Last Friday night we were driving back to Bill (The Phantom) Walker’s weekend shack in the Rocky Cape National Park on the northwest coast of Tasmania. It was about 9.15pm. We’d been to the Tasmanian launch of the 2011 Footy Almanac at the Wynyard Football Club and were taking things easy, this being our first [Read more]
When a throw is a throw
May 17, 2012 by 16 Comments
In baseball they call it a pitch, in netball a pass, in football a handpass. In all three cases it could simply be called a throw. I remember gathering around Mr Patto at footy training as an eight year old at Petrie Park in Montmorency. Mr Patto was a legend; Montmorency’s Pied Piper. Rather than [Read more]
A Luculia Winter
May 8, 2012 by 10 Comments
I’m a mass murderer of luculias. At last count I’ve killed six of them, though one of the six died because it wasn’t potted up correctly at the nursery. I reckon I could get off that with a grievous bodily harm rap. Dips O'DonnellI’m passionate about breathing. And you should always chase your passions. If [Read more]
Swimming For Life
April 25, 2012 by 9 Comments
Sometimes sport can surprise you in an unexpected way. It can catch you off guard and make you reassess. But perhaps it’s not the sport so much as it is the participants. Last Sunday I was at a swimming carnival. It was held at the Doug Ellis Pool on the grounds of Monash University in [Read more]
Rain, Hail and Winning
April 11, 2012 by 21 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell I’m here again, sitting in my deck chair in the shade of a gnarly old gum tree. The twisted and tortured limbs make it look a bit crotchety. My view is across the Lake Fyans road and the Stawell racecourse to the sleepy Grampians on the horizon. I’m staring across the [Read more]
An Obituary
March 31, 2012 by 9 Comments
I’ve just found out that he’s dead. My mate. Dead. It’s such a small word but carries so much with it. I want the world to stop for a while. Work can wait. I need to write this down. He didn’t wake up. Went to sleep and didn’t wake up. Simple as that. When Max [Read more]
The Inside Lane
March 16, 2012 by 6 Comments
“Get the inside lane.” That’s all he could think of. “Make sure you get the inside lane.” The cut grass between his toes was damp; spring on a Montmorency morning. The sun shone crisply through the eucalypts’ leaves. He was standing at the centre of his universe. Dips O'DonnellI’m passionate about breathing. And you should [Read more]
One With The Lot
February 16, 2012 by 9 Comments
I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it. The hamburger. The bloody thing nearly killed me. I was on Tavira, a minute island just off the south coast of Portugal. It was September 1987. I say just off the coast because a couple of good torpedo punts from the mainland would land on the island’s beautiful [Read more]
Hope is where the heart is
February 10, 2012 by 34 Comments
What’s happening to Blues supporters? On my recent holiday in Yarrawonga I was surrounded by them. They were so numerous that if I was off target with a mossie swat or a fly swipe I was in danger of hitting one. Indeed this is the case every year as the same families make the trek [Read more]
The Revolution Begins
January 2, 2012 by 13 Comments
Following Philip Hughes’ bad trot with the bat he had a meeting withAustralia’s batting coach, Justin Langer. “So Langers, why do I keep getting out?” “Not sure Hughsey” said the coach scratching his head. “Maybe you could try keeping your bat straight?” Phil Hughes walked away looking puzzled. No one had ever [Read more]
Pavlov’s Duck
December 9, 2011 by 9 Comments
A bloke recently explained to me why it is that summers as a child seemingly stretched out forever, whilst in adult years they seem to fly past like Vettel passing Webber. His logic is simple. For a four or five year old kid a year represents about 25% of their life, however for a fifty [Read more]
War and Peace
November 23, 2011 by 22 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell A reflection should be just that; a careful consideration of previous events, actions or decisions. It should not be a reaction. I feel that a respectable period of time has elapsed for this to be considered a true reflection. The Bloody Sock Era (1964 – 1975) The boys’ toilet was [Read more]
Farewell Smokin’ Joe
November 9, 2011 by 5 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell The headline says “When the mountain came to Muhammad”. It was 1971 in Madison Square Garden. There’s Joe being lead to the corner by the referee. There is no discernable look on his face; it’s fixed in a deadly glaze. He’s returning to the corner like a bloke strolling home from [Read more]
Football and trees.
October 24, 2011 by 10 Comments
Whenever I plant a tree of significance I get a photo of one of my kids next to it. It’s the best way to gauge its growth over the years; look at the tree, look at the child. “Remember when I took that photo of you in front of the jacaranda?” “Yeah Dad. Whatever.” [Read more]
Cats Dressed to Kill
October 3, 2011 by 18 Comments
By Dips O’Donnell I could do no more. I’d planned it for weeks. The rest was up to the boys. First the socks. Not so much lucky socks, but unassuming socks; socks that have a hint of navy blue around the heel and toe. Yes, they would do just fine. I buried them deep down [Read more]
POISE AND OTTENS
September 12, 2011 by 6 Comments
Poise versus flashes of brilliance. Geelong versus Hawthorn. The weather gods have no concept of timing. They sent the wintery blast up from the Antarctic and into the MCG just in time for Friday night. Cold, hard rain hit the players’ faces and ran down the backs of supporters whose resilience was tested in [Read more]
Into the Valley of Death……………………….
August 23, 2011 by 6 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell The good people at Down Syndrome Victoria must be Geelong supporters; they organized their annual fund raising day at the Moonee Valley races on the same weekend that the Cats have a bye, meaning of course I can attend Moonee Valley without having my ear to a radio all afternoon. It [Read more]
The White Mouse
August 10, 2011 by 2 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell She crept around; a tiny mouse, But when she struck, It was through the heart. She made Hitler’s list, Her name at the very top. Where is she? the lunatic raged. New Zealand saw her birth Australia her growth, The French her courage. Vale the White Mouse. Dips O'DonnellI’m passionate about [Read more]
Driven up the Walls
August 3, 2011 by 39 Comments
It can’t be far away now, perhaps only a matter of a week or two. I wander what the banner line to the article might be? “Ablett and Suns a Good Fit” Or “Suns Shine on Gazza.” Or “Walls has Surgery to Remove Stale Egg from Face” Earlier this year (April 1st in fact), [Read more]
No Harmony For Dees
August 1, 2011 by 4 Comments
I’ve got a touch of the flu at present. That dreaded winter flu that hangs around like a fart in church. I thought I had it tossed last week and as a result maybe pushed things a bit hard. It came back at me on Friday with particular viciousness; roaring red throat, headaches, enormous lethargy. [Read more]
Recent Comments