Random thoughts and observations
I don’t get why there is a public holiday on Monday in lieu of Anzac Day falling on a Sunday. It actually seems contrary to the “Anzac spirit”, which wartime historian Charles Bean defined as: “Reckless valor in a good cause, enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship and endurance that will never own defeat.” Although, I suppose [...]
With Remembrance Day coming up on Wednesday I bought a red poppy from a Legacy chap at the post office on Friday. In fact, I gave the man $5 and he handed over four poppies, so I gave two of them to Jim and Maggie. I always get a little reflective and melancholy around Remembrance [...]
The language is constantly evolving with a trend towards brevity. Waggon has become wagon and to-day has become today. Some Australians cling to what they believe is English spelling for words like “programme” and anything that potentially ends in -our like “colour”. I think they are mistaken. Researching newspapers from the 1890s for my family [...]
Anzac Day has captured the public imagination in Australia. My Anzac Day reflection is to acknowledge that all four of my grandfather’s brothers served in the First World War. I remember attending April 25 parades as a cub scout in Traralgon where the returned soldiers outnumbered the spectators. There were Boer War veterans in the [...]
I’ve never been one to attend the Dawn Service, however I always make a point of attending the main late-morning ceremony. Today I went to the Kalgoorlie parade (there was also one in Boulder). The crowd wasn’t as great as I expected, but apparently there were 3000 people at the Dawn Service. The march went [...]
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