A Cornish pasty
The view from the first tee-block at Victor Harbor Golf Club
A band at The Wheaty on a Sunday afternoon
Buying (another) Glenelg Footy Club premiership stubby holder
Four Larks and a Wren, Tuesday mornings on Three D Radio (with Stu)
The joyful approach to cricket shown by Kapunda’s (own) Darcie Brown
On ‘Play Me’ when Neil Diamond sings, ‘Songs you sang to me/Songs you brang to me’
Meeting The Sportswriter author, Richard Ford, at Adelaide Writer’s Week
The Malcolm Blight statue at Adelaide Oval
The choral singing on ‘Mary Boone’ by Vampire Weekend
Spending a Saturday afternoon hour with a book on the couch during our annual Carrickalinga weekend
That Claire’s favourite cricketer remains Bruce ‘Roo’ Yardley
The character of Marge Gunderson in Fargo
The CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield
Ubud’s best rustic eatery, Whole Egg
My fourteen-year-old-son Max learning ‘Hotel California’ on the guitar
A swim-up bar
A Sunday lunch with Mum and Dad and the family
Climbing Mount Remarkable and once descended, the North Star pub
‘Nightswimming’ by REM
Lighting the fire, late afternoon in a holiday cottage
The comedic energy, and crowd participation during the Torrens parkrun briefing
Retrospective gratitude for summer’s final swim
Local poet and former colleague, John Malone, once writing that jetties are umbilical cords attaching us to better versions of ourselves
The annual November lunch with Kapunda mates at Greenock Brewers (tomorrow)
Flopping into the beanbag, occasionally
Buying the vinyl of So Much For The City by The Thrills: immaculate, sunny West Coast sounds by Dubliners
The official ceremony prior to the Adelaide Test when I glance up at the big screen and see Claire interpreting (Auslan)
Our Toyota RAV 4 approaching 500,000 kilometres
A Sparkling Ale longneck at 5.30pm on a Sunday
Hiking from Waterfall Gully to the Mount Lofty Summit (and back down)
The ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ episode of Soul Music on BBC Radio 4
On my annual writing retreat, that first beer in Port Elliot’s Royal Family pub, at 5pm on Wednesday
My sixteen-year-old son Alex beating me at chess
On Fisk, Ray Gruber’s knitwear
The Vintage Vegas aesthetic of The Peninsula Hotel
Looking down across Kapunda from Gundry’s Hill
Stanley Tucci doing Stanley Tucci things in Stanley Tucci ways
Paul Kelly’s ‘Deeper Water’ and its soaring, extraordinary commonplaceness
Spending an hour in the West Terrace cemetery
A late afternoon bowl of hot chips
Da Vinci’s Last Supper was painted on a refectory wall
Glenelg Oval’s new scoreboard
Passing a velodrome during the Milan parkrun
‘The Owl is flying high, frightening to the eye/The Rattler is nearby, Cool is on the fly/Danger is his business’
Locating Claire among the throng following the City Bay Fun Run
Karen Carpenter’s contralto singing voice
Watching the waves with Alex and Max at the Fiki Fiki Bar on Kuta Beach
Wondering if the Robinsons, Dr. Smith, Major Don West, and the robot were Lost in Space upon the Jupiter 2, what happened to Jupiter (1)?
The psychedelic, `60s girl groups mood of Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, my album of the year
Rediscovering Riesling in the summer of 24/25
Steve Gadd’s drum solo on Steely Dan’s eight-minute pinnacle, ‘Aja’
Sticky date pudding
How our bottlebrush is at peak annual flowering every Derby Day
VVS Laxman
Imagining a recent phone conversation between Mick and Keith
Spying a chainsaw in the middle aisle of Aldi
The 1982 comedy horror film, Creepshow, directed by George A. Romero
Local racehorse, Flow Meter, starting 200 times (20-26-27)
Jools Holland’s piano solo on ‘Uncertain Smile’ by The The
Pirate Life’s South Coast Pale Ale
The impeccable kicking action of Glenelg captain Liam McBean
The Adelaide Oval Hotel: the best way to sleep at (extra) deep backward square
Picking mint from the garden for Claire’s (evening) gin and tonic
Mr V’s record store on Semaphore Road
Charcuterie for when too much meat is barely enough
The incendiary live version from Goat Island of ‘Only the Strong’ by Midnight Oil
The giant metallic sculpture of a pigeon in Rundle Mall
Four hours of annual wine and chat at Cellar Door Fest; just as Jordan remarks in The Great Gatsby: I like large parties. They’re so intimate.
The peculiarly comforting sighting of Denis Walter at Carols in the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Philip Larkin: The trees are coming into leaf/ Like something almost being said
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About Mickey Randall
Now whip it into shape/ Shape it up, get straight/ Go forward, move ahead/ Try to detect it, it's not too late/ To whip it, whip it good
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A lot of joy there, Mickey. Well done. Roo would also have been delighted I’m sure!
How good was Roo at gully? I remember him taking some screamers as the shadows lengthened across the grounds.
Thanks, Barry.
Love these lists you do Mickey. While I’m at it, what are your thoughts on the Norwood ruckman who won the Magarey? Saints are looking at him. We desperately need another ruckman cheers
Thanks Ian. Like many modern ruckmen, he’s pretty mobile, plays like a ruck-rover (what a great hyphenated word) and seems quick. As he’s 26, he may’ve already been considered and not selected but I imagine he wouldn’t be the worst.
Thanks Micky. We desperately need to free up Rohan Marshall. 26 is a good age to start for a ruckman…little slow on the uptake! Cheers
The Norwood ruckman winning the Magarey would be on my list of likes for 2024.
He was the dominant player in the comp, but probably just a really good SANFL player.
Bruce Yardley! That is superb!
Half drew nods of recognition; half I just smiled at the vibe.
The 1st tee at Victor Harbour is golf’s version of “may the road rise up to meet you and the wind be always at your back” (and may you be safely on the green before the devil knows you’re playing).
Great list Mickey Randall!
That Claire person gets a lot of mentions!!
Tom T Hall wrote a song from a list of things he loved, called, funnily enough, I Love.
A most satisfying list, if ever there was one.
“When I’m locked in my room / I just want to scream…”
O, double O
Great musings Mickey.
I am now post-vinyl but pleased that vinyl outlets are in existence and seemingly on the increase.
Ditto Glenelg Premiership T-shirts, although I am not as pleased about that.
Bruce Yardley – whole hearted cricketer.
Thanks everyone.
Greg A – I’m always intrigued by the gap between the AFL and SANFL. It seems a fluid demarcation; some adapt well while others like Liam McBean were discarded and I, and many others, are sure he’d be more than handy. I hope Boyd is picked up and does well.
PB- great musing; golf is subject to more philosophical ponderings than other sports. Why?
Thanks Glenn. I reckon I’ve got Mum and Dad’s Tom T. Hall album somewhere. Best get it out!
Swish- easily my favourite TV theme tune.
Smokie- I’ll call it: Rob Hirst is Australia’s finest rock drummer.
Peter- lots of Yardley love. I’d enjoy Gideon on Roo.
Why are golf, cricket and baseball better suited to philosophical musings?
“Small balls” – to quote the once and future US President. Or as George Plimpton put it more eloquently in 1992 after editing the Norton Book of Sports “the smaller the ball, the finer the literature”.
Present company and Almanackers excluded obviously.
love this list, Mickey (& the photo)
i found a copy of ‘Sportswriter’ in the Kapunda second hand book shop earlier in the year
“and I know what they mean … ONLY THE STRONG”
enjoy making memories for your next list
Rabbit in the Vineyard
PS: how good is the ‘Hardest Line’ doco ?!
PB- How good were George Plimpton and Norman Mailer in ‘When We Were Kings?’ With no boxing knowledge, I read The Fight and found it extraordinary. Should put it on the summer list.
Russel- Thanks for that. I thought ‘The Hardest Line’ was great, and I’ve been working my way through their discography since. Gee, 10 to 1, or as we knew it, 10, 9, 8 is a timeless powerhouse.
‘The Hardest Line’ doco was on the ABC on Tuesday night. May be up on iView if anyone hasn’t seen it. Plays again next Saturday night.
I keep coming back to your list for more snippets of gold that I overlooked the previous time!
You live very well Billy Mountain, and have a sharp eye.
Thanks JTH. It’s important to note that the affirming and often celebratory tone of this community encourages these things. In many ways, it’s a digital men’s shed. Of course, lunches and events mean it’s more than this!
Good Sunday afternoon theme here. Especially with a Sparkling Ale.
Magnificent, Mickey. Found myself nodding my head in agreement with a lot of this – Yardley was my favourite too. International Cricketer of the Year in 81/82. Love you concluding with ‘The Trees’. Have you heard PK’s version of it? Wondrous.
Thanks Luke. I wonder if Sundays are as good when you’re retired and there’s no Mondays for contrast?
Just listened again DB. Understated and thoughtful- ‘their yearly trick of looking new.’ Really enjoy his musical version of Langston Hughes’ Life is Fine: soaring and affirming. Thanks very much.