A Typhoon Sunday
The eldest grandson was playing footy in the half time game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last weekend.
It’s a marvelous stadium, seats 100,000 and has a great atmosphere, and even at a Sunday match mid-season drew 50,000.
A mate was saying, wow, how exciting for him playing there.
Yes I thought, though at 8 it doesn’t always look like that. It can be a bit more, of course we’re playing in front of 50,000, that’s normal. It tends to be only later when the penny drops that kids realise that it’s a privilege only a few get.
I know when we were kids my brother and I had a kick on the MCG.
We had to fill in some time, quite a bit of time actually, while Dad and his pals had a few last drinks in the Members Bar at the G after a game.
We didn’t have a ball with us but we found a Coke can and the nice bloke on the gate let us out onto the field to kick that around while we waited. It was dusk and then dark enough that the only real light was spilling out of the bar.
It must have meant something I guess, it’s more than 60 years ago and I can still bring the picture up in my mind.
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The next phase of the summer has arrived, a typhoon last night, a T9, it was wet and windy, nine people injured and a hundred trees reported fallen, but the city is swinging back into action as the afternoon rolls on.
We have also entered the Season of the Abandoned Husbands.
As the wives and kids have headed away for the school holidays the stay behinds are starting to gather with their mates for a post work beer and a bite. Going home to an empty flat, or to sit and have a helper prepared meal solo starts to wear a bit, so it’s an afternoon call around and off to a pub.
The good thing about it, beside the company, is that it provides a welcome chance to eat and drink a few things that might usually be on the banned list.
Don’t worry, there is still room at the Globe, get in and order a pie while the family are not counting your calories.
Pat will cover for you and swear you had the vegan special.
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I saw that in Britain Yougov has done a survey on odds taking.
The question?
If you had a choice between instantly receiving £50,000 or a 50% chance to win £1m, which would you pick?
The result.
£50,000: 73%
50/50 chance of winning £1m: 21%
The poll results are a good illustration of risk aversion. A majority preferred a smaller guaranteed amount over a much higher value gamble.
If I had the time I think I would be selling the gamble on a million. Book price 500k, but I will offer a discount, this week only.
There were 6% in the “don’t know” column, that’s the real concern.
Are we not teaching kids how to calculate the odds anymore?
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The Aus PM says that the parliamentary party is more democratic and more diverse than ever.
Our class of 2025 represents that - as does our movement.
This is true with regard to sex and ethnicity, but the first Hawke government was more diverse, at least by reference to previous occupation and experience, and it had at least one real active communist in the Ministry. Now that’s diversity, if not great for security.
It is widely believed that Hawke was briefed on this by the security services, but as the ministry was elected by the caucus and the minister concerned had strong support, it was considered that the best solution was to give the minister a portfolio with little risk and keep a good eye on him.
The minister always denied it, but as Mandy Rice Davies put it, He would say that wouldn’t he.
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My wife is an expert at wrapping gifts, and, except that she is quick and efficient which he was so memorably not, she could outdo the Rowan Atkinson character in Love Actually.
Me, I am more the Frank Gehry type. On the very rare occasions when I have actually bought a gift, and then remembered to wrap it, the results are ugly, lumpy and misshapen, rather like Gehry’s buildings.
Unlike Mr Gehry, I get no applause for my work.
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The visit to the cardiologist turned out about as expected, the figures best not explained, so more tinkering required. It’s been a dozen years under cardiologist care, I outlived the first one, so we must accept that a little adjustment will be needed from time to time.
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The rain has eased, it might be an opportunity to get out of the flat post typhoon, so bonsoir.
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Stay well