ways, what was the media’s role in making it the story that it is today? Was it a fair story and a real issue or was Tony Abbott under trial by media? Tony Abbott probably would have come out of that controversy looking much better had he responded in a different manner to the way he did when challenged by the Channel 7 reporters. General opinion on the panel pointed in that direction while not condemning T A of any wrong doing or disrespect towards our troops in Afghanistan. Similarly, even Greg Sheridan condemned the TV channel for their approach to the whole section, and I certainly agree with that view – very poor effort, once again, by the 7 network! 

A few brief points about each of last night’s panelists.

John Pilger, who grew up in Sydney, is known internationally as an unswerving opponent of tyranny and oppression and an articulate espouser of progressive causes. His enemies claims he exaggerates and distorts the facts to suit his political ends.  He has been a war correspondent, author and filmmaker. He is one of only two people to win British journalism’s highest award twice. He has been International reporter of the Year and winner of the United Nations Association Peace Prize and Gold Medal. For his broadcasting, he has won France’s Reporter Sans Frontieres and Academy Awards in both Britain and America. His first film, The Quiet Mutiny, made in 1970, revealed the rebellion within the US Army in Vietnam that led to its withdrawal. His 1979 documentary, Cambodia Year Zero, revealed the horrors of the Pol Pot regime. His new film, The War You Don’t See, shown on TV and in cinemas in the UK in December, will soon be released in Australia. He is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Heroes and A Secret Country, a history of Australia. In 2003 he received the prestigious Sophie Prize for ‘thirty years of exposing deception and improving human rights’. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Sydney Peace Prize. Recently John has become a leading supporter of Wikileak’s founder Julian Assange and has contributed to his legal defence on sexual assault charges.\

Lydia Khalil has spent her career focusing on the intersection between governance and security — whether it be understanding the rationales behind terrorism and counterinsurgency, how to create governance systems that lead to functioning societies or the effects of youth and technological change that inevitably impact every generation. Lydia focuses on the Middle East and the Arab world, and her current research examines how the rise of Middle Eastern youth will clash with the traditional power structures of the region.  In her early twenties Lydia was appointed to the White House Office of Homeland Security as a graduate fellow. A year later, she served as a policy advisor for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad from 2003-2004, where she worked closely with Iraqi officials on political negotiations and constitutional drafting. Since then, she has been a counterterrorism analyst for the New York Police Department, and currently holds numerous positions including her work as an International Affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior policy associate to the Project on Middle East Democracy.

Greg Sheridan is The Australian newspaper’s foreign editor and is one of Australia’s most respected and influential analysts of foreign affairs. Growing up in Sydney, Greg graduated from Sydney University with an arts degree in 1977 and was an active participant in the student politics of the time, along with future high-profile Liberals Tony Abbott and Peter Costello.  He began his journalistic career 30 years ago with The Bulletin, and his coverage of Vietnamese refugee stories in the period after the Vietnam War sparked a lifelong interest in Asia and regional politics. He joined The Australian in 1984 and worked in Beijing, Washington and Canberra before returning to Sydney as foreign editor in 1992. Greg knows the structures and societies of Australia’s neighbours intimately and has interviewed prime ministers and presidents in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and many other countries.  He is also a keen observer of US international affairs and is on close terms with senior figures in Washington. Greg is the author of several books on Asia and Australia’s role in the region.

Craig Emerson has represented the seat of Rankin, in outer suburban Brisbane, since 1998. Minister for Trade and a member of the Gillard Cabinet, Craig is regarded as one of the Government’s most innovative policy thinkers. Born in Baradine, NSW, in 1954, Craig studied economics at Sydney University and then completed a PhD in the subject at the Australian National University in Canberra.
 He has extensive experience in government at both the State and Federal levels. From 1986-90 he was economics adviser to Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and subsequently he was senior policy adviser to Queensland Premier Wayne Goss. Other positions he has held include CEO of the South-East Queensland Transit Authority; Director-General of the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage; and Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Craig has a deep policy interest in such areas as innovation, deregulation and ecologically sustainable development. He has written widely on challenging policy issues and on securing a prosperous future for Australia. His other interests include rugby league, volleyball and playing the guitar.

Helen Coonan entered the Senate at the 1996 election that brought the coalition to power under John Howard, and eventually became that government’s most senior female office-holder. Born in the NSW town of Mangoplah in 1947, Helen attended boarding school in Wagga Wagga before moving to the University of Sydney to complete her law degree. She then embarked on a diverse legal career that included starting her own legal firm, becoming a partner in a large commercial law firm an working as a commercial barrister.  She also practised as a registered attorney in New York for a large firm specialising in the entertainment industry, working for such clients as the New York City Ballet and making legal arrangements for Bruce Springsteen’s first tour of Australia. Following her election to the Senate Helen was promoted to the front bench after the 2001 election, when she became Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer. In 2004 she was promoted to the Cabinet as Minister for Communications and the Arts, a post she held until the Howard government lost office in 2007. In Opposition Helen was shadow minister for human services, foreign affairs and finance before deciding to leave the front bench when Malcolm Turnbull was defeated as Opposition Leader and replaced by Tony Abbott in December last year.

As for the more personal issues of the night, involving one of my sibling, well I came out of the cinema on a high from the movie I’d just watched, to find three messages from other siblings for me to contact them, regarding the circumstances surrounding a 4^th sibling!! I have to say, that left this writer feeling somewhat distressed for the rest of the evening, though I did manage a touch of amusement at the conclusion of Q & A, where a pre-recorded question involved a young man proposing to his girl, on camera!  A nice little Valentine’s Day touch, even if something I’d never do!!

Also learnt via Facebook, that son Adam, was moving out of home [again] – my wife’s family home. It had been intended that he and live in girlfriend would move out together – but apparently, she is staying behind for the time being, and Adam is on the move!  Shirley found out about the move from the girlfriend!!!  The ways of the young!!

Today is Tuesday  –  that all happened on Monday!! What will today bring??

Valentine’s Day – not something I have much cause to remember these days, but I do hope to see some flowers at home tonight – for my daughter, which will suggest that her boyfriend has remembered the occasion!!

However, if there are any readers out there, who are unlikely to receive an acknowledgement of the day per medium of flowers or otherwise, please accept this writer’s wishes that you have a pleasant day in any case, with the optimistic hope that something special will come your way.  Happy Valentine’s Day to all who would like to accept my greeting.

Your personal essayist finds himself feeling a little lonely tonight.  Susie [and Jimmy] have gone into the city for a concert – forgot to ask who was performing. Jimmy was driving, and after watching tonight’s news, I noticed that traffic in the St Kilda area, where an annual festival was in progress, was gridlocked,  and this would obviously overflow back towards the city and beyond. Oh well, hope he knows what he is doing – parking may be a problem! Anyway, I don’t expect to be awake [hope I’m not] when they return, almost wish [at 7.30 pm] I could sleep now!

I’ve basically been home all weekend – by choice – the only exception being my weekly early Sunday morning classical music spot on the radio. Amongst other things, I played one of the 15 string quartets that Franz Schubert composed in his short life [just 31 years] – today, was String Quartet No. 6, quite a bright piece in the usual four relatively short movements, typical of the quartets, which Schubert wrote in August/September 1813. I guess that being a supporter of the four girls who make up the Australian String Quartet, I have heard many string quartet compositions over the last few years, as obviously that is the principal source of their music.  However today’s music was played by a group called the Kodaly Quartet, who were all trained in Hungary where they have given many concerts naturally, but also performed  throughout Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. I’ve never heard them live out here, but have been aware of the occasional visit and concerts undertaken in Melbourne.

One of the other pieces of music I played this morning was a beautiful version of ‘The Last Rose of Summer’, sung by the late Joan Sutherland, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of her husband, Richard Bonynge. Long popular in Britain, this music found it’s way into a collection entitled ‘Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies’. Benjamin Britten set it uniquely for voice and piano, and then the composer, Flotow, incorporated it into his opera ‘Martha’. Quoting from one reviewer of this particular version ‘This last bloom, as it stands alone among a bed of fast-fading flowers, is used as a metaphor for the transcience of life itself – “When true hearts lie wither’d. And fond ones are flown. Oh! Who would inhabit This bleak world alone”’

I did get out into the back garden for a couple of hours this afternoon, but as usual found that a ‘losing battle’, however with steady progress, we are gradually starting to work through the mini jungle of unwanted weed plants and blackberry bushes. But I must admit that most of my weekend, especially today, has been taken up with reading the final 200 pages or so, of Bryce Courtney’s 2010 novel, ‘Fortune Cookie’. I had actually intended going out to see a movie this evening, but put that off  until another day –  I had become comfortable at home with no other external commitments,  and that, combined with the somewhat debilitating flow on affects of a rather painful but unexplained right foot, simply decided to stay where I was.  Susie was home briefly between her job and going out to her concert – long enough to eat the second evening meal I’d cooked for her this weekend.  I actually didn’t feel that meal was as successful as some of my more recent efforts  –  or perhaps, I’d simply cooked us a meal for the sake of it, and to have something for Susie, while I personally, probably wouldn’t have bothered very much had there been just yours truely to think about.  Meanwhile, a significant birthday in the family today  – my youngest sister’s husband, Ross, turning 50 years old today. No doubt, he will get to celebrate in the manner that couple always manage to achieve  J

Nevertheless, as indicated at the beginning, my night seems a little empty this evening. No TV today, determined not to switch it on apart from a brief look at the news whilst cooking, etc. Haven’t heard from the youngest daughter for a couple of weeks – too busy herself, no doubt, working and partying. Seems to have been a bit that way this year – the occasional brief visits don’t seem to be as regular as they used to be. No real reason I’m sure, just Jodie getting on with her life. I guess I have to accept situations like that, with respect to all of them over the coming years.  Susie goes up to Bendigo next weekend to begin her year of post-graduate study for the teaching qualification she is seeking, and while she expects to be back in Sunbury each weekend, my home is going to feel ‘rather quiet’ during the working week!

Bryce Courtney’s 20^th book  –  ‘Fortune Cookie’ – yet another great read by this Aussie writer – basically a love story set against the wretched trade in drugs and human misery operating during the Vietnam War, and centred in the Singapore of that time. As always I enjoyed Courtney’s latest novel – for many reasons, but two in particular – the love story that generally features in his stories, and the historical elements which he incorporates with much accuracy and research into his ‘fictional’ novels. This book was no exception in that respect. I guess I’m a romantic at heart, but  also always find an historical novel of the sort, as written by people like Courtney, Wilbur Smith, the late James Michener, and many others, to hold a particular fascination, and also in many cases, an education – a learning of history cloaked in the guise of a novel of fiction. So long as one recognises that ‘fictional’ aspect, I see little harm in being ‘educated’ in history that often, I was not very familiar with. It tends to be an encouragement to dig deeper, and go in search of  ‘historian’s’ version of the same history. An example  –  ‘Ah Koo had lost his entire family in the Taiping Rebellion, led by the psychopath general Hong Xiuquan, a converted Christian who improbably termed himself ‘Younger Brother of Christ’ and who, in the name of his crucified older brother, butchered an estimated twenty million of his countrymen, including three generations of Ah Koo’s family’.  Or, the attitude of whites in Australia towards the Chinese who came out here during the gold rush periods of the 1800’s. The treatment of the Chinese people by the Japanese forces, both before and during World War I, or the ‘rape’ of Singapore, it’s peoples ‘surrendered’ by the British to the Japanese invading forces. These aspects have been referred to in some detail in earlier novels by Courtney.  Just a few brief example of the kinds of historical events that Courtney incorporates into his works of fiction.

There is an interesting paragraph by Bryce Courtney as part of his acknowledgement at the end of the book, where he writes: –  “I am told that it is unfashionable to include acknowledgements in works of fiction. Why is that? How can this be? Who possesses such arrogance? Without the knowledge and help of others, we fiction writers would be rendered almost mute. We ride piggyback on the life experiences and stories of others and then claim the approbation and rewards. The limp-wristed cliché by lazy literary critics ‘an original work of fiction’ is seldom true. We storytellers are dependent on the collective lives and experiences of others. We beg, borrow and steal shamelessly”.  With that paragraph in mind, I was thinking earlier today, as I read ‘Fortune Cookie’ just how does the author manage to put together so much material and so much story in the  time that Courtney for example achieves – remembering that in his case, he publishes a new novel each year, in fact he admits in the ‘acknowledgements’ section referred to that he has written 20 novels over 21 years! I find an amazing degree of historical material alone, in his books, and that is equally typical of other writers of his ilk.

Here’s a good little précis of this book, which summarises the broad outline of the story  –  from one of the many promotional websites devoted to Bryce Courtney’s writings  –   “Set in a city rapidly growing-up in the aftermath of World War II and amidst the political landscape of the escalating Vietnam War, Fortune Cookie is at once a sexy love story, a mystery of intrigue and adventure and a rollicking insight into the advertising game; whether it be for consumer product, national identity, or the trade of heroin and flesh. With a nod to his career in advertising, Bryce Courtenay’s new novel Fortune Cookie is a brilliant read; smart, funny, and masterful storytelling at its best”  And with elements of sadness, drama, and the realisation that many of the events that occur within the story, are based on real happenings of our more recent history in the Asian region.  As always, well worth a read!.

This ‘breaking news’ report from the ‘Australian newspaper’ [from AFP Press] was what greeted me on awaking this morning, yes, somewhat of a turnaround from yesterday’s headlines, a demonstration perhaps of the power of a revolution of the people in a relatively peaceful fashion, although of course, those who died or were injured in the course of the mass demonstrations and marches would disagree with that comment.

‘A wave of euphoria swept Arab cities on Friday as news spread of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, with jubilant crowds taking to the streets from Gaza to Beirut in celebration. Across the Middle East and north Africa, loudspeakers on mosques called on citizens to rejoice in their own cities, hours after Mr Mubarak, crushed by a popular uprising, agreed to hand over power to the army. In Lebanon, where the Cairo protests have been reminiscent of mass anti-Syrian demonstrations in 2005, convoys bearing Egyptian flags blared their horns as fireworks went off across the country. Ecstatic Beirutis popped open champagne in the streets, kissing Egyptian flags to the sound of celebratory gunfire. Thousands also turned out in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut at the calling of the Iranian-backed militant group – which has long had strained ties with Mr Mubarak – to celebrate Egypt’s “historic victory.”

Islamist group Hamas hailed 82-year-old Mr Mubarak’s resignation as Palestinians turned out en masse across the Gaza strip, joyfully shooting in the air and honking their car horns. Balaclava-clad members of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, also rallied across the strip. And while the rival West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has yet to comment on Mr Mubarak’s fall, hundreds of Palestinians of all ages descended on the centre of Ramallah on Friday night, waving flags and cheering the Egyptian people. “What happened in Egypt is not only for the Egyptian people, it is for all Arabs,” activist Saed Karazon said in Ramallah.  “The whole Arab world is going to change.” In Tunisia, the country that inspired Egypt with protests that forced president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali out last month, a carnivalesque atmosphere took hold as throngs crowded the streets, dancing and ululating in joy. “It’s wonderful! Two dictators have fallen in less than a month,” said 23-year-old student Nourredine in an impromptu street party on Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, one of the main sites for the protests which toppled Ben Ali. A clamour rose in Tunis calling on neighbouring Algerians to topple their country’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as the crowd chanted: “One, two, three, viva l’Algerie!”. Thousands others took to the streets of Yemen’s capital Sanaa to celebrate Mr Mubarak’s resignation, waving Egyptian flags and hoisting banners congratulating the “Arab nation”.  “Yesterday Tunisia, today Egypt, and tomorrow Yemenis will break their chains,” some demonstrators chanted’

We shall return later in the day [Saturday morning here] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A quiet Saturday for this writer. After  another wet Friday night,  there were a few showers supposed to be around today, but I don’t think they eventuated, although the ground was quite sodden under foot.

My ‘extra’ night on air, last night was a lot of fun – there for over three hours playing a mixture of contemporary folk, blues, jazz & country music. One of the country tracks I played was by singer Bill Chambers, who is the father of Kasey Chambers, the girl who a few weeks ago, won four  Golden Guitar awards at the Australian Country Music Awards, held in Tamworth, New South Wales.  Bill grew up in a lobster fishing family on the southern coast of South Australia in a small seaport village called Southend. The song  I played tonight, called  Southend Rain, traces his childhood story surrounded by family and gives an insight in to Bills early life and influences.  The name of the album from which the song comes was named ‘Drifting South’ and there’s an interesting little story behind the title.‘Drifting South’ flows like a lazy old river through the ancient hills of time. From the Celtic mood of ‘Diesel and Driftwood’, salty tales from the Southern Ocean and the Johnny Cash inspired ‘Tasmania’, this album leaves no doubt Bill has lived the songs he’s singing. With a growling voice that owes a substantial debt to both Bob Dylan and John Prine, his live shows are flavoured with delicate picking on Dobro or Mandolin then he’ll rock like a demon on Lap Steel or Slide Guitar. Father of Kasey Chambers Bill says ‘I still play in Kasey’s band when she tours but lately I’ve been exploring my roots and thinking about the tiny fishing village where I was born and raised in southern South Australia. These songs reflect my childhood and family, while the music is an extension of various styles, Folk, Country and Rock that I’ve listened to all my life’.  It was a very pleasant track, as was most of the music I played during the show –  presumably my ‘listeners’ enjoyed it also – though, as so often happens, I never heard from anyone!! The radio studio can be a lonely little corner sometimes!  [Very naughty last night – ate my first Easter egg for the year!!!].

As for the big news from overnight this morning, well that certainly dominated all forms of the media throughout the day, and this evening.  Cries of “Egypt is free” rang out and fireworks lit up the sky as hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium after 18 days of peaceful pro-democracy protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to surrender power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.  However, despite the mood,  plans remain vague as the army now controls the state, and the world watches to see what is now going to eventuate.

Today, Aussie Rules football was back on the TV  with the beginning of the short pre-season competition – actually it began last night, but my team [Carlton] were playing tonight in an unusual 1^st round – three teams competing in matches against of two 20 minute halves –  three old enemies, Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond.  So not surprisingly, I gave up any other plans I had for tonight, to watch the Blues. Tonight’s results came up as follows.

Game 1: Carlton  6.5.41 defeated Richmond 3.5.23………..Game 2: Collingwood 7.8.50 defeated Richmond 1.1.7………………………………………………………………………………………………………Game 3:  Collingwood 5.3.33 defeated Carlton 3.8.26……………………………………………………which results mean that Collingwood automatically go through to the next round, while Carlton has to wait until next weekend, to see if their percentage is good enough to earm them a spot in the next round as one of the two best losers.

I notice on the news as I drove in this morning, that despite the expectations, desires and wishes of the Egyptian people, their President has decided ‘not’ to step down, although he will not contest the elections due in September. I doubt that will satisfactory for the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in Cairo’s centre this morning [last night over there], having been led to believe by the military and other indicators, that their maligned would announce his immediate resignation when he addressed the ‘nation’. This report has just appeared on news video sources:-

‘There is fury in Egypt this morning after president Hosni Mubarak defied predictions that he would resign and instead pledged to stay on as president until later this year. Mr Mubarak used a feverishly anticipated televised speech to the nation to say he would delegate power to his deputy Omar Suleiman and proposed constitutional reforms, but said the transition to end his 30-year-reign would last until September’s elections. His speech was met with furious chants of “Down, Down with Mubarak” among the more than 200,000 people who packed Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the 17th day of massive nationwide protests demanding the strongman’s overthrow. ABC correspondent Mark Willacy said hundreds of young men started surging towards the exits of Tahrir Square as Mr Mubarak confirmed that he was staying on. It was not clear where they were heading. There were reports that some protesters were marching towards the presidential palace. Hopes had run high that Mr Mubarak would step down immediately after the military leadership had announced hours earlier that it would step in to ensure the country’s security and see that the people’s “legitimate” demands were met. But by the end of his speech Mr Mubarak remained the country’s president’ 

His speech included the following points:- . “Mistakes are likely in any regime, but it is important to admit to those mistakes,” he said. “I cannot find any embarrassment in listening to the youth of my homeland and responding to them. I cannot and will not accept to be dictated orders from the outside, no matter what the source is. “I will safeguard the authority of the people until the September elections. “I will continue to observe the implementation step by step, hour by hour… to ensure the proper implementation which will be supported by the intrepid armed forces.””This will go by day by day until the path of peaceful transition in September.”  When I called in at the radio station early this morning to give my weekly little sports update, the host asked me on arrival whether there was any news from Egypt, and at that point, I’d not heard the outcome of Mubaruk speech. I personally have little knowledge of the Egyptian leader, simply learning about the situation from the media, etc, but as indicated by Ron’s question this morning, there is a broad interest in that situation from Australians even though there is no direct effect on this country in specific terms.  I think that the people in Cairo who were hoping for an end to the ‘Mubaruk regime’ are not likely to just accept their President’s speech in view of the extent of protests, etc which have been going on for the last 3 weeks or so – unfortunately, we can expect to hear much more on this matter, and the fear is that much of that activity will not be good. The Preside4nt’s words that “This will go by day by day until the path of peaceful transition in September” may turn out to be quite prophetic!!

Closer to home, in correspondence with a long standing friend yesterday, I learnt that that she was quite unwell, and in fact, by the tone of her words, at a quite low ebb in spirits, almost in a state of depression.  Must be a bit of a problem at our age levels perhaps –  certainly, from time to time, I have concerns and doubts about my immediate future, health issues, future companionship, and so on, and certainly, tiredness is particular burden many of us have to manage from time to time. In many ways, I’m thankful that I have many activities and interests to turn to, and even if tired, levels of personal commitment are an aid in overcoming desires to do nothing, and simply keep going. This morning, for example, after a warm and humid night, which  resulted in a restless and unsatisfactory sleep, the temptation was there, to stay where I was – not get up earlier than normal as required today ,in order to,  and as well as the usual morning activities, ensure that I had adequate material prepared for a 10 minute sports session on my colleague Ron’s breakfast radio show, as a brief stop off to another ‘painful drive’ in heavy traffic of over an hour –  if anything about a daily routine is to create feelings of ‘low spirits’, those daily drives,  in the morning and afternoon, are providing the ‘perfect’ stimulus for such negativity!!  Anyway, my friend sounds in far worse a situation,  with words such as “ But my life has come to a stop. I move from my bed to the couch & back again & that is my day at  present…………………. I feel completely lost as to my situation & do not know where to turn to now. I just want to weep, but can’t. It’s awful!”.  Unfortunately, there is little I can do, other than offer words of encouragement as a friend – she has husband and other family to turn to, and I guess that encouragement has to be to get her to use them for whatever support is needed. This kind of situation makes one very aware, that despite Australia being a relatively affluent and economically strong country, there are many in our nation who probably suffer in relative silence, and aspects of depression would seem to be a major contributing factor to that kind of situation.

Reporting in the weekly rural newspaper ‘The Weekly Times’ yesterday,  things were not sounding too optimistic for our country folk. As Fiona Myers and Andrew Mole wrote – ‘Victoria is awash – again. Falls of up to 240mm at the weekend have closed roads, flooded rivers, swamped farms, drowned vineyards and vegetable crops and created havoc. And there are fears further falls predicted for this weekend could mean more flooding for the already sodden north of the state. Victorian Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said floods during December and last month were estimated to cost $1.5 – $2 billion and weekend rain would ‘add to this’. “The major damage from the recent rain would be to dried fruit, wine grapes and table grapes in the Sunraysia [district] and the vegetable crops south east of Melbourne” Mr Walsh said.  He described the rain as “soul destroying and depressing….I said I would never complain about rain again, but it is starting to wear a bit thin”.

I guess that is the nature of our climate here in Australia, where not more than twelve months ago, most of the south east of the continent was desperate for rain, but now we have too much. In fact, one week into our last ‘official’ month of summer, many would suggest that apart from a few odd days, we have not really had as normal summer. A read a friend complaining the other day that ‘she was cold’ and was ‘rugging’ up as if it was winter – I did suggest to her that the word cold was a bit of an over reaction, ‘cool’ perhaps, but not cold. However, it has certainly been a cooler summer overall than we would normally experience, and of course, the rain has been far in excess than what would normally be anticipated at this time of year.

One of the political consequences of the Queensland floods and cyclones in particular relates to debates about the imposition of a flood levy on the Australian taxpayer and/or the creation of  ongoing disaster re3lief funds, etc, and whether the government should forget about trying to reduce the current deficit in the near future, and concentrate on flood and storm reconstruction works and repairs. Plenty of people in the community have opinions on this area, and over the next few days, it will feature as the principal point of debate in Federal Parliament. A group which probably doesn’t get much recognition in the broad community unless you are specifically involved in that sector are the Certified Public Accountants [CPA], who issued a statement on the 3^rd February regarding what they see as  the approach that should be taken towards the Federal budget. The CPA view is that:-

‘The next Federal Budget must be far-sighted and allow for important decisions on key issues such as infrastructure, tax, superannuation and comprehensive measures to absorb the cost of natural disaster recovery, CPA Australia has said in its Pre-Budget submission.  ‘The Australian economy faces a number of challenges, both domestic and global. While it weathered the global downturn, it is clear that more must be done to improve productivity and boost international competitiveness. This budget presents the ideal opportunity to lay the groundwork,’ said CPA Australia CEO Alex Malley.  ‘Among the challenges we face are ensuring Australia’s capacity to make the necessary investments in much needed infrastructure — including roads, rail, ports and broadband.’ ‘We strongly support the aim to return the Budget to surplus, but there is the real danger that trying to do so in record time for its own sake would come at the expense of a far-sighted, measured approach, with serious consequences for Australia’s economic strength over the next five to ten years,’ said Mr Malley.  ‘Extending the return-to-surplus deadline would enable the government to address the immediate issue while ensuring a solid platform for sustainable economic growth and addressing medium to longer-term challenges.’ “These issues cannot be viewed in isolation. They are all interrelated and together have significant implications for Australia’s ongoing economic health,’ Mr Malley said.  ‘As such the next Budget must take a big picture and longer term view based on sound business and economic practice.’

So the CPA is looking beyond just a solution to the  costs of the natural disasters, but more of a long term aspects. I imagine that if our major political parties, and their representatives were not so concerned about maintaining control of government, and protecting their Seats, etc, within the confines of the short term political cycle, we might see some semblance of the kind of scenario the CPA is proposing. – establishing long term platforms rather than rushing to get the budgets back into surplus. In many of these things, there is a real case for a lot more bipartisanship amongst our politicians, because I think we would see better results and outcomes, but of course we are not going to see that happen.

On the international scene, I was interested to note the story about the Palestine National Orchestra creating history, by performing in Israel! The orchestra, which is made up of  Palestinian and foreign musicians performed in Israel for the first time in the history of the Jewish state, described as ‘a landmark cultural event for residents of a region wracked by conflict for generations’. The group debuted on New Year’s Eve in the West Bank city of Ramallah to a packed audience, and then,  were on the road to Jerusalem and Haifa.  Some of the Palestinian performers, who began life as refugees in neighbouring Arab states, set foot in their ancestral homeland for the first time in their life. I’ve referred previously to the importance of sport in bringing ‘warring’ nations together, albeit usually for just a brief time, but had overlooked the sharing joint relevance of music as a similar factor. In the broad spectrum of overall situation between places like Israel and Palestine, it is perhaps just a very small pebble of hope in a huge rock pile, but as the words from various sources will tell us ‘from little things, big things grow’. We can only hope!

Here’s an interesting little quote from Australian pianist, conductor, writer, and radio personality, Guy Noble. Writing in the February edition of ABC Classic FM’s ‘Limelight Magazine’, Noble says [in the context an article entitled ‘Bad news is bad news]’ that:-

“The media tells us everything that’s wrong with the world, but not how to fix it. The news should be renamed ‘Things That Went Wrong Today;  the 7.30 Report updated to Reasons Why Things Went Wrong, and Four Corners might as well be called Things That Are Going To Go Wrong That You Don’t Even Know About Yet. I can’t keep up with all the things I have to be concerned about. I’ve started a list of T^hings To Worry About so I don’t forget any of them. Recently, I mislaid my list and became worried that I wasn’t worrying enough about the things I had to worry about”…………Well, life is hard enough without being alerted by the media every day of the year to all the awful things that could happen to us. Radio and TV should carry warnings not just about the possibility of violence or sex scenes but also whether the following program is going to depress the hell out of you. H for Happy, M for Moderately Depressing, and A for Avoid At All Costs If You’re Having A Bad Day”  Guy Noble concludes his article with the sure advice that ‘music is the best anti-depressive of all!. I can vouch for that!@!

Meanwhile, back a little closer to home, last night’s ‘Family History Society committee meeting left this member feeling as little tired by the time I’ escaped’ – it went a little longer than had been anticipated, but it was at least promising that the society was still operating, as late last year, that seemed unlikely because of a sudden drop off of members, and a lack of interest by others. However, with the AGM in November last seeing the re-emergence  of some members, and a perceived new enthusiasm, here we are at the beginning of another year with the promise of a new approach to the group’s activities and aims. However, as I was one of those who was keen to see the group keep operating, and in doing so, had opted to be a part of the committee, following my brief role in the closing months of 2010 as acting President, I guess I have given myself some extra jobs, in this, my planned last year of full time employment!   However, both that, and my roles at the radio station should have some more time available to be allocated to them after this year, so I do consider my ongoing interest to be worthwhile.

Certainly, not much spare time at home in the evening this week – because tonight, we have the Radio Member’s bi-monthly General Meeting – let’s hope we get more than just the committee turning up to that one! I was pleased to hear that our Station Manager was back on air this morning after his long period of illness. I think he still has some time of the recovery phase to get through yet, but as Mike put it himself, he needs to slowly work himself back into his various roles. No better way to start, then sitting up in the studio doing what comes naturally – entertaining the listeners with one of his regular programs. Incidentally, tonight’s  meeting – well, fairly successful despite the low number of members who turned up. Plans made, amongst other things, for our participation in Sunfest [the annual Sunbury Festival, in the middle of March] – in fact the meeting I was at last night were making similar plans!  Seems like I might be in two places at once that day!

I often find cyclists on the roads to be a real menace – some of them – though that is not to suggest that motorists are not without fault.  However I do find myself getting annoyed with some cyclists [hopefully the minority] who seem to think the roads are made entirely for them – they ignore red lights where they can get away with doing so, assume that the motorist is always aware that the bike is ‘there’ and that the cyclist can actually seen, or often, where a bike lane has been provided on busy but narrow roads, instead of riding in the middle of that lane, seem to tempt fate by placing their cycle right on or slightly over the traffic line of that lane, meaning that even though a bike lane has been provided, a motorist such as myself becomes very apprehensive about passing the cyclist in heavy traffic because of the fear of either the cyclist swaying in front of the car, or creating some slight coming together, which would obviously be disastrous for the cyclist. It is those riders in particular who really do get my ‘ire’ up – because of the assumption on the part of the cyclist that whatever he or she does, the motorist will get out of the way, and if they don’t, the driver ‘must’ be at fault anyway!!!  I would imagine that the best and safest cyclists on our roads, are those that also drive a motor vehicle – they have the knowledge, and perhaps the sense, to be aware of the road situation from both aspects.

And why am I raising this topic, on this particular morning?  Simply because, as I drove through the inner Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill not far from my employment, I came across an ambulance, etc, at one of the many roundabout intersections attending to a cyclist who was down on the road, presumably having just being struck by a motor vehicle – I didn’t stop to ‘look’ or take close note of obviously in the prevailing traffic conditions, but that appeared to be the scenario. I immediately felt pity for the cyclist concerned, his/her day ruined [though, pray to God, to be given the opportunity to ride again, even live], but also an element of pity for the vehicle driver, although of course I had no knowledge of the circumstances of that particular case. In that particular area,  there are numerous roundabouts that have been constructed at most of the intersections in that heavily built up residential area, with narrow but busy through roads. When driving through there, I am especially nervous when approaching these intersections – not for fear of other vehicles, which will generally be obvious – but wary of cyclists, some of whom, knowing they officially have the ‘right of way’ charge through these intersections as though they are invincible, and simply assuming that the motorists have seen them, irrespective of who is in the right. But these people are not always clearly visible until the very last moment – often, because of the small size of a bike in relation to a motor vehicle, the initial view has been obscured by some aspect of the roundabout structure, or the colours they are wearing, just some minor aspect that obscures the driver’s vision. Perhaps something like that occurred this morning! Perhaps the car driver was at fault! I don’t know of course, but certainly, this morning’s incident stirred up my emotions a little!!

Something else which stirred up my emotions, again occurred whilst driving – on my way home yesterday afternoon –  tuned into our Sunbury station, and was annoyed to discover that the presenter who should have been on air prior to myself this evening, was not there, again! I switched over to the parliamentary broadcast from Canberra, where I’d remembered that today, as the first day of Parliament sitting for 2011 was going to be dedicated to a day of condolence motions for the victims of Australia’s various natural disasters of recent weeks, and the recent deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan. Earlier in the day, Julia Gillard apparently became emotionally upset [rare display for her to display genuine emotion, if that’s what it was] – questions would be asked in the media afterwards as to whether this was the real Julia, and would it change the public perception of her demeanour, even Tony Abbott remarked later in Parliament that ‘the Prime Minister has a decent heart’!  Anyway, I didn’t hear or see Julia’s performance, but I did tune in just as the Liberal National Party member for the Federal seat of Wright began to talk – Scott Buchholz –  that was an extremely emotional 20 minutes because, in speaking to the condolence motion for Queensland’s flood victims [from the first of the tragedies up there in January], he was obviously upset and having an immense difficulty in controlling his emotions even before he started to speak. That was one of the most genuine and heart felt speeches I’ve ever heard from the parliamentary chambers, and because he wasn’t Julia Gillard, his response rated no individual reference in this morning’s media. The Brisbane Courier Mail noted that ‘Scott Buchholz, Member for Wright the region taking in the Lockyer Valley towns of Grantham, Murphys Creek and Helidon cried as he recalled the harrowing moments his constituents were swamped by the inland tsunami. He told of locals clambering on to roofs as water rose to their chests”, and he was one of many MPs who apparently spoke in emotional terms about those events.  Reading a little bit about the man later, it is perhaps no real surprise that he reacted in the manner he did –  Scott Buchholz is described as a man who has the knack of getting people to do things – not just talk. A man of deeply held traditional family values, and a man interested in serving his community. He has been active in Lifeline Community Care, for eg, as a director, amongst other strong community involvements, and quite obviously through his speech revealed that passion and dedication to the people he serves.

TRIBUTE: An emotional Prime Minister Julia Gillard held back her tears during her condolence speech to the parliament, holding an Australian flag that was retrieved from Murphy’s Creek by an Australian Army Blackhawk helicopter crew, who were searching for missing people. Picture: Gary Ramage. Source: The Courier-Mail

To be continued >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yesterday, I was speaking of the ABC Program, Q & A. Last night, it was SBS’s turn with another ‘Late Session’ chat, and as usual, another intriguing little group of appropriately chosen ‘dinner’ guests [of varying age ranges] with host Waheed Aly, and a subject along the lines of ‘the nature of age and wisdom’. While one of my friends described this late night program as too light weight and flippant for that time of night, I, as I have noted on past weeks, enjoyed the interchange of ideas, and the presentation of a range of noted guests in such an informal and relaxed setting- so much so, that we had Jenny Lee relating her one night stands with people like John Lennon [he was hot], and Keith Richards [the Rolling Stones] in her younger wild days as a ‘rock groupie’ – personally, that was all a bit too much detail, but nevertheless, an aspect of a program which brings out the ‘real’ personalities of these people that we would not normally see. This week’s guests were: Jenny Kee, Ross Wilson, Benjamin Law, Libbi Gorr and Kamahl, and in more detail, as follows, as I like to recall [compliments of Wikipedia, and other bio sources].

Jenny Kee is an Australian fashion designer. ‘She was born in Bondi to a Cantonese father and a mother of partially Italian descent. Kee started her career in fashion in modelling, at one time featuring as the face of Canadian Airlines advertisement. ^]She was married to Australian artist Michael Ramsden for 21 yearsIn 1965 she moved to London and became involved in the Swinging London and underground scene^..  There she sold ethnic and retro clothes, cast-off Dior clothes, and Indian embroideries to a hippy clientele. While being interviewed for TV series Talking Heads, she claims that during her time in London, she had a brief sexual encounter with John Lennon^.  She was involved with the filmaker Philippe Mora and starred in his film, Passion Play, shot in The Pheasantry (1967–68), playing Mary Magdalene.  In 2006, she published her autobiography and account of her life in swinging London, A Big Life’. Interestingly, her past ‘hippy’ younger lifestyle doesn’t seem to have faded, if only I felt as lively as she came over on the TV tonight!!  The Sydney Morning Herald had this to say about her – ‘At 64 and with the aid of a fortifying glass of shiraz, the fashion designer turned artist Jenny Kee still makes for one of the most entertaining and engaging dinner party guests Sydney has to offer’……the report went on ‘can confidently report that Kee delivers in spades, including the revelation she slept with four of the world’s biggest rock stars in the 1960s, that she now considers the 2001 suicide of her partner, the artist Danton Hughes, a ”blessing”, and that her old chum Germaine Greer has grown into a ”bitter” old lady.  Kee kept her dining companions, which included Libbi Gorr, Ross Wilson and Kamahl, enthralled, especially when it came to the top of her list of conquests as a rock groupie: bedding John Lennon.She described Lennon as ”this amazing, energetic, extraordinary, funny, funny … beyond funny” man.She says Lennon was the third man she had ever slept with and had met him after sneaking into the Sydney hotel he and the rest of the Beatles were staying at during their 1964 tour.”I was his first little Asian experience,” Kee says, referring to Lennon’s later relationship with Yoko Ono’. Well, that article was pulling no punches!!

‘Lisbeth Joanne “Libbi” Gorr (born 24 March 1965) is an Australian broadcaster, writer, voice artist and journalist. She is also known for the satirical character that she created called “Elle McFeast”. Gorr was born in Melbourne and educated at the Methodist Ladies’ College. When she was an arts and law student at the University of Melbourne, she began working in comedy. After graduating she became an articled clerk with the Melbourne law firm Phillips Fox. She also performed with the all-women cabaret group The Hot Bagels. Gorr got her first regular media gig as the voice of Sportsgirl fashion chain, when she was asked to “sound” like a photo of supermodel Elle MacPherson. In 2010, Gorr signed her first book deal with major Australian publishing house, Harper Collins’.  Now this lady, I have heard on the radio, but never had any interest in watching the TV show ‘Elle McFeast live’ [not my kind of entertainment].

‘Benjamin Law is a Brisbane-based freelance writer. He is a senior contributor to frankie magazine and has also written for The Monthly, The Courier Mail, Qweekend, Sunday Life, Cleo, Crikey, The Big Issue, New Matilda, Kill Your Darlings, ABC Unleashed and the Australian Associated Press.His essays have been anthologised in Growing Up Asian in Australia, The Best Australian Essays 2008, The Best Australian Essays 2009 and the forthcoming Voracious: New Australian Food Writing.The Family Law (2010) is his debut book, and is published by Black Inc. Books. A French edition will be published by Belfond in 2012. The TV rights have been sold to Matchbox Pictures.He’s currently working on his second book, a collection of non-fiction looking at queer people and communities throughout Asia. It has the working title of Gaysia.’ A slightly built  man of Asian apperarance, interesting man, very quiet, but before reading the above, I had little knowledge of him , and unusually for this program, not a great revealed about his personal life, that I picked up anyway.

‘Ross Andrew Wilson  [born 18 November 1947, Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer who fronted the groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, and produced albums by Australian band Skyhooks, He has also performed solo, and as a judge on celebrity singing TV series It Takes Two from 2005.  Wilson .as individually inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1989 and again as a member of Daddy Cool in 2006’.  Now I’ve played the music from his two bands from time to time on my radio shows, and really enjoyed listening to him sing tonight –  his solo performance [although many years after the original] of ‘Cool World’ was great tonight, and interesting to watch the enthusiastic response of the other guests – especially Jenny Kee who was ’almost’ up on the dinner table jiving away to the music!!  Great to see!

‘Kamahl is the stage name of Kandiah Kamalesvaran (Tamil: கந்தையா கமலேஸ்வரன்; born 13 November 1934), an Australian singer and recording artist, perhaps best-known for “The Elephant Song”, and his repertoire of popular music. Born in Malaysia to Tamil Hindu parents, he is of Sri Lankan Tamil heritage. He grew up in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur and studied at the Victoria Institution. He arrived in Adelaide, South Australia in 1953 to receive a higher education at King’s College (now Pembroke School), however, his arrival was not without prejudice on the part of an Australia still influenced by the White Australia Policy. This experience gave bite to his well-known quote: “Why are people so unkind?”^[ At his first public performance in 1958 he shortened his name to Kamal, but the Master of Ceremonies announced him as “Camel”. After that he changed the spelling to Kamahl. As he made his way into the Australian music industry, Rupert Murdoch was an early important mentor. Murdoch tipped Kamahl £10 at a concert in December 1958 and encouraged him to move to Sydney. Without asking, Murdoch arranged for Kamahl to perform a six-week season at the Hotel Australia in Sydney. After that season, he boarded with the Murdochs for two years’.  After my mother passed away, in 1990, I ‘inherited’ most of her vinyl recordings which included a number by Kamahl, and I occasionally play a track or two on the radio.  In many ways, his singing was maligned by some, but his popularity to a certain generation can never be denied. Now aged 76, he was obviously slowing down, but ‘sang’ for the dinner party last night –  with a reference again to that quote of his ‘Why are people so unkind? The ‘chorus’ lyrics with a strong element of sadness about them, went like this:-

What would I do without my music?

What would I do without my song?

What would I do without my music?

To lift me up when all my dreams are gone.

To give me hope, so I can carry on.

‘The Late Session’ finished off with that ‘Mondo Rock’ man, Ross Wilson singing ‘That Old Country Road’ with Waheed Aly accompanying him on the guitar, and a guest pianist who had been waiting ‘in the wings’ for that moment.

All in all, I learnt plenty about the guests, although not sure if I gained much about the topic of ageing and wisdom, except interesting to learn from people like Waheed and  Benjamin that getting to 30 years was a traumatic event [the latter not there yet] while Jenny Kee considers her life now is as good as it ever was, and she believes it will continue to be so when she gets to Kamahl’s age!! Sounds like a lady who has enjoyed life, and continues to do so.

On another aspect of yesterday, I was disappointed to once again find that neither of the radio presenters due to be on air both prior to and after my program tonight had turned up for their shows!!  Back to my old ‘gripe’ about commitment, and my belief that some form of ultimation needs to be given to some of these people sometimes. However, that is matter for future consideration – in the meantime, I’m beginning to feel like a ‘lone island’ of a Tuesday evening this year. Nevertheless, as usual, I enjoyed the program I presented tonight, which included a selection of music from the movie ‘Marie Antionette’, and the musical/operetta ‘Naughty Marietta’ which doesn’t generally get a great deal of airplay these days.  A break from the show music, halfway through the show, with a little selection of jazz – summer music!!

Last night on the ABC, we saw the return of the weekly open panel discussion – Q & A –   what exactly is Q & A? It’s about democracy in action – on Q&A the audience gets to ask the questions.  It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’re from – everyone can have a go and take it up to our politicians and opinion makers.   It’s about encouraging people to engage with politics and society, and is happening  live to air as viewers watch. As one viewer noted, it puts punters, pollies and pundits together in the studio to thrash out the hot issues of the week, and encourages the audience, both within the studio, and external, via the web etc, to engage with politicians and other respected members of society. Tonight’s panel guests for example were Graham Richardson [former Labor minister], Amanda Vanstone [former Liberal minister under John Howard], David Williamson [renowned Australian playwright], Catherine Deveney [comedian and social commentator, who did not impress me one iota] and  Gerard Henderson [historian and conservative commentator, an interesting man].

The show overall, is hosted by one of the ABC’s most respected journalists, Tony Jones, whose aim with the program is to put the Australian public directly in touch with the politicians and playmakers – to give them the opportunity to get some answers, eye to eye. Tony Jones has won pretty much every award an Australian journalist could wish for. He’s covered the seminal news events of the last two decades – from the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, through the collapse of apartheid in South Africa, to the rise of the Taliban and, closer to home, the revelations of sexual abuse in remote Aboriginal communities.

Now I make mention of this because, together with Tuesday night’s ‘The Late Session’ , Q & A is probably my favourite current piece of TV viewing at present, and as with both productions [on different channels] I enjoy the interaction between the various guests, and in tonight’s case, the audiences as well, and the opportunity to see some of these people perform outside of their comfort zones, being expected to respond to a range of questions which I think I can safely assume they have not been previously made aware of. Of course the fact the topics of discussion so often refer to issues of the day should mean that the participants have a fair idea of the subjects that are going to be thrown up at them.

Some examples of the kind of questions asked tonight of the panel included:

On the proposed Flood Levy, Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon, is known for his philanthropy and his propensity to give to those in need. If generosity is an Australian value worthy of our highest honour, why is it that 41% of Australians in the most recent Newspoll are so against the Flood Levy – against helping their fellow Australians?  [Here, broad agreement seemed to be that Australians in the main were not opposed to supporting those affected by the floods, etc, but the means by which the government was suggesting it be done].

Floods and climate change: Gerard Henderson, you have criticized Bob Brown recently for suggesting the coal industry should be taxed for their role in contributing to the effects of climate change. However there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that natural disasters such as these will become both more frequent and more severe as a result of greenhouse gas emissions.
Is it not both fair and prudent then that we tax the coal industry and other big polluters, to help pay for the damage they cause, and to discourage further pollution?  [Henderson made it very clear that the coal industry had his full support, and that it’s demise would be to the detriment of most Australians, but he did not have full support for that argument]

Gillard, the Actor? According to David Williamson, Labour’s biggest problem is that Julia Gillard can’t act. Mark Latham, in a recent column wrote, ‘she is not a naturally empathetic person – displaying… noticeable discomfort around infant children.’  Isn’t it worrying that we should be critiquing our leaders by their ability to ‘act’ in the sense of theatre, rather than in the sense of ‘deed’?  [Seemed to be a general view of agreement, however it was felt that she was been very poorly advised as to how she should act and speak – there were two different Gillards – the strong politician in Parliament, compared to the other Julia Gillard as she seems to be getting presented, as wooden and uncaring – quite a few differing views arising from this question, including the obvious comparison in performances between her and the Queensland Premier over the past three weeks]

Labor’s Demise: A video question to Graham Richardson: In your days, NSW right would have generated policy initiatives & worked to generate public support for government policies. Is it a major concern for Labour & indeed Australia that the labour political operatives seem to be purely concerned with preserving their power base in the party as opposed to assisting Gillard to establish policy platforms & win public support for her policies?

Egypt and Islam: Will the protests in Egypt bring about democracy, or simply be a catalyst for another Islamist regime?

Assange and the Nobel Prize: Does the panel agree that Julian Assange has earned the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting the democratic right of citizens to be informed of what is done in their name? If not why not? [General agreement and feeling that this suggestion should be regarded as a ‘joke’]

Coalition’s response to the flood levy: How does the Liberal party respond to commentary in major newspapers that Tony Abbott is playing politics in times of intense human suffering, rather than presenting a united front to rectify the damage in Victoria and Queensland?

Anyway, my purpose here because of space and time, was merely to indicate the kind of questions presented to our panel, and one notices that in most cases, they are questions that are probably on the lips or minds of the average Australian voter and/or citizen. I find it an interesting and useful hour of television, and no doubt will continue to be a regular Monday night fan!

Incidentally, yesterdayday was the anniversary of the tragic Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, on February 7^th, 2009. I said plenty in my contributions at that time in regard to that terrible natural disaster, and won’t go over it again here, particularly in light of the dramatic climate events that have been going on in Australia since the beginning of this year. In speaking of bush fires, over in Perth where major bushfires have been ravaging some of that city’s outer suburbs, at least 70 homes had been destroyed by the end of today. So we have massive losses of property on both sides of the continent, and from opposite  extremes of climatic consequences.

A few days ago, I asked my brother, Robert, how the Tour Down Under [TDU] experience compared with the Tour De France [TDF], and his interesting reply came back over the weekend – the following are the bits of relevance I’d like to include in today’s contribution to these pages.

“Terrain is the obvious one – sure there are climbs in S.A. but nothing of the length and constant steepness that you encounter in the Pyrenees and Alps (although S.A. does have a mini monster called Checker Hill; it’s very short at 1 km but over the last 600 metres pitches up to a 22% grade – to put in perspective a typical steep climb would have an average grade of about 9%; even the pros have to hit “granny gear” to get over Checker Hill);

 [The] Pros [professional riders] love TDU because of weather (particularly those from Europe) and as they get to stay in the same hotel (Adelaide Hilton) all week; and travelling with Trek we get to stay there also;

[The] Opportunity to mix with and talk to pros is much greater; obviously helps staying in the same hotel. Great access with Trek boys including – drinks with Radio Shack team (minus Lance, but he did send his bike!), dinner at Teams’ village with Phil Liggett / Paul Sherwen as hosts + a great talk by Anna Mears about coming back from a broken neck to win gold, and “Legends dinner” – intimate dinner with Lance Armstrong & Mark Cavendish (+ about 2,000 others);

[You] Get to see more of the race live as a number of the stages include loops, so if you get to the right spot you can see the race pass 2-3 times. Plus with Trek we get great “finish line” seats for the opening criterium race and the final day race around Adelaide streets – came past us about 20 times in the final 90 km race and never cease to be amazed at just how fast they go. My usual Sat/Sun morning ride is 90 km and takes me 3 hours (average 30 kph); they did the 90 km in 1 hour 54 min at average 48 kph!!;

> Crowds are big in S.A. but clearly nothing like TDF where people are camped out for days on the mountain stages. Which means greater informality with roads not closed until just prior to the pros coming through versus some hours before in TDF.

Saturday stage you saw on TV was in McLaren Vale – stage does an initial loop taking in south coast (beautiful riding along here) and then two loops of a famous TDU climb called “Old Willunga Hill” – it’s a great climb to ride crowded with spectators and is followed by a fast 20km of flat/downhill into Willunga itself – on this section we boys managed to get up to 45 kph on the flat and 60+ on the downhill. Willunga Hill is a great spot to watch the race, which is where I headed after riding the stage during the morning. Best memory of that day was a battered and bandaged Mark Cavendish almost riding over my toes as he tailed the field up the climb (twice) looking very miserable. I’m not his biggest fan, but to give him credit he turned up to the Legends dinner that same night and was philosophical about his bad luck crashing so early (and finished the Tour despite being dead last – probably a first for the fastest road sprinter in the world.

For a Tour that was promoted as having 6-7 of the worlds best sprinters in attendance (including Cavendish, Robbie McEwen, Robbie Hunter – South African, had nice chat, Farrar, Greipel, Alan Davis), it was the young Aussies who came to the fore with young Cameron Meyer winning – while 23 he looks about 10 on the podium; saw his mother being interviewed on the final day just in front of us; needless to say she was proud as punch And the not so young Aussies also did well. Robbie McEwen getting 2nd in 2-3 stages and briefly in the yellow jersey; and that war-horse Stuart O’Grady is amazing – always on the attack including on the last day – was in every attack around the Adelaide street circuit (after spotting him in the Hilton bar at 1.30 am that same morning – you recall he and Andy Schleck were sent home from the Giro last year by their team for going out for a few beers – he says he only had one!)

Was happy with my own ride, usually putting in a bit extra than what was planned for each day. I know the Trek guide (Dave) well and he told me the group’s name for me was the “energizer bunny” plus they kept calling for me to be drug tested! Need to be in shape, as possibly doing something bigger with Trek later in the year but ride is not confirmed yet, so will tell you about that later. In the meantime, doing a ride with Evelyn in Japan in May (on island of Shikoku, south east of Tokyo).

Will this man never stop – the more he relates about his riding feats, the more depressed I become about my own physical abilities these days [or lack thereof!!], and remembering that he is only 28 months younger than myself!  Nevertheless, I did appreciate the foregoing summary of his week in South Australia, and while I doubt he will ever think to keep a record of things of that nature, I will at least have his thoughts recorded, if called for at some future time