Rolling Stones

Astonishing show by the Rolling Stones at the Adelaide Oval.

I last heard them live in March 1971, standing outside the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London, near the flat of my then girlfriend. It was the Stones' absolutely, definitely, final, last ever, farewell concert.

Tonight, 43 years later, the two of us were finally able to be inside the stadium and see them in the flesh at last.

Kentucky Fried Possum.

Thanks to Michael Delahaye, author and journalist, for this story and photo. Michael says,

"There was an almighty explosion with blinding light around 01.30 this morning in Kingswood, Adelaide.

The little critter had climbed the Stobie pole opposite our house and bridged the live wires.

The transformer at the top of the utility pole was blown apart, sending bits of red hot shrapnel across the street - which set fire to a neighbour's fence and resulted in the appearance of not one, but two fire engines. And a dozen neighbours in fashionable night-time attire…

Requiescat in Possum?"

Long Way Round

There is a fountain in the corner of the square at the heart of ancient Amalfi. Backpackers and budget-conscious travellers sit on its steps, filling their water bottles from the drinking spout and eating the bread and cheese they have bought nearby. 

Ann and I are sitting 10 metres away at a table on the terrace of a nearby restaurant, sipping white wine while waiting for our lunch to be served.

I nod towards the people sitting round the fountain and say, “That was us once. It’s taken us 45 years to travel the 10 metres from there to here.”

We went the long way round.