At the hardware store, Mitre 10, on the corner of the Kingsway and Mackay Street in Caringbah we selected four litres of Berger ‘Ceiling White’, four litres of Dulux ‘Tusk Ivory’, a paint brush, a paint roller and an accompanying paint tray, only to get to the checkout and be told, to our astonishment, that our cheque for $42.50 would not be accepted. As we had spent a considerable time in choosing the goods, I tried to reason with the foreign owner but he said that he had had much trouble with cheques bouncing and, therefore, remained steadfast in his stance. We walked out in disgust, leaving the goods that we had intended to buy where they were.
We entered the smaller Green’s Hardware on the next block, where we were received much more warmly. In addition to the goods selected previously, we purchased a block to facilitate the usage of sandpaper, as well as a tin of sealer, which the chap at Mitre 10 had not suggested. I wrote out a cheque for $47.34 and we headed for home where I set about painting the ceilings of the main bedroom, kitchen, sunroom and laundry. Tiki, meanwhile, used the new brush to paint the cornices. We felt exhausted by the time we had finished, at three o’clock, and I felt no guilt in sitting down to listen to the encounter between Manly-Warringah and South Sydney that was broadcast from Redfern Oval.
The ‘Sea Eagles’ held a lead of ten points to three at half-time before extending this to 15-3. However, South Sydney fought back strongly and Manly only managed to scrape home by seventeen to fourteen after both sides had each scored three tries. Following “It’s Academic”, on Channel Seven at half past five, I viewed the edited replay of the game on Channel Two’s “Top Saturday League”.
The second international, which is a part of the series to determine the holder of the Prudential Trophy, is being screened live from Edgbaston, in Birmingham. England is batting first. Greg Chappell was on a hat-trick, having captured the wickets of Brearley, when the captain was on ten, and Randall, for a duck. At lunch, England is 7-90, with Dennis Amiss (35) and Graham Barlow (25) having scored the bulk of these runs. Greg Chappell has the short figures of 4-12 and Gary Cosier those of 3-8.