Australiana – Page 11 – Boadicea's Chariot

This amused me – I hope it amuses you

A week ago there was an article in The Punch, an Australian site which many of you had difficulty with when I gave a link to an earlier article about Michael Clarke. This article was about the monarchy and the “forth-coming” wedding – the author was, shall we say, not in favour of either. Many comments followed, most of which were unexceptional or irrelevant – that is, they were mainly off-thread, debating the merits or otherwise of certain UK national newspapers.

But then came this gem from a British gentleman (I swear I have not edited a single word) – Continue reading “This amused me – I hope it amuses you”

Australian Republicanism – an educational monograph

Charioteers will appreciate that Republicanism may, when mentioned on The Chariot, refer to either of two distinctly different movements.

There is, I understand, a Republican, anti-Monarchy movement in the UK. I know absolutely nothing about this movement since, regular visits notwithstanding, I have not lived there for over two decades. I do have some broadbrush opinions on the UK Monarchy and the constitutional framework in which it exists, which are based on earlier experiences supplemented by contemporary attention to current affairs, but I cannot claim to be fully informed – nor would I expect to be, being a foreigner. Boadicea has already mentioned the two main areas in which I feel that your UK Monarchy has failed (ceding sovereignty to the EU, neglecting the rôle of Defender of the Faith), but – and you may have noticed this – I have not attempted to join UK-centric discussion on the subject. I do not know enough about what is going on there. Read on, but be warned, it’s as long as a short story

Big Mistake!

PERTH – An SAS trooper collecting toys for children was stabbed when he helped
stop a suspected shoplifter in east Perth .

The ‘Toys-R-Us’ Store Manager told ‘The West Australian’ that man was seen on
surveillance cameras last Friday putting a laptop under his jacket at the store.

When confronted, the man became irate, knocked down an employee, pulled a knife
and ran toward the door.
Outside were four SAS Troopers collecting toys for the “Toys For Tots” program.

Smith said the Troopers stopped the man, but he stabbed one of them, in the back.
The cut did not appear to be severe. What happened next?

At least CA got one thing right …

Choosing Shane Watson as Michael Clarke’s deputy, and therefore anointing him as Australia’s future Captain-in-waiting, will be popular with almost everybody down under. He can bat (usually), he can bowl (most of the time), and he’s a nice guy – which is very important.

He’s a straight Aussie bloke from Queensland without tats, without a flashy celebrity girl-friend (though his current lady is nice enough), and without megabuck advertising contracts for poofy or weirdo products. When he had some spare time recently he visited his family and friends in his home town of Ipswich, which had suffered greatly from flooding, and lent a hand rather than driving expensive sports cars and getting pissed.

I will concede that there are other promising young cricketers who might be considered as future captains – Tim Paine for example – but at the moment they are not in the team. One reason for this is that two places are still occupied by Clarke and Ponting, neither of whom deserve a place on current performance, recent century notwithstanding.

Australia’s renewal will not begin until Ponting is finally put out to grass and Clarke stops being a sissy.