Category: My Diary

It took me from a quarter past seven until a quarter to nine to wash last night’s dinner dishes. Although it was still a nippy seven degrees Celsius I hung out the washing to dry further, as it was sunny. In doing so I delightedly noted that the pink buds on the tree in the centre of our backyard are, indeed, those of the waratah.

I left at ten o’clock to walk to Miranda Fair. After having made a deposit at the local branch of my bank, I was informed that the balance of my account would have to be telephoned to me because the manager had locked himself in his office with the ‘balance sheets’ and wasn’t about to let anyone in.

At the dry cleaners, I handed over one dollar and fifty cents in exchange for the trousers I wore at our wedding. I returned home by five past eleven and watched a replay of the other night’s “David Jones’ Spring Fashion Awards”, compered by John Laws and featuring his third and present wife, Caroline. Designer, Trent Nathan, won the grand award.

It was twenty past two when someone from the bank rang, as promised, to tell me the balance of my account. At three o’clock, on Channel Seven, “The Saint”, centres upon a blind man who shoots company managers with his cane.

From five past four, after seeing a girl by the name of Blondie — she reminded me of Brigitte Bardot — sing “In The Flesh” on ‘Right On’, I walked, and even ran a little, to Tiki’s parents’ where I arrived just as she did, in her father’s red utility. We walked home together and, in doing so, took my tally for the day to five miles and that overall to four hundred and twenty-one.

Our viewing of “Flashez”, “The Big Match” and “Willesee” was followed by an elongated edition of “The Rockford Files” after which we adjourned to bed. Tiki disturbed me at midnight as she was in the process of preparing to visit our outside toilet and, unable to return to sleep, I watched Channel Nine’s screening of “Savage”, a film from 1972, which includes within its cast Martin “Mission Impossible”/”Space 1999” Landau and Barbara “Mission Impossible” Bain, who are husband and wife in real life, Michele Carey and Susan “Petrocelli” Howard.

 

 

It began to rain before midday and continued for a couple of hours. From half past two on Channel Seven I watched “Billy Liar”, which was followed at three o’clock by “The Saint” and, at four, by “Right On”. I departed on my second walk of the day during which it felt uncomfortably cold.

“Country Road”, at six o’clock, was hosted by the veteran Australian singer and songwriter, Slim Dusty. It included film of Kenny Rogers singing his recent hit, “Lucille”, and Jimmy Buffett performing his latest release, “Margaritaville”. Slim is probably known best for his smash hit of 1958, “A Pub With No Beer”, which reached No.1 in Australia and spent thirty weeks on the national pop chart. The single also received a warm reception in Britain where it peaked at No.3, in the first half of 1959. The song was composed by Gordon Parsons.

“Willesee” was followed by “The Dick Emery Show”, which Tiki watched while I washed the dishes. The pair of us opted for an early night and were asleep by a quarter past eight.

We awoke at half past six to an additional overcast and rainy day. It was eleven degrees Celsius, which was only four less than today’s maximum.

Bill Collins was a guest on “Jeanne’s Little Show” at half past one. He listed actors, Clint Eastwood and Charlton Heston, as being nice blokes before he showed a brief interview he had conducted with singer and actress, Barbra Streisand, whose principal hobby is her garden.

In “The Saint”, a man plans to freeze Simon Templar’s body in a scientific experiment, which is aimed at the prolongation of life.

“Country Road”, hosted this evening by Reg Lindsay, includes footage of Ronnie Milsap, who was born blind, as he performs his hit of two years ago, “(I’d Be) A Legend In My Time”. Reg’s recording of John Stewart’s minor American hit of 1969, “Armstrong”, reached No.7, in Australia, in 1971.

“This Day Tonight”, at half past seven, is followed an hour later by the ordinary movie, “River Of Mystery”, which features Vic “Combat” Morrow, Edmond O’Brien, Claude “Movin’ On” Akins and Louise Sorel. The film, which was produced for television in 1971, is set in Brazil.

 

I used the new lawn-mower for the first time and from five past two, washed the breakfast dishes. A salesman for Permalum called at our door unannounced, but I told him that we were not interested in borrowing any further money.

On the British series, “Billy Liar”, at half past two, Billy, played by Jeff Rawle, gives Christmas presents to members of his family. Little do they know that he has stolen them from the funeral parlour at which he works.

At three o’clock this afternoon’s programme from “The Saint” — the series of the 1960s, in which Roger “Ivanhoe”/”The Alaskans”/”Maverick”/”The Persuaders” Moore is cast as the suave Simon Templar — centres upon a disreputable record producer.

We visited the dentist at a quarter past four and were both given the all clear. Tiki hasn’t required a filling since 1965. I walked to her parents’, where we partook of dinner, and thence walked home.

Tiki was driving along Ringroad 3, en route to the Lane Cove River Park, when we noticed that a huge hot-air balloon was about to be launched from a playing field, near a canal, at Wiley Park. Tiki chose to remain in the car while I walked across to witness its launch at close quarters. Unfortunately, the wind was too strong and in spite of the balloon having extended its tether to its full length at one stage, the flight had to be aborted.

The balloon was red, blue and a dirty shade of beige in colour and possessed many patches in addition to a few tears. Its job had been to advertise on behalf of Frisco’s stores, in Hurstville and Punchbowl. The pilot’s wife mingled with the crowd and handed the middle-aged man to whom I had been talking, and myself a small balloon each. Mine was blue, and when Tiki used a pin to burst it a slip of paper informed us that we were in receipt of two free tickets to the icerink in Canterbury.

Tiki drove on to our intended destination, where we paid just sixty cents to enter the park. She continued on, up a dirt track behind the boat-shed and kiosk. As she had forgotten to bring our plates and cutlery, we ate the steak, bananas, tomatoes, onion and potatoes she had brought, with the utilisation of our hands. After lunch we walked across the causeway and kept pace with the paddleboat, “Turraburra”, until the trail along the river’s bank came to an abrupt end.

The street directory was produced and, having not been there previously, I chose to visit Centennial Park. We walked around the enclosure which harboured horses, emus and kangaroos. At a tiny forest of pine trees, Tiki decided to chase me. Once I had allowed her to catch me, we kissed passionately before remarking on just how seldom we embrace in such a manner.

We continued to walk around the lakes and admire the park’s statues. I drove home by twenty to five. Paul Makin interviewed guitarist, singer and songwriter, Jose Feliciano, on “Willesee”. Jose, who is blind, was born in Puerto Rico. “The Muppet Show” was followed, at eight o’clock, by “And Mother Makes Five”.

I found sleep difficult and, therefore, arose at 12.30 a.m. and watched “A Story Of A Woman”, a film which stars the Swedish actress, Bibi Andersson, Robert “The Untouchables”/”The Name Of The Game” Stack and James “The Bold Ones” Farentino. Produced in 1969, it screened on Channel Nine.

Having returned to bed by half past two, I fell asleep around three; only to be awoken by Tiki at seven o’clock. We were still lying in bed when “Mum” rang, at 8.15, to ask Tiki to approve the use of lemon icing on her birthday cake.

Nearly two hours later I left to walk to the petrol station, that bears the logotypy of Shell, on the acute corner of Wyralla Road and President Avenue. There I purchased four litres of Castrol GTX at a cost of four dollars and eighty cents.

The series, “Westwind To Hawaii”, screened from eleven o’clock. An hour later, on Channel Ten, the motion picture, “How To Frame A Figg”, features Don “The Andy Griffith Show”/”Mayberry RFD” Knotts. This offering, from 1970, has him cast as a dumb council clerk whose computer detects a case of fraud to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars.

I left home at two o’clock to walk to Tiki’s parents’. Tiki had waited behind to drive the ‘Galant’ there. She appeared as I was half of the way up the last hill and I ran as fast as I could to open the front gates for her.

Her father was in the process of re-covering the actual seats of the dining room chairs, in an orange vinyl. Something he had not done in more than twenty years.

I undid the bolt to the sump of the ‘Galant’ after “Dad” had loosened it for me. Whilst the oil was draining, I helped him to remove the tacks from the underside of the chairs’ seats and stood on the bases while he stretched the new covering over them and tacked it in place. All of this was achieved as I stood on the lowered tailgate of his ‘Town and Country’ utility.

Next I removed our car’s front tyres in order that he might check its brake linings. “Still good for another five thousand miles!” he assured me. By that time the odometer would read forty thousand miles.

He told me of a wild driver with whom he works and of how he had to have the brake linings of his car replaced after just twelve thousand kilometres. I replaced the oil drained from the sump with that bought this morning and all was finished by twenty minutes to six.

“Dad” showered to be certain that he would not be told to go and have one during the delayed telecast of this afternoon’s rugby league final, which aired from six o’clock on “Seven’s Big League”. Parramatta was in charge of the first half’s action and yet only led the Eastern Suburbs ‘Roosters’ by two points to nil at the break. The second half unfolded in much the same vein and while the ‘Eels’ emerged victorious, by thirteen points to five, it does appear to have a number of players who have sustained injuries.

I washed some of the dishes before half past seven and the commencement of “Barnaby Jones”. An hour later I departed to walk home. “Mum” had understandably warned me to be mindful of cars filled with hoodlums, however, she really didn’t have to, for the prospect of encountering violence when walking at night is never far from my thoughts. Tiki passed me about one hundred and fifty metres from home.

I shaved from 9.00 a.m. as I listened to Ron (“Won”) Casey’s show on 2KY. He believes that Parramatta will defeat St George in next Saturday’s grand final.

We departed for Wollongong at noon and found ourselves having to pay the forty-cent toll on the F6 with a twenty-dollar note. Tiki, as promised, shouted me to lunch at the restaurant within the  petrol station, that bears the livery of Golden Fleece, at the top of the Bulli Pass.

Two orange juices, a Chicken Maryland (for Tiki), a T-bone steak and two cappuccinos cost her only nine dollars and ten cents. Seated in the far corner we enjoyed the spectacular view that was afforded to us, but not the company of two blowflies.

The third and final term commences for those school children who attend state schools in New South Wales. The sky was enveloped in overcast conditions by eleven o’clock after there had been a bright and clear start to the day. Nevertheless, the overcast was to disperse after just two hours.

We viewed “The Rockford Files” from half past seven as a thunderstorm raged outside. It was followed by a new programme in “The Benny Hill Show”.

At 6.30 a.m., on the “2KY News”, Doug Harris, who sounded as though he is elderly, stated that a man had been found guilty of tampering with his wife when he should have said his wife’s car. He later corrected himself.

A bitterly cold wind blew and it had begun to rain by 3.40 p.m. This had ceased by a quarter to seven and so we set out to walk as far as that corner opposite Sutherland Hospital and on which Brewer Ford’s caryard is situated.

“The Naked Vicar Show” screened from half past seven and featured a skit on the 1977 Dunlop Sports Awards: “The Dunnies”. ‘Dunny’ is Australian slang for toilet.

An hour later we sat through a repetition of the British film, “To Sir With Love”, from 1967. It stars Sidney Poitier, Suzy Kendall and Lulu, who sings the title song. Lulu’s recording spent five weeks at No.1 in the United States and peaked at No.2 in Australia. Curiously, the single did not enter the charts in Lulu’s native Britain.

I saw “To Sir With Love” twice at the pictures, the second time, in 1970, at the old Vista Cinema, in Woonoona, a suburb of Wollongong, where hoodlums flicked the ends of their live cigarettes over the edge of the balcony. I remember, even then, thinking how dated the film seemed to be.

The American yacht, “Courageous”, defeated “Australia” by a minute and forty-eight seconds in the opening race of its defence of the America’s Cup off Newport, Rhode Island.

John Gray signs to play with the rugby league club, Manly-Warringah, for forty-five thousand dollars. The North Sydney ‘Bears’ had reportedly offered him sixty thousand to stay. The Englishman brought the ‘around-the-corner’ style of kicking for goal to Australia.

“Country Road”, this evening, is hosted by Jade Hurley. Tammy Wynette and Roy Clark are its featured artists. Roger Climpson reads Channel Seven’s news from half past six.

We departed for the restaurant, River Lights, at seven o’clock. It is located just beyond the northern end of the Captain Cook Bridge and opposite the Olympic swimming pool, in Sans Souci. Tiki and I noticed that there was a steak and pancake special for two, at a cost of just eight dollars, when we were perusing the menu. Without hesitation we opted for that! Two orange juices, a beef and vegetable soup each and a coffee, accompanied by a mint chocolate, for both of us brought the total bill to just ten dollars and fifty cents.

The youngish host and hostess allowed us to browse around upstairs, in the room where wedding receptions are held. We reached the car just as it began to rain. I drove home and turned on Channel Two to watch the documentary on the endangered bowhead whale of the Arctic.