Patriot Realm

Samuel Pepys is probably the most famous diarist in history and his words are treasured throughout the English speaking world. A politician from the 1600's, he captured the spirit and soul of Britain in those days of an era  we no longer recognise.

My love of and for cricket started at an early age.

During WW2 the interstate cricket competition, The Sheffield Shield, was suspended. It resumed in the 1946/47 series and traditionally, the match between Victoria and NSW started on Boxing Day. I was 11 at the time and went to the game every day it was played. 

 As Christmas comes. it is that time of year when Bing Crosby serenades us as we wander down the supermarket aisles throughout the world. His voice has almost become synonymous with the festive season.

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr.  May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977 was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, having sold over one billion analog records and tapes, as well as digital compact discs and downloads around the world.

Only minutes before midnight on Christmas Eve, 1953, the engine driver  of the Wellington  to Auckland express train will notch back  to walking pace  in a remote area of New Zealand's North Island's 'volcanic plateau. Most passengers  will be sleeping.

If the pandemic policy response had taken the form of mere advice, we would not be in the midst of this social, economic, cultural, political disaster. What caused the wreckage was the application of political force that was baked into the pandemic response this time in a way that has no precedent in human history.