This morning we voted in the Referendum that is being held to choose Australia’s National Song.
Donnie Sutherland has returned as the host of “Sounds Unlimited”, on Channel Seven. He is interviewing Bill Collins, questioning him as to whom is his favourite movie star. Bill has had little hesitation in naming Alan Ladd, ahead of Jeanette MacDonald and Gary Cooper. Interestingly, all three are deceased.
Actor, Ricardo Montalban, is a guest on “Sonny And Cher”, from noon.
“Jeopardy”, at five o’clock, is followed by “It’s Academic”, half an hour later. John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” concert runs for an hour from half past six, and is followed by “Baa Baa Black Sheep”. Barry Newman plays the New Mexican lawyer, Petrocelli, in the series of this name, at half past eight. Singer and actor, Rick Nelson, is a guest star and sings “One Night Stand”, which I used to hear played quite often on 2″KY Country” a year or two ago.
When I was in Third Year at high school I was a fan of Ricky/Rick Nelson, while my mates at that time, Max and Richard, were each fans of Roy Orbison and Bobby Vinton, respectively. Being an inane teenager, I used to stir Max by stating, “Is it Roy or is it a bison?”
If I may digress a little further? One day at lunchtime I espied Max emerging from a cubicle and as we walked from the toilet block I questioned him, “Aren’t you going to wash your hands?” to which he replied, in all seriousness, ‘I only wash my hands when my fingers go through the toilet paper’.
I stayed up to watch the western movie, “Whispering Smith”, from 1948. It stars Alan Ladd, Donald Crisp, Brenda Marshall and Robert Preston, who plays Alan Ladd’s character’s erstwhile best mate who has turned bad.
From a quarter past eleven I watched the final of the F.A. Cup, live, on Channel Seven. Manchester United defeated Liverpool by two goals to one, after the teams had been locked at nil all at half-time. Stuart Pearson and Lou Macari scored for the victors, and Jimmy Case netted for Liverpool. It was 2.00 a.m. before I retired to bed.
It hasn’t been my day! We voted for the national anthem, “God Save The Queen”, in the referendum and I barracked for Liverpool to defeat Manchester United. “Advance Australia Fair”, which was firstly performed in 1878, has clearly won the vote as the preferred national song, in advance of “Waltzing Matilda”, “God Save The Queen” and “Song Of Australia”.