Author: ian

En route to Tiki’s place of work, in glorious sunshine, we observed a severely dented 1963 Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ with bandaids strategically placed on those areas which were affected most prominently.

On platform No.4, at Sydenham, an elderly lady castigated the unions and workers employed on the railway, as I spoke with her.

Channel Seven’s ‘Midday Movie’, “Go Naked In The World”, that bears the copyright of 1961 and includes Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Franciosa in its cast, appeared to be uninspiring and so I turned the dial to “The Mike Walsh Show”, on Channel Nine. Expatriate New Zealander, Dinah Lee, was singing. When another guest was asked about his sexual performance, he stated that it had much to do with inspiration. “More thoughties than naughties?” Mike Walsh retorted.

At five minutes to three I listened to the broadcast of the Lord Mayor’s Cup, from Southport, on Queensland’s Gold Coast. “Ngawyni”, trained by Bart Cummings, and the winner of this year’s Australian Cup, carried sixty kilogrammes to victory. Later, “Blue’s Finito” won the Flying Handicap there and paid $3.10, for a unit of twenty-five cents, placed on the tote for the win on the N.S.W. T.A.B.

On “Mannix”, from three o’clock, on Channel Seven, the private investigator assists an American Indian friend — whom he first met during the Korean War — whose mate is killed, and sister raped, by a young rich thug in Albuquerque.

This evening’s edition of “Last Of The Wild”, narrated by Lorne Greene, traces how animals are rescued from an area, in Venezuela, which has been stricken by drought.

“The Red Tent”, a motion picture from 1969, is shown from half past seven. It centres upon General Nobile whose airship crashes on the ice of the Arctic. The accident results in the death of Norwegian Roald Amundsen, the first man to have reached the South Pole, when he goes in search of survivors. The film stars the late Peter Finch, Sean Connery, Hardy Kruger and Claudia Cardinale.

This morning is gloriously sunny. It cost us $81.25 to have the telephone connected to our new house.

Guests on “The Mike Walsh Show” from noon, on Channel Nine, included an obese toothless prostitute; as well as actor, John Waters and entertainer, Ross Dunbar, and the latter’s wife, talking about how their marriages have survived their careers in show business.

On “Mannix”, from three o’clock, on Channel Seven, a fellow, played by Paul “The Naked City”/”Twelve O’Clock High” Burke, survives the crash of an aeroplane in which the other three hundred and thirty-nine passengers and crew are killed. When he is released from hospital, after facial surgery, his wife believes that he is not her husband.

We turned the television off, at eight o’clock, half of the way through the premiere of Australian satirical comedy series, “The Naked Vicar Show”, on Channel Seven. It is a Seventies’ version of the Sixties’ “The Mavis Bramston Show”. It features Noeline Brown — who was also in “The Mavis Bramston Show” — Kevin Goldsby and Ross Higgins.

I talked to a gentleman who once worked in Emmaville, in the north of New South Wales. Having briefly visited it, in 1974, I quipped that to visit that particular town was like going back twenty years in time. Without so much as a hint of a smile he retorted, “More like seventy years!”

An easygoing, happy gent, who had not had a holiday in seven years, laid our carpet for us. He was called upon to lay it hurriedly in the second bedroom because dusk was approaching rapidly and we had discovered that the light bulb was inoperative. The carpet is “short” near the door to the bathroom and, next week, he is going to obtain a special metal strip and cover the gap.

He told us of how his knee “blew up” as a result of him constantly hitting the stretcher. His doctor stuck a needle into it and since then he had experienced no further problems.

One carpet-layer, he had heard of, had filed the metal studs on a pair of football boots until each one possessed an extremely fine point, whereby he could move about the room stretching the carpet by kicking at it. This supposedly minimised the need to knee the stretcher, but, as our layer added, “It wouldn’t do the carpet much good!”

This evening we remained watching Channel Seven. The British comedies, “Doctor At Sea” (featuring Robin Nedwell, Geoffrey Davies and Ernest Clark) and “Mother Makes Three” (Wendy Craig), followed “Willesee”, and from half past eight, the film, “Fitzwilly”, from 1967, stars Dick “The Dick Van Dyke Show” Van Dyke and Barbara “Get Smart” Feldon.

Between ten o’clock and noon I watched the pop music programme, “Sounds Unlimited”, hosted by Donnie Sutherland. This was followed by “Sonny And Cher” and, from one o’clock, “Survival” in which this afternoon’s edition focuses on the fauna of the English county of Norfolk.

It is really teeming down outside and so I continued to watch Channel Seven, as Collingwood outclassed Hawthorn in the Australian Rules match telecast live from Melbourne.

The quiz programmes, “Jeopardy” and “It’s Academic”, were followed by a pretty disappointing ‘Special’ on British singer, Brian Ferry, from half past six. “Baa Baa Black Sheep” followed that, on Channel Nine, and, from half past eight, this evening’s serving of “Petrocelli” has as a guest star Rory “The Texan” Calhoun.

“The Texan” was a western series, made for television, which ran from 1958-1960. Other series of this genre included: “Rawhide”, “Gunsmoke”, “Wagon Train”, “The Roy Rogers Show”, “Maverick”, “Bonanza”, “Laramie”, “Cheyenne”, “Bat Masterson”, “The Lone Ranger”, “The Cisco Kid”, “Have Gun Will Travel”, “Tales Of The Texas Rangers”, “Bronco”, “The Rifleman”, “Lawman”, “Sugarfoot”, “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, “Johnny Ringo”, “Tales Of Wells Fargo”, “Trackdown” and “Tombstone Territory”.

The first World Series Rugby League game was played, from 12.30 p.m., in Auckland. Australia led New Zealand by twelve points to two at half-time and continued its dominance in the second half to win by 27-12. In doing so the victors scored five tries to the opposition’s two.

Later, I listened to Manly-Warringah being mauled by the Balmain ‘Tigers’. The score at half-time was 15-4, which was extended to 27-11 at the final whistle. Ray Branighan and Elwyn Walters, according to the commentary, were too pedestrian.

At four o’clock, I re-entered the house to watch the remainder of the match between Sydney and Auckland, at rugby union, from the T.G. Millner field, in Eastwood. Sydney led by thirteen points to nine, however, Auckland stormed home in the last twenty minutes to win by 26-13.

Meanwhile, the film, “The 500 Pound Jerk”, which stars James “The Naked City”/”The Investigators”/”Mr. Novak”/”Longstreet” Franciscus, is also screening. It is about an American weight-lifter, who competes in the division for heavyweights and attempts to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, of 1972, which were held in Munich.

“Ask The Leyland Brothers” takes the viewer to the studios of artist, Pro Hart, in Broken Hill; and also visits Ayers Rock.

“Seven’s Big League” programme, from half past six, replays this afternoon’s spiteful match between Parramatta and Cronulla-Sutherland, which was played at Cumberland Oval. Three players –two from Cronulla-Sutherland — were sent off after an all-in brawl erupted. Parramatta won the match by twenty-two points to fifteen.

Channel Nine, from half past seven, replayed this afternoon’s international, which was held at Carlaw Park.

I could not sleep and so I arose at ten to four and switched on Channel Nine. The film, “The Woman Hunter”, from 1972, featuring Robert “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” Vaughn, Barbara “I Dream Of Jeannie” Eden, Stuart Whitman and Michael “Broken Arrow” Ansara, was being screened. The break of dawn heralded a sunny morning and a temperature of just seven degrees Celsius.

This evening, after “Flashez”, I watched “The Big Match”: West Ham and Derby (pronounced as “Darby”) County drew two-all. Both teams are in danger of being relegated to Division 2.

“Willesee”, at seven o’clock, includes an item on a female rower who has been banned from competition because of her alleged loose morals. She used the word “shit” on the show. Another segment includes reporter Paul Makin’s coverage on the new sport of grass skiing.

After “The Dick Emery Show”, we turned to the ABC’s Channel Two to view “In The Wild”. In this evening’s edition adventurer, Harry Butler, the presenter of the series, traces the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia and walks on Lake Disappointment — a salt lake — in the process.

We returned to Channel Seven, at half past eight, for Episode 19 of “Rich Man, Poor Man: Book 2”.

This is unofficially the last day of autumn. I defied the threatening storm clouds and walked to work. A cold wind blew strongly at lunchtime. In fact, it was so cold outside that it required an effort just to speak.

The maximum temperature of just fourteen degrees Celsius means that Sydney has experienced its coldest day in May since 1956. Melbourne’s maximum of just eight delivers that city its coldest day in May for eighty years.

The Australian music series ‘Flashez’, presented by singer, Ray Burgess, may be viewed from 5.30 p.m., on ABC television, and is followed by ‘Last Of The Wild’, a documentary narrated by actor and recording artist, Lorne Greene. This evening’s edition screens from six o’clock and is entitled ‘Animals Of The Forest’. Lorne, who was born in Canada, in 1915, played Ben, the patriarch of the Cartwright family, in the perennial western series, ‘Bonanza’, from 1959 until 1973. In 1964, his recording, ‘Ringo’, spent three weeks atop the American charts.

‘A Gathering Of Eagles’, a film from 1963, is centred around life on an airforce base and stars Rock Hudson, Rod ‘Hong Kong’ Taylor and the English actress, Mary Peach. It is introduced by Bill Collins, from half past eight, on Channel Seven.

Former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, survives a challenge to his leadership of the Federal Opposition when he receives thirty-two votes, from colleagues in the Labor Party, to Bill Hayden’s thirty.