Royal ruckus: A book by author Tom Bower titled Revenge.
Good day to you,
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I hope you are chirpy!
Last week I received an email from Councillor Anthony Brophy, inviting me for a coffee chat. So, we met at The Milkbar and among other topics, talked about January 26.
Anthony (better known as ‘Broph’) explained council’s ongoing consultation process regarding Australia Day and its current plans. The Prime Minister has said that this issue will not be decided until his second term, so next year’s ceremony will be on January 26. However, following that, there will be ongoing conversations with various community groups. He said, “It’s the day — not the date — that matters.”
Broph — skilfully — described an Australia Day ceremony that excited me and I saw, in my mind, an inclusive ceremony, shared by all of us. But it is difficult for me to hold the vision, with the community — right now — passionately on one side or the other.
If you would like to ensure you are a part of the discussion, why not contact Anthony — or one of the other councillors — and ask to be included?
Passing the days
I have been unwell since the flood weekend. I didn’t tell you because it’s boring and because, when I tried, I sounded like a wimp; I know several of you are much worse off than I am. However, I am also aware that the page has been a bit lifeless over the past few weeks, mirroring its author — and I’m hoping it’s on the improve. I hadn’t been anywhere or done anything for a couple of weeks until my meeting with Broph — too important to miss.
As a result of all this — and because I was incapable of activity — I’ve been doing a lot of reading and watched a fair bit of television. Some of it is worth sharing.
Postive message: A book written by Michelle Obama, titled The Light We Carry.
The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama
I have enjoyed Michelle’s writing, in the past; such is her skill that I have often felt as if she has dropped in for a cuppa and a chat. But, truth be told, I bought this book because of the blurb on the back cover. Here’s some of it. What do you think?
If you know your light, you know yourself. You know your own story in an honest way. In my experience, this type of self-knowledge builds confidence, which in turn breeds calmness and an ability to maintain perspective, which leads, finally, to being able to connect meaningfully with others — and this to me is the bedrock of all things. One light leads to another. One strong family lends strength to more. One engaged community can ignite those around it.
This is the power of the light we carry.
Love is another word for light. What Michelle has written is my truth. I believe that the love/light is God-given to every one of us. We can, if we wish, grow it by sharing it. In short, the more we give, the more light there is in the world, and the more we give, the more we get. I haven’t finished this one yet. If it disappoints, I’ll let you know.
Revenge, Tom Bower
An odd — but intriguing — title for a royal biography, don’t you think? According to the cover, this gentleman is Britain’s top investigative author. Well! Tom has certainly done a job on the Duchess of Sussex — from primary school to now. If you have a fondness for Meghan, my advice would be to stay away from this book. However, if you genuinely want to know what has gone down at Buckingham and Kensington palaces, you’ll learn a lot here. (The author has obviously been given a lot of co-operation — from Meghan’s school friends to her ex-husband — from the men she has left behind to her staff at Kensington Palace.)
It tells us that Harry, repeatedly, mentions the similarities between Meghan and Diana; how Di would have loved her! In my opinion, Diana was a beautiful woman — with many problems. However, she was far from stupid. If half of this book is true, Di would have been awake to Ms Markle in a half hour’s conversation.
It saddens me that Elizabeth had to deal with lies and deception, from both Harry and Meghan, so late in her life. Worth a read, if you are interested!
Binge-worthy television
Our television is not what it used to be; remember when there was one local channel? Today, the choice seems almost unending. However, I have found something that might interest you.
This is a documentary — a full series of it — and although it is about a sporting team, I don’t think you have to be a sport fan to enjoy it. You might need some understanding of how a team can affect a community, of the extreme highs and terrible lows of winning or losing — but it was the community aspect, the effect on the town, that touched something in me.
Welcome to Wrexham
In the USA, there are two men relevant to this story. Rob McElhenny is an actor, producer and writer. He lives in New York. Ryan Reynolds is a Hollywood actor and star of Deadpool, and is, apparently, famous. (I had never heard of either of them.) They met online and became friends and found they both had a strong interest in sport. Rob was particularly aware of how much a sporting team can affect the community it serves. He decided he wanted to buy a team, but financially would need a partner. Ryan wanted to be that partner. They had never met in person when they became aware of a small Welsh city called Wrexham, a working-class area that had had its ups and downs — mostly downs. And the football team reflected the city’s situation.
There are five leagues in English professional football (read soccer): the Premier League, Championship League, League One, League Two and National. It intrigued Rob that a team could move between the leagues, based on its performance. Wrexham had been relegated, a number of times over the years, and was now low in the National League. A team can’t go lower and remain a professional team. They decided to buy the Wrexham Football Team. It wasn’t a money-making idea; in fact, it was likely to eat up their funds.
Because the club had had previous unsatisfactory ownership, it had tightened its rules, and 75 per cent of eligible members had to vote in favour of a sale. Rob and Ryan did an online presentation to the people of Wrexham, explained their reasons for wanting to buy the team and received 98 per cent of the vote. They paid US$3.41 million ($5.08 million in our money).
Wrexham is in north-east Wales; the borough has a population of around 126,000 people. It is a plain city in a beautiful country.
This long — and occasionally slow moving — documentary tells the story of the city and its people, the team and its owners. Their first season, covered by the documentary, was 2021/22 — ending around May of this year. Something about the city and its people has stayed with me and recently, I found myself checking to see how Wrexham is going this season (which began in October). It seems I now support a soccer team in north-east Wales.
Welcome to Wrexham came recommended by my third son, who said I’d love it; I doubted him and shouldn’t have. It is available on Disney — category ‘Star’ — documentaries.
The damn election
We really must congratulate Kim O’Keeffe on her win. We are all familiar with Kim’s work ethic; we’ve seen it demonstrated over recent years. But we must also be patient and give her time to find her feet and meet some compatible (useful) people. She will be a backbencher in a minor party and it will take some time for her to gain influence.
And we also must thank Suzanna Sheed for her efforts — and many successes. A relaxing holiday coming up, Suzanna?
I must be honest; I was really hoping to be Dan-free by now. This election, I felt, was Victoria’s chance. It seems as if conservative parties are losing ground, just about everywhere. Is it possible there’s a ‘Trump factor’? Could it be that the younger people associate conservative people with the Donald? And don’t want a part of it?
Then there’s the huge leadership gap. For a lot of my life, I’ve been waiting for that person to emerge; the visionary, the creative leader who would change the world. For a while, I thought it might have been Barack Obama, but he was bogged down for so long trying to get US healthcare sorted. And he was handicapped by Congress. A good man doubtless, but the system got him in the end.
Feel free to disagree with this, but the most likely political leader I have seen in decades was/is Rob Priestly. Had he said ‘yes’ to either of the conservative parties, I am absolutely sure he’d have romped home. But his fierce independence was a part of the package. I’m going to quote Michelle Obama again because I believe these words apply to Rob. “If you know your light, you know yourself. You know your own story in an honest way. In my experience, this type of self-knowledge builds confidence, which in turn breeds calmness and an ability to maintain perspective, which leads, finally, to being able to connect meaningfully with other people.”
On the Sunday morning (following the discovery of the National Party’s dirty tricks) I watched and listened carefully as Rob displayed all of these characteristics. He was honest, confident, calm, definitely maintaining perspective and connecting meaningfully with others. Scoff all you like, but there’s a leader if ever I saw one. And we missed that boat, didn’t we?
Only 27 days to Christmas.
Well! How are you doing? The past two or three weeks have left me a mile behind. I postponed tree decorating from the last weekend in November to the first in December. Yes! I have helpers, one of whom is art director and just as pedantic as his grandmother about the positioning of lights. But helpers have to be fed and their tools and material have to be checked and ready. I just didn’t have the energy. I have just one Christmas job ticked off. Before I start buying for Christmas, I make sure the house is well stocked with all the boring stuff — cleaning material, rubbish bags, shampoo and soap etc. There is nothing worse, when you have a house full of people, to find yourself wondering if there is sufficient toilet paper! Anyway, that’s all I’ve done. Wish me luck and send me energy (if you’ve any to spare).
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