Random thoughts and observations
I drove through the tiny town of Turriff on my way to and from Mildura. It’s in the Mallee between Hopetoun and Ouyen. That’s a desolate drive. Like other wheat growing areas of Australia, farms have got bigger, families smaller, populations diminished, shops closed and services gone. These towns once had much more than the [...]
A world-record field of 265 women risked life and ankle in Sydney today to contest the Stiletto Sprint. Blonde 400-metre hurdler Brittney McGlone, 18, was first to cover the 80-metre distance and collected $5000. A few girls suffered scratches apparently, and not just from other competitors. I fall over just thinking about trying to walk [...]
According to this report a kangaroo inflicted extensive injuries on a man in Melbourne’s north-west. The victim, aged in his 50s, suffered a large gash to the head and other wounds to the chest and hands. Ambulance officers treated him at the scene. He was transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition. [...]
I read or heard once that Australia, Great Britain and Greece are the only countries that have competed at every modern Olympics. A couple of websites claim Switzerland has achieved the same feat. Wikipedia sheds some light on that: “Switzerland boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, but the equestrian events for those Games were [...]
I’ve never been a fan of the “budgie smuggler”. I won’t enter discussion about whether that’s because I have a big gut or a small appendage; that’s for others to judge, and a small number regarding the latter. For the unaware, Urban Dictionary says a budgie smuggler is: “Australian slang term for men’s tight-fitting Speedo-style [...]
