Almanac Lunches: Chiefly Unreliable Minutes from a Geelong Yacht Club Luncheon

 

 

 

 

 

I’m staying down the road in Point Lonsdale with my wife, Claire, who’s rehearsing for her role as an Auslan interpreter at the Queenscliff Music Festival. Lots of Xavier Rudd, CW Stoneking and Kasey Chambers. I’m again rehearsing for lunch.

 

We’re in the Geelong Yacht Club and more colloquially, The Yot, for an informal gathering at which all are connected by the Footy Almanac.

 

 

Present: Gavan O’Connor, Peter Fuller, Roger Lowrey, Allan Barden, Swish Schwerdt, Anthony Beck, Col Ritchie, and Mickey Randall

 

The agenda follows with items tabled and business (vaguely) arising, as it does at an unhurried lunch.

 

1. RDL kindly took us round the table with each attendee offering an executive summary of where he had lived. We circumnavigated Australia, and beyond.

 

2. Recent musical events attended: The Saints and Hoodoo Gurus (Swish), The The and Queenscliff Music Festival (Mickey), New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Col), and LRB (none present).

 

3. The City of Elizabeth’s historical over-representation in its contributions to rock music with, among others, Barnesy, Glenn Shorrock, and Doc Neeson. Motion carried, no objections.

 

4. Little River is just down the road, and the apocryphal story is that LRB were driving through, needed a name and decided it would be after the next sign they saw. Luckily, they didn’t become the Big W Altona Meadows Band.

 

5. Following from III. Discussion of Geelong’s Belmont High and its esteemed alumni including Chrissie Amphlett, Ian Cover, and Dave Thornton.

 

6. Col ran a bookshop in Colac and shared some key moments. Opening line to local AM radio ad: Thinking Camus? Go and see Col in Colac for all your French absurdist needs.

 

7. Recurring conversation with Swish, Allan, and Mickey on footy in Darwin, Adelaide, Geelong, and the Barossa with a special shout-out to the Bali Geckos and the Singapore Sharks.

 

8. Compulsory mentions of Gough: when asked on TV who was Australia’s greatest living politician, he of course responded with, ‘We-ell, I can only tell you who’s the second greatest.’

 

9. 1970s SANFL footballers who may or may not have played in Darwin: Greg ‘Turbs’ Turbill, Robin Mulholland, Hugo Colasante (not Hugo Munn) et al. Allan and Swish led this forensic investigation.

 

10. How Mickey’s wife, Claire achieved 100 for Year 12 Australian History and he most certainly didn’t, but finished mid-field as aptly predicted by the form guide with ‘prefer others.’ (thanks again, RDL)

 

11. The young forwards at Central District who show promise, but this is tempered with a retrospective reminder that the Dogs won eight flags in a decade. Swish demurred.

 

12. Australia v. India score updates were sporadic, given the club’s lack of TVs—presumably to encourage patrons to gaze longingly at yachts they’ll never own.

 

13. Auskick numbers and according to Peter Fuller how Torquay ranks highly for participation.

 

14. The moral oversupply of Carlton fans at the lunch. Various members interjecting, namely Allen and Peter.

 

15. Almanac functions at the Tanunda Club and how at one Neil Balme noted that all football clubs are in a constant state of crisis, and Rick Darling sharing how on the bus from Tea Tree Gully he wore his Ramco footy shorts to his first Shield game at Adelaide Oval.

 

16. Point Lonsdale (Mickey’s local accommodation) – not especially blue-collar, according to informal sources at the table, and largely confirmed earlier this morning by multiple café diners tucking into smashed avo.

 

17. Tatachilla (McLaren Vale) Chardonnay, and how tremendous it is for a Friday lunch, especially when it’s late-spring hot (thanks RDL)

 

18. Delighted revisiting of Luke Reynold’s Almanac classic story on lock-down schooling, and especially the Robbedcurriculum, opening with a question regarding the 1979 VFL grand final: how many kilometres out of bounds was Wayne Harmes?

 

19. Robbed version 2.0 may include a question pertaining to Libba’s point and how many hundred thousand Bulldogs supporters claimed to have been behind the goals that day, possessing an unrestricted view of the ball and knowing deep down that they, too, were (allegedly) robbed.

 

20. The recent drafting of the Camporeale boys who played junior footy at Glenelg. Clarification: if they’re any good they learnt their craft at the Bay and didn’t if they aren’t.

 

21. Panko Crumbed Chicken Parmigiana. NB – after the ‘m’ is an ‘i’ and not an ‘a’ but let’s not start this again.

 

22. All meals were a treat with noted reference made to the pies.

 

23. Following Richard Ford’s appearance at the Adelaide Writer’s Festival, said author offered to meet Col in New Orleans. Proposed: as Ford has now moved to Montana, a Delta flight looms in Col’s future for the next chapter of this literary bromance. (See 2.)

 

All present vowed to again congregate, Motion carried, unanimously.

 

Minute-taker acknowledges with deep gratitude all who attended.

 

Meeting closed: mid-afternoon.

 

 

More from Mickey can be read Here.

 

 

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