Almanac Life: ‘Jolly Nuisance’
What do you give your mum for her ninetieth birthday?
My brothers and I struggled with this for quite a while.
“No Presents!” she kept saying.
Though she did want a bit of a birthday bash. A sit-down lunch.
So, one brother found a venue where we could comfortably fit in the expected fifty-plus invitees. Attendees would include her nieces and nephews who could make it, her surviving sister and brother, her six boys (of course!), her grandchildren, some great grandchildren, and some of her lifelong friends who were still fit enough to make it. Sadly, some are struggling these days and quite a few have passed on. But seeing one of Mum’s friends from her primary school days was magnificent.
Dad would be there in spirit. He died in 2016. Still seems like yesterday. But we rejected the idea of getting a cardboard cut-out of him and sitting it at the head of the table.
“Bad taste you think?” we asked each other.
“Yep”.
This still left us with the issue of an appropriate gift for her.
We ignored the “No presents!” directive.
Then one of my other brothers had a masterstroke idea. Mum always liked reading what I had written on the Footy Almanac site over the years, but in recent years had found it too difficult to read things on her computer screen. In fact, the computer is a door stop these days.
“I don’t know how to work the blessed thing anymore!” Mum says regularly.
So, my brother’s idea was to put together some sort of booklet containing a selection of my Almanac pieces over the years. A few recent, some older. He rang J Harms.
“How do we get hold of Dips’ Almanac pieces?” he asked JTH.
Harmsy, being a man of great vision, said to my brother, Liam,
“If you’re going to pull something like that together, you should make it good.”
This gave birth to the whole idea of a book we would give to Mum from ‘her boys’ and we would name Jolly Nuisance. The name seemed to fit because we were probably a bloody big ‘jolly nuisance’ for Mum on many occasions when we were youngsters. In fact, we knew Mum had reached the end of her extraordinarily long tether if she ever looked sternly in your direction (she never yelled) and said,
“You are a jolly nuisance!”
It was the closest she ever got to expletives.
We had Mum’s party, we presented her with Jolly Nuisance, and she was incredibly pleased. We, my brothers and I, had excelled ourselves!
The final product has come up beautifully. The cover features a painting of one of my older brothers. He did a marvellous job. It lifts the whole presentation.
Thinking all the time, J Harms said: “I reckon there’ll be a few Almanac types interested in a copy. You could sit it up on your bookshelf alongside your Footy Almanac collection! You will be familiar with a number of the pieces (most likely) but not all.
I’m eternally grateful to John Harms for his work and guidance with this book. It wouldn’t have happened without him. There is a great thrill in seeing your words in hard copy print.
But the best thrill was seeing Mum’s enjoyment.
Cheers.
Should you have an interest, please send Dips a message directly or via the Almanac email. The cost will be $25.00 plus postage. Probably $5 – $10. Obviously, it makes it cheaper if I can hand over the merchandise while enjoying a cold pot at the All Nations.
Read more from Dips Here.
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About Damian O'Donnell
I'm passionate about breathing. And you should always chase your passions. If I read one more thing about what defines leadership I think I'll go crazy. Go Cats.
Well played the-O Donnell clan and geez your mum looks younger than the majority of the Cats list
Will ring you at some stage today-Dips
Nice work Dips – what a great idea. I bet your Mum was thrilled.
Congratulations on the book, Dips, and all the best to your mother.
Brilliantly executed – don’t you love it when a small spark of an idea turns out a celestial masterpiece!
A cracker Dips, just love it!
This is just so cool, old mate. Well played!
Your mum is looking really well.
Thanks all. It was one of my brother’s better ideas!! ?
Mum had a jolly good day.
Truly great story/ initiative Dips.
What a beautiful idea Dips, all of it. From your FA yarns, with so many classic turn of phrases, and generous reflections to your brother’s painting and all the brothers involvement to your mother’s love. That is a lovely present for someone who says they already have all they need. Bless her heart. Agree with Rulebook’s observation, your mum looks pretty good for 90. Cheers
Beautiful words RK. Thank you. It came together well. We are very lucky that mum is still with us.
Ripper stuff, Dips. Well played.
It was terrific working with you guys, especially you Dips. It came together quickly, with Mary’s birthday looming. I think we found a way which could be attractive to other Almanac writers who might like to put a collection of their pieces together. We have numerous writers who could make a really engaging anthology, quite a few who have posted well over 100 stories. I’d be happy to hear from anyone who is interested.
[I’m also glad you changed your mind and have now made your collection available for anyone who would like a copy.]
Agree JTH. Plenty of Almanackers who could do something similar. It was an enjoyable and interesting experience witnessing the construction of a published book from up close. Plenty goes into it, and plenty of rewards come out.
Cheers.
Brilliant!
I love everything about this, Dips.
Congratulations to you and a Very Happy Birthday to your Mum.
Congrats Dips. Looks like she enjoyed the day. Well done.
RDL
Wonderful idea. Well played the O’Donnells
A belated congratulations all round on a marvellous concept. Well done.
Dips,
As mentioned, I would like to purchase a copy.
Send me an email, mate