Standing Stones and Burial Chambers, The Orkney Islands

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Ring of Brodgar

I caught up with a former colleague recently who was just back from a cruise that included a day in the Orkney Islands, a place we’d had the pleasure of spending a week last year. With such a short time in the Orkneys he’d only had the opportunity to see some of the many spectacular sites including the Ring of Brodgar.

My colleague said that his guide had said it was extraordinary how those standing stones were exactly as they were at Stone Henge. This was something I had not heard before.

We too had been to the Ring of Brodgar and that certainly was not mentioned by our tour guide.

It’s not surprising that he’d heard a different story to us, as they are just stories about seemingly random locations where a group of stones were placed a few thousand years ago.

So what of standing stones? Continue reading →

Is it fair playing the AFL Grand Final at the MCG every year?

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Last night’s tremendous heart stopping GWS Richmond game was Richmond’s fourth loss of the season and their fourth loss of four on the road.

This just a week after Bruce McAvaney’s suggestion that Richmond might be the greatest team of all time. Why that might be seen as overreach would be worthy of further comment except Bruce is somewhat prone to overreach as he sits at the microphone.

These were prompts for asking the question – Is it fair that the AFL Grand Final is played at the MCG every year?

The AFL Grand Final has been played at the MCG since the VFL became the AFL and the AFL recently locked in its continuance at the MCG for a further 30 plus years recently. I found that decision surprising for a national competition particularly where there seems empirical support for Home Ground advantage playing an important part in the result.

We talk endlessly about the benefit of home ground advantage Continue reading →

Finding an artist to late: Nico

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Source: Allmusic.com

My usual routine for a day’s studying is to put my headphones on muse over what to listen too. Often its a playlist recommended by Spotify or Apple. As I listen, a song or artist will come up that I like that I don’t know and I will search out that artist’s discography.

Beach at Second Valley

This is just what happened as I sat with my coffee looking over the sea at Second Valley when my head should have been in the spreadsheet loading my data.

On came a song. What was it?  Who sang it? Why hadn’t I heard it before?  All these thoughts came running through my head. The song was  These Days by Nico a German born singer of the 60s. How had I missed her? She fits perfectly into my favourite music style – solo female vocalist, haunting, strong lyrics, and simple music backdrop.

Nico released 6 solo albums, a collaboration with another of my favourite bands The Velvet Underground and a series of live albums.

 

In Arsene we trust – End of an era

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Arsene Wenger (Source: Goal.com)

 

“To all the Arsenal lovers take care of the values of the club.

My love and support forever.”

-Arsene Wenger

Sitting on the other side of the world last Friday night as The Adelaide Crows, my AFL team, won a thrilling encounter against the odds, my favourite person called out that Arsene had announced his retirement. I felt numb.

I have followed Arsenal since the early 70s where the only way to get news of how they were going was via the classified results on the radio on a Sunday morning and then perhaps seeing some highlights on Match of the Day on a Wednesday night. With the

advent of PayTV, I have been able to watch Arsenal play. The timezone means games are on at all hours of the night and with my only company the cat, I perfected the silent cheer so as not to wake the house when Henry, Adebayor, Giroud and now Ramsay, Lacasette and Aubameyang score.

For nearly half those years Arsene Wenger has been ever present on the boundary. His clenched fist cheer at a goal, sideline arguments with other managers and the fourth official, as well as his struggles with his puffer jacket are my memories of Arsene.

Like all Arsenal supporters and perhaps all football supporters, I marveled at The Invincibles Continue reading →

The Cockies are eating our house!

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Dusk at the beach, Second Valley

I have written often of the paradise that is Second Valley on South Australia’s Fleurieu Pensinsula. It is idyllic and now regularly written up as one of South Australia’s best beaches. The secret has got out!

 

Waking in the morning to the sounds of the birds, seeing the odd Kangaroo hop past our back door, it’s lovely but for all of this, we have one true menace. No it’s not the snakes, although the dog and I did see a four foot brown snake slithering down the street a couple of weeks ago, it’s the Cockies (Cockatoos)! There are thousands of them. They squawk raucously, strip the trees of leaves and pine cones and make a mess everywhere.

Continue reading →