The Alfred Graving Dock -  a monument to Victorian engineering and Australian shipbuilding

Most readers have probably never heard of the Alfred Graving Dock.

Indeed, I suspect many would quite reasonably ask: “What is a graving dock?”

The answer is rather more interesting than the name suggests.

There is an interesting piece of language hidden in the name. “Graving” is an old word associated with digging, cutting or carving. A grave, in its original sense, was simply a hole dug into the earth, while to grave something was to cut or carve into it , hence engraving. A graving dock is therefore, quite literally, a dock that has been dug or carved out of the ground.

One of Australia's finest examples is the Alfred Graving Dock at Williamstown in Melbourne.

And it is quite a remarkable place.

I was 12 years old when "The Prisoner " came out. Sometimes, I would sneak out of bed and watch it from the hallway when my parents were engrossed in watching the TV. I will never forget my fascination with some bloke running around a quirky town being chased by giant bubbles and mini mokes were the go-to vehicle of the time. It confused me and intrigued me. No doubt, my parents felt the same way.  It was hardly the same as watching " I love Lucy " or " Rawhide " but it surely got my little grey cells working overtime. 

"The Prisoner," a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan, first aired in September 1967 and ran for 17 episodes. It followed the story of a British secret agent named Number Six, played by McGoohan himself. Set in a mysterious and surreal village, the series explored themes of individualism, freedom, surveillance, and the power of the state. 

Number Six’s line -  “I am not a number. I am a free man” -  is not just a catchphrase. It is a refusal to let the collective rewrite the terms of his existence.

A lone juror who will not move, even when eleven others and the machinery around them want him to, occupies a similar position: one person insisting that his own judgment is not for sale. 

THE GREAT MULBERRY VACCINATION SCANDAL

A Ratty News investigation by Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble

I knew Dusty Gulch was in trouble when Dusty McFookit started counting his mulberries.

There were thousands of them.

And, according to an order issued by the very sinister Prentis Penjani on instructions from Honkland Central, every one of them was required to be vaccinated against Fowl Flu.

The reasoning appeared to be that birds ate mulberries.

Is Australia Becoming a Pub With No Affordable Beer?

Oh, sure, the beer is still there. The taps are still running. The glasses are still being filled.

It is affordable beer that is becoming the problem.

It is the customers who are beginning to disappear. Some have stopped buying the second beer. Some have stopped ordering dinner.

Some are sleeping in the carpark.

And some are simply staying home.

Perhaps that is the modern Australian version of A Pub With No Beer.

A pub with beer -  but increasingly without the people who used to drink it.