'Music and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business is.' That's what Englishman, Samuel Pepys, (definitely a man after my own heart) wrote in his diary during the 1660s.
Whenever I see engravings or paintings of those lavish, seventeenth century dining scenes, I wish I could be there, transported back through the annals of time. I'd like to be one of the guests for the evening, join the conversation, taste the food, enjoy the wine and hear the music. But, only for the evening.
Everything was different in those days; living standards, transportation, manners and particularly, the food. We learn this from reading journals of the time and those of Samuel Pepys describe the era quite well, particularly as he was such an articulate and literate character.
Read more: Good Old Samuel - by Chaucer
Australia has become increasingly culturally diverse and I find it particularly confusing that, at a time we are bringing in hundreds of thousands of migrants from other countries, we are actively promoting the handover of Australia to Aboriginals.
How does that work out?
Our new arrivals must find it hard to understand: are they welcome here, or will they, in decades to come, be seen as invaders.... ?
It took me back to a time, a few years ago, that Redhead, my Mum, had a conversation with an Indian man when she called an online service provider to update her credit card details.
Read more: When did we lose our sense of Humour? And Our Sense of Self?
The ballot sheet at the imminent referendum will contain the proposed change to the Constitution followed by the question: A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration? Yes or no
That raises the question―what defines an Aboriginal? Is an Aboriginal limited to a full-blood Native, or to a person with a specified minimum amount of Native DNA? The answer is no. To be considered an Aboriginal, a person may have any amount of Native DNA, as held by Justice Deane in the High Court 1983 Tasmanian Dams Case:
By "Australian Aboriginal" I mean, in accordance with what I understand to be the conventional meaning of that term, a person of Aboriginal descent, albeit mixed, who identifies himself as such and who is recognized by the Aboriginal community as an Aboriginal.
So “Aboriginal” includes all the one or two percenters of Native DNA behind all the push by the Marxists/Fabians to take over our country.
The following historically correct narrative describes the Natives of Western Australia by reference to a good man, Rosendo Salvado.(From this point on, “Aboriginal” refers to a full-blood Native).
Daniel Andrews resignation was greeted with unbounded joy by most Victorians. I cannot recall any defeated leader receiving the rapturopus approval on his/her demise. Not even Whitlam attracted so much vitriol and relief from the populace at large. The public demonstrations at Parliament House were unprecedented.
The more important question is what happens next?
YouTube initiated a ban on commentator Russell Brand on last week that prohibits the celebrity from making money on its platform following accusations of sexual assault against the British comedian.
In her new book 'You Will Own Nothing,' the author Carol Roth writes of a new financial world that's emerging in which governments and corporations decide what behaviors are good and what behaviors are bad.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, who imposed the world’s longest Covid lockdowns on his state, officially steps down from his position today. Andrews earned the nickname ‘Dictator Dan’ for his strongman style of leadership during the pandemic years. He leaves a legacy of brutality, debt, and corruption.
As Andrews’ abusive relationship with Victorians draws to an end, some have responded with joy, some with relief, and some with gratitude to Andrews for ‘doing what was right’ and ‘keeping Victorians safe.’
I’ve previously covered Andrews’ legacy of brutality in my article, “From Australia’s most liveable city, to the world’s most locked down hellhole.” That article links to Topher Field’s documentary Battleground Melbourne, which covered Melbourne’s world-record lockdowns (clocking in at just over 260 days, cumulatively) and related protests.
"The Prisoner," a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan, first aired on the 29th of September 1967 and ran for only 17 episodes. Despite its relatively short run, the show has left a real mark on popular culture and continues to be relevant today. Set in a mysterious and surreal village, the series explored themes of individualism, freedom, surveillance, and the power of the state.
"The Prisoner" follows the story of a British secret agent named Number Six, played by McGoohan himself. After resigning from his job, he is abducted and taken to a secluded and enigmatic village. In this village, residents are assigned numbers rather than names, and the authorities, led by a mysterious figure known as Number One, seek to extract information from Number Six about why he resigned.
When I was a little girl, my grandfather had a home in the middle of the city. It must have had a very big yard because, down the back, there was a place called " The Wild Place ".
It was so convenient really.
We could play there and imagine all sorts of things. But we were still close enough to home that Mum could call and we would hear her call " Cooee! " and be back at the table for lunch quick snap
It had a stone wall around it and, within the wild place there were many monsters, wild animals and creatures as yet undiscovered.
Once we scaled that stone wall, we were in another dimension. And it was all within a " cooeee " of our Mum. It was not just our wild pace. It was paradise.
Read more: The Thrill of a Wild Place.... and the Cooeee we need right now
Leonard Read’s delightful story, “I, Pencil,” has become a classic, and deservedly so.
I know of no other piece of literature that so succinctly, persuasively, and effectively illustrates the meaning of both Adam Smith’s invisible hand—the possibility of cooperation without coercion—and Friedrich Hayek’s emphasis on the importance of dispersed knowledge and the role of the price system in communicating information that “will make the individuals do the desirable things without anyone having to tell them what to do.” - Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate, 1976
I have often been asked what has been our favourite holiday destination, a question impossible to answer because one is not comparing apples with apples but if I were forced to make a choice it would be a canal holiday just like the one we had on the Canal du Midi.
Chaucer’s recent series on his journey in Wanderlust II brings back memories of the most idyllic holiday we ever had. Every holiday has its own attributes but for sheer joy and relaxation our trip along the Canal du Midi stands out as the most idyllic of all.
Life is Simple. Just Add Water.
Read more: Cruising the Canal du Midi - Life is Simple. Just Add Water.....
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