For those who don’t visit the front door…

There’s a new page in progress on Ninglun’s Specials — quite far advanced now: More tales from my mother.

UPDATE 25 April

That page is now finished and has been joined by two more taking the story of my mother’s father’s teaching career from 1906 to 1922. There are some good stories in those pages, and some excellent social history. My mother was a rather good writer, I feel. Yes, it is all posthumously published from a manuscript she left me.

Women and children in the rear, thank you…

This year’s Anzac Day March, so the local RSL has determined, will ban relatives and descendants marching with the relevant units. Instead they are massed at the back of the parade. This is because some vets watching at home had complained they couldn’t spot their mates in the crowd last year.

I had actually thought of marching this year, as I was interested in having a chance of tracking down in the few still marching with the WWII RAAF someone who may have served with my father. Now I am not going. The chances of my finding anyone have, thanks to the RSL, been considerably reduced. So I think it is a shame, that decision, and I suspect there will be others who agree.

Akerman in the cold

After over a decade of being Grand Simplifier, Witchfinder-General and Sir Echo at the Court of King John, Piers Akerman has thrown himself with zeal into the role of the Prince of Peeve. It must be hard after all those years of influence and, indeed, celebrity. You can see for yourself his marvellous objectivity about the 2020 gathering in such pieces as Summit of the smug self righteous and 2020 Summit a meeting of mediocre minds. A bit hard on Tim Fischer and even, dare I say, Bill Heffernan, don’t you think? But I guess if ever there was an expert on mediocre minds it would be Piers.

Alasdair Duncan’s common sense

On Anzac Day last year I reviewed Alasdair Duncan’s Metro. Duncan has recently written a very sensible piece on ABC Unleashed, Formally gay and confused. He is referring to the matter of students being allowed to bring a same sex partner to a school formal, a matter that has had some considerable coverage here in Australia recently. Too many have jumped on this particular band wagon without seriously considering the reality of the situation for many gay and lesbian teens; there is more to it than simple pro or con homophobia, though obviously I would be very much con homophobia. I regret, personally, the fortunately few but still too many occasions when zeal or other considerations may have led me to a less than considered or helpful stance on such matters, or towards people in the position of those Duncan describes. But then circumstances can make fools of us all sometimes. On the other hand I don’t regret those other, one hopes more frequent, moments when I have actually been able to be some kind of model, guide or mentor, however fallible.