Category: My Diary

It is supposed to reach thirty degrees Celsius today, but there is a heavy overcast and it is relatively cool. “Dad” surprised us with the news that “Mum” will have to enter hospital to have her troublesome neck manipulated.

This evening, we dined at the restaurant, The Golden Phoenix, in Miranda Fair. Having perused the large menu, we decided to have the special for two at a cost of nine dollars. We each received three dim sims, nasi goreng and sukiyaki.

The ingredients of the sukiyaki were served half cooked and we had to complete the process at our table by placing them in a solution of broth, which was supposed to be heated over a small stove that was fuelled by methylated spirits. The only problem being that the flame kept going out. This called upon the pleasant waitress to use matches to continually relight the stove. Finally, even she recognised the futility of her repetitious actions and replaced the stove with another. The bill totalled ten dollars and ninety cents.

We watched the televised film, “The Virginia Hill Story”. Produced in 1974, it stars Dyan Cannon. The knob was then turned to Channel Ten and the last hour of “Valley Of The Dolls” (1967). Its cast includes Patty “The Patty Duke Show” Duke and the late Sharon Tate.

 

John Burles, the annoucer at breakfast, on 2KY, stated that the uniquely witty Bert Bryant has officially retired from his job as a broadcaster of horseracing. Bert last worked for the Melburnian radio station, 3UZ. Earlier this year, a blood vessel burst behind his brain.

Tiki had her hair washed, conditioned and then styled with a blow-dryer at a cost of six dollars and fifty cents at the Gerrale Salon on Gerrale Street, in Cronulla. The salon is located opposite that suburb’s R.S.L. (Return Soldiers’ League) Club.

“Country Road”, this evening, included footage of performances by Donna Fargo, Australian country legend, Smoky Dawson, and Johnny Chester, who ‘butchered’ Tom T. Hall’s “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”.

At seven o’clock, on “Willesee”, Paul Makin spoke with Bert Bryant in an interview that was fittingly recorded at a racecourse. Bert is fifty years of age, but looks more like sixty-five.

It has been a cold, windy day. Rain began to fall by 8.30 p.m.: the starting time of “Bless This House”, the British series which stars the late Sid James. At five minutes to nine — and also on A.B.C.-TV’s Channel Two — a programme from tonight’s “Stuart Wagstaff Playhouse”, which is entitled ‘The Lover’. Its cast includes the English pairing of Patrick Allen, Robert Swales and Vivien Merchant. It was written by Vivien Merchant’s husband, the playwright, Harold Pinter.

This evening, “Wild, Wild World Of Animals”, at six o clock, is about those who reside in caves. Tiki watched the film, “Challenge To Lassie”. Made in 1949, it stars the veteran English actors, Edmund Gwenn and Donald Crisp and, of course, ‘Lassie’. It was introduced by Channel Seven’s resident expert on the subject of motion pictures, Bill Collins.

In the meantime, I read about the eleven miners, in West Germany, who were trapped underground for fourteen days in October of 1963.

Tiki washed the dishes, again, tonight.

Although I awoke at ten past six, I did not rise until eight o’clock. By nine we had ventured up towards the back fence to begin our first serious attempt at pulling out the copious amount of Wandering Jew that was growing there. We also dismantled one of the chicken coops and a half of another. They have roofs of green Alsynite, which the creeper had partly concealed.

We returned to the house at ten minutes past ten and left to walk through Gymea. There, we passed the store that was used to sell carpets until it was gutted by fire last night; a fact that had been mentioned on “2KY News” earlier in the morning. At a cost of forty-cents, I bought a single red carnation for Tiki while she was shopping for groceries in Miranda.

Another programme of the series, “Cher”, appeared on Channel Seven from noon. “Sportsview” on Channel Two was hosted by Barry Eaton. It included a replay of the fourth and deciding Test at rugby union, which had been played at Eden Park, in Auckland, between the All Blacks and the touring British Lions. New Zealand scored a try in the last minutes of the match to snatch victory by ten points to nine and, thereby, also win the series by three matches to one. Bevan Wilson, whom at the age of twenty-one, bears the same name as a former Wallaby, played in the position of full-back for New Zealand.

This afternoon, “Luskin Star” took his record to ten wins and two seconds from his only twelve starts when he proved victorious in the Caulfield Guineas. “Family Of Man” won the Caulfield Stakes from “Unaware” and “Royal Cadenza”. “Nunkalowe”, proved to be too fast in winning the Toorak Handicap from “Tulla Honey” and “Lady Blintz”. “Luskin Star” has now amassed prize money of two hundred and forty-five thousand dollars.

Hobart’s Tasman Bridge reopened today, thirty-four months after it was rendered unusable when struck by the cargo ship, “Lake Illawarra”, on the evening of the 5th of January, in 1975. Twelve people died in the mishap. Seven of those were members of the ship’s crew.

Some friends of ours have recommended that we see the motion picture, “Rocky”.

I awoke at ten to seven and arose at half past the hour to buy a copy of “The Sun-Herald”, at a cost of twenty cents, from the passing paperboy. Graham Marsh, has won the most prestigious tournament of his career, the Piccadilly Match Play. As its name would suggest it was held in England. In the final, the Australian defeated the American, Ray Floyd, five and three. Graham’s younger brother, Rodney, played Test cricket for Australia as both a wicketkeeper and a batsman. Earlier this year he signed to play for Kerry Packer’s troupe of renegades.

Between eight o’clock and twenty-five to nine, Tiki washed last night’s dishes while I dried them. We became somewhat sunburnt when, on this glorious day, we spent two and a half hours doing battle with the remaining chicken coops, wire netting and Wandering Jew.

Once inside we shared a ‘tinny’ of Reschs DA and another, which contained Tooheys Draught. Tiki had thrice thrown cold water over me as I showered yesterday, therefore, I wet her backside when I had hold of the hose, in the garden, this morning. Needless to say, I, again, had cold water thrown over me in the shower today.

“Francis Joins The Navy”, a picture from 1955, is on television from one o’clock. It is another in the series of films about the talking mule of that name. It, again, features the extremely talented Donald O’Connor and includes an appearance by a young Clint “Rawhide” Eastwood.

Tiki blow-dried my hair in the spare bedroom and at ten past two we departed to walk to her parents’. Due to the fact that her aching neck had caused her to have a restless night, “Mum” was in bed, asleep. I walked down to “Dad”, who was aboard his boat, the “Ocean Swell”. I assisted him to seal its windows with black ‘Bumastic’. The wash from a passing boat must have caused the aerial upon its roof to snap, for it fell to the side decking. He pulled the launch into its wooden cradle by hand and after I had operated the winch we locked the vessel in the large boatshed.

“Dad” drove me to the Fountain Inn, in “Mum’s” pale yellow, 3500cc ‘Rover’ V8 sedan. I paid fourteen dollars and ninety-five cents for a takeaway meal for the four of us. He hadn’t been keen to shout Tiki and I to our share of the meal but “Mum”, who had arisen by that stage, instructed him to because, she reasoned, they had dined at our place last night. I had selected fillet steak in black bean sauce, while Tiki had opted for duck.

Brian Henderson was this evening’s guest on “This Is Your Life” at half past seven. The show is compered by Channel Seven’s principal newsreader, the amiable Roger Climpson. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on the 15th of September, in 1931, Brian began reading news on Channel Nine in Sydney, in January of 1957. During the week, he remains that station’s reader of the evening news, in opposition to Roger Climpson. From 1958 until 1972 he presented the musical series, “Bandstand”, also on Channel Nine.

Tiki and I walked home briskly and as a consequence were in time to view the film, “Thunderball”, which casts the Scottish actor, Sean Connery, as the British spy, James Bond, who has a ‘licence to kill’. Bearing the copyright of 1965, it is the fourth film of the series and includes among its cast the French actress, Claudine Auger. Welsh singer, Tom Jones, sings its theme, in my opinion a highly underrated recording, that bears the same title as the film.

 

At Sydney Wide Discounts, in Miranda, I wrote out a cheque to the sum of twenty-two dollars and ninety-five cents as payment for a ‘Carmen’ hair dryer/styler.

A repetition of a programme from the series, “The Mod Squad”, screened on Channel Ten at noon. This was followed by the last half an hour of “The Mike Walsh Show” on Channel Nine; which, in turn, was followed by the last forty-five minutes of the movie, “Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow”, on Channel Seven. Produced in 1964, the film features Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

The British series, “Billy Liar”, appeared on Channel Seven from half past two. Tiki arrived home from work and I presented her with the unexpected gift. The only problem being that the styling brush was missing from the box.

I left at twenty-five to seven to walk and jog through Gymea and Miranda. Upon my return, at a quarter past the hour, I noted that the diminutive English actor, comedian and singer, Norman Wisdom, was being interviewed by the Australian actress, Jacki Weaver, on “Willesee”.

At half past seven, James Garner appeared as Jim Rockford in “The Rockford Files”.

I awoke momentarily at 5.30 a.m. and found it to be so light that I almost switched off the alarm, set for an hour hence. At Sydney Wide Discounts, I had no trouble in getting a styling brush to take the place of the one that was missing from Tiki’s new ‘Carmen’ styler/dryer.

“The Best Of Paul Hogan” was shown on Channel Nine from half past seven this evening. As I had seen much of it before, I washed the dishes and, as there was little to enthuse about on television, retreated to bed by twenty five past nine.

It was already nineteen degrees Celsius at 8.30 a.m. At ten o’clock, “Behind The News” is presented by Barry Eaton. It includes segments on Japan, stamps, and the Russian performing bears. “People Of Many Lands”, which is also on A.B.C.-TV, follows at twenty past the hour and focuses upon northern India.

“Major Till” won the Coongy Handicap this afternoon from “Happy Union” and “Petekin”. The winner is expected to run in the Melbourne Cup.

Today’s maximum of twenty-eight degrees Celsius seemed far warmer. It is still twenty-six degrees at seven o’clock.

At half past seven the film, “The Sand Pebbles”, screens on Channel Seven. Despite the fact that it was made eleven years ago, this evening’s airing marks its premiere on television in Sydney. Steve “Wanted: Dead Or Alive” McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen and Richard “Our Miss Brooks”/”The Real McCoys”/”Slattery’s People” Crenna are members of its cast. I retired at twenty past eleven, having washed the dishes and put out the garbage.

 

At 7.45 a.m. John Burles played Cliff Richard’s hit of 1963, “It’s All In The Game”, which had previously been successful for the American singer, Tommy Edwards, in 1951 and 1958. It was played to honour the fact that tomorrow will mark Cliff’s thirty-seventh birthday. Born as Harry Roger Webb, in Lucknow, northern India, the singer, songwriter and actor adopted the name of ‘Cliff’ from rock — as in rock and roll — and ‘Richard’, in honour of the early rocker, Little Richard. Cliff thought ‘Richards’ would sound more appropriate, however, his promoter, in 1958, convinced him that ‘Richard’ was ideal because reporters and journalists would call him ‘Richards’ and he could receive the added publicity by stopping them and making the correction.

I held an American gridiron football for the first time today. It bore the brand name of ‘Wilson’ and was weightier than I had expected it to be. Another first was the necessity to water our front lawn!

“Country Road”, at six o’clock, was hosted by Johnny Chester and included footage of Charley Pride performing his hit of 1971, “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’ “, and, once again, Don Williams singing his hit of two years ago, “You’re My Best Friend”.

Roger Climpson read Channel Seven’s News from half past six. Sydney recorded a maximum temperature of twenty-seven degrees Celsius. After we had viewed “Willesee”, we left on our walk. Miranda Fair was crowded with late-night shoppers. There was a contest in progress on the shopping centre’s stage to determine which of the five participants could eat spaghetti the fastest.

 

The mercury had already risen to twenty-six degrees Celsius by eight o’clock. Our drive to work was uncomfortable, however, the return journey bordered upon being unbearable as our car does not possess air conditioning. The maximum of thirty-four has resulted in the declaration that this has been Sydney’s hottest day, in October, since 1969.