Well, there’s been a lot of water pass under the bridge since you and I last spoke, though that’s not technically correct: I talk to you but you don’t respond! Am I concerned? Not really. It was Simon and Garfunkel who sang: The words of the Prophets are written on the sub-way walls, tenement halls. My day will come!
The major football codes have held their grand finals (please, MP, I have no idea when or even how the soccer season begins, is run or finishes so enjoy it by all means but spare me a letter) and The Chooks just managed to sneak by The Raiders. So much for the local fan who insisted The Sea Budgies were going to romp it in. Down south, the local fan got it right (and that means he’s going to laud it over me for the next 12 months) and The Tigers took down The Greater Western Sydney team, who were making their first grand final appearance. As regards Rugby Union (aka Cross Country Wrestling) I do truly think they have lost their way here in Oz. It was only a couple of weeks ago that our Wallabies faced off against The English Lions in a quarter final of The Rugby World Cup in Japan and they got well and truly slaughtered. Former Randwick teammates Michael Cheika (the Oz coach) and Eddie Jones (the English coach) were pitted against each other and Michael has now resigned. As I write this the grand final is imminent but as The All Blacks (New Zealand) lost in the quarter finals, I predict the bottom will fall out of the New Zealand economy and you’re on your own if you choose to make a snide remark to any New Zealander for the next four years!
You should be aware The Child Bride and I did hie ourselves off to Coffs Harbour to watch one of our grand daughters play in the Australian OZTAG championships. We’d never seen the game played before – or seen our granddaughter play – so the weekend was an eye opener. There were age groups from Under 10s through to Under 18s, both boys and girls with games played over 27 fields with two minutes between matches! The pace was frenetic but we wouldn’t have missed it for quids! All the games we watched were played in good spirits except for the older players who took it far too seriously and several games saw a bit of biff come out.
The BIG story of the last few weeks however, was The Four Corners report on horse racing here on the east coast of Oz! Their report several years ago on greyhound racing and what happens to dogs that don’t have the speed expected from their breeding, was a real eye opener. Well, did we think horse racing was any different? No, it’s not, and it was fascinating to watch the interview with the NSW heavy who tried to defend his organization’s stated record of what he said was going to happen to retired racehorse in the face of footage taken of former racehorses being killed in abattoirs! Semi trailer loads of former racehorses were being driven to the facilities. Their brands could easily be read, footage of that particular horse running was shown and then footage was shown of the killing. All this was shown in the week prior to the running of The Everest, a new horse race at Royal Randwick (with prize money of $14 million, would you believe) where the “beautiful people” come to be seen as Sydney tries so hard to upstage The Melbourne Cup. The rivalry is pathetic and to also be subjected to the same NSW heavy telling (yes, telling, not asking or suggesting) that the running of The Melbourne Cup should be moved to the end of November. So mumble, mumble, mumble. I never did understand why he felt the race – that has been run on the first Tuesday of November for some 150 years – should moved but you can bet it was going to be for the benefit of NSW racing!
The really interesting scene of the report was to see greyhound owners/trainers pull up at either of the two Sydney abattoirs featured (with their little dog trailers behind their cars) to collect fresh mincemeat for their dogs. The wastage of the horse racing industry is literally feeding the greyhound industry! I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this issue yet.
Sadly, you’ll have missed it by the time you read this rant but as soon as I finish cobbling this together I’m off to my seat in front of the TV to watch what could be the last game in the World Series! Don’t know what I’m talking about? You folk really do need to get out more. The World Series is the Grand Final of baseball in the Hew Hess of Hay. Yes, yes, I know, it’s a stoopid name given only teams in the USA play in the comp but in my younger days I played both baseball and softball so I’m prepared to overlook a little bit of poetical licence with the title. The Washington Nationals started with a bang but then the wheels fell off (in a best of seven series) and the Houston Astros have stormed back. After the game is finished (and if The Child Bride doesn’t notice) I’ll delve into the recorded programmes and watch one of the games of American football I recorded last Monday. I have a busy day in front of me.
Talk at you next month,
Hillside Critic