My view and thoughts on everything!

Noel Coward once famously sang ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun’.  When I first heard this way back when Sunday cricket was relatively new, I remember asking my father what it meant.  When he explained, I remember looking confused and promptly went back to playing with my toys.  After all, I had a plan to achieve world domination before I was 10 years old!  Many years later, and there I am umpiring my two daughters in a cricket game whilst exposing my pale English skin to the mid-day sun.  You see, I had been roped into umpiring the under 13’s girls T20 game at one of Sydney’s many cricketing ovals.   I suppose in reality I was slow to react when the coach asked who wanted to umpire the game.  Almost immediately all the Dad’s at the game started answering their phones, even though I personally didn’t hear them ring.  Others started heading to their cars at a rather swift pace.  I was literally the last man standing and before I knew it I had the new shiny red che

They say 12 months in politics is a lifetime, and the past year has proven to evidently justify that saying. 2015 started with Tony Abbott at the helm of the good ship Australia and finished with a mutiny that left Tony abandoned by his shipmates, and a new captain - one Malcom Turnbull taking control and steering our ship to hopefully calmer waters. When I thought about writing this blog, I thought that an apt title for it would be "From Captain Chaos to Captain Sensible".  Because it feels like this has genuinely been the case. It is as if the nation has collectively breathed a sigh of relief since the change of leader.  So what went wrong?  and how come the mood of the nation has changed so quickly since Abbott's demise?  Let's rewind to the beginning of the year when Tony Abbott made one of his 'Captain's Calls' without consulting his cabinet.  I am of course talking about honouring Prince Phillip with a knighthood.  If you search Prince Phillip

The following is a short story entitled 'My Rose' that I recently entered into a writing competition.  Even though I didn't win I am very proud of this effort.  I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s amazing how things can change so quickly.  It was only a few months ago and I was home and enjoying life with my lovely Rose.  She is my soul mate.  I knew we were meant to be together from when I first set me eyes on her.  I will never forget when the fair came to town.  There I was with my mates having a great time. I was playing Shove Ha’penny when I saw the most gorgeous person I have ever set me eyes on! I will always remember that day until I meet me maker upstairs, which will be soon.  She was with her sisters and had a flower printed umbrella to protect her from the sun.  I caught her smiling at something her sister said.  Her smile was to die for, I tells ya. Anyways, somehow I had to pluck up the courage to talk to her.  It ain’t easy when you are a country boy work

It’s been a long time between drinks, as the saying goes.  Or more to the point, a long time between blogs.  I could use the usual excuse that I have been busy these past few months and as such I have been time poor to write blogs, or I could just ‘fess’ up and say I really didn’t think about writing another one.  Whatever the case may be, the good news is ‘I’m Back’! There are so many things to write about that I truly do not know where to start.  Indecisiveness kills the blogger. My recent (or not so recent) blogs have been fairly political and there’s plenty of subject matter of that ilk to write about.  Things like Bronwyn Bishop’s ‘Choppergate’ affair and her being put on ‘probation’ by Captain Tony Abbott is something I could get my teeth stuck into.  At times the whole incident is like a Laurel & Hardy sketch. Or maybe the Three Stooges (or Two) is more apt.   The good point, from a bloggers point of view, is that our Prime Minister is always such a rich outlet of thing

Well it was certainly a crazy 2014 here in Australia.  Politically the government is currently more on the nose than prawn shells left in the sun for a few days.   Fifteen months into the stewardship of the Abbott government and it looks that, barring a miracle, it will be a one term government.  However, John Howard was facing decimation prior to the 9/11 attacks – and look what happened to him at the next election!  Tony Abbott was elected mainly on an anti-labor vote.  The Rudd – Gillard – Rudd debacle had left a lot of voters disillusioned with the ALP.  Abbott fed on this disillusionment by using effectively three word slogans and reminding all and sundry how bad the then government were.  Abbott would fix the budget, stop the boats and would bring stable adult government back to Australia.  Oh, and the sun would shine and lovers would walk hand in hand through corn strewn fields! However, Abbott and his cohorts did not experience any form of ‘honeymoon period’ that all

The Abbott government has a huge issue that it needs to resolve. In fact, it is really two issues. The first is to try and convince the Palmer United Party senators (with Ricky Muir of the Motoring Enthusiasts Party in tow) and other independent senators to pass a hugely controversial budget. The second is to sell this ‘austerity’ type budget to the electorate. So far the Government has not succeeded with either of these issues.  Even if the bills pass the Senate, and therefore becomes law, it is expected that there would still be a lot of hostility from the public. How can the government turn this around and effectively sell the specifics of the budget to an already sceptical electorate? If we look at it another way, how did the Government dig this huge ‘hole’ for themselves in the first place?  To answer this it is best to look at a couple of sporting analogies. With the FIFA World Cup breathing down our necks, I thought it would be best to start with an analogy of the fo