Knitting a one eyed view

I have been out of action for the past week fighting off the flu and recovering from eye surgery. I’ve been accused of being a one eyed leftie Collingwood supporter, but I have to say that being a Libran that is a hard act to juggle. I think I am unfairly accused – passionate: yes; myopic: not from where I  am looking. 

The upshot of my acquired afflictions has been a return to the knitting needles and binging on Season two of House of Cards.

The first activity has taken inspiration from the forthcoming Beaniefest in Alice Springs, the yarn bombing being prepared to commemorate the anniversary of the release of the Beatles Yellow Submarine, and a friend request for a tea cosy to accompanying their travels around the country. As a result I now have: a ‘ To the moon and back’ beanie and a ‘blast off’ tea cosy; the plans to knit a yellow submarine; and knitted caravan to go on top of the grey nomad teapot.

The second activity of living in Kevin Spacey’s world as the American Vice-President  may in fact be clouding my judgement about Barry O’Farrell and the 1959 Grange caper.  If Barry had watched the series he would have known that politics is duplicitous, cut throat, treacherous, deceitful, dishonest and unfaithful. He would know you can trust no one, you must be enormously narcissistic and ambitious and prepared to mow down anyone in your way regardless of the consequences. Even if it comes to literally throwing someone under a train. 

So, given that lens (and I have a new one thanks to the cataract surgery), there are a few questions that I still can’t fathom:

• Why would Barry be so adamant that he had never received a bottle of Grange, that he would remember it if he had, and that it just didn’t exist – especially when it appears he had been asked about it by a journalist some weeks ago?

• Why not say: I was asked about this a few weeks ago, I have conferred with my wife and my staff and none of us can recall such a gift. If I did receive it in those hectic first days in office then I have obviously forgotten about it?

• If he knew in advance that there was a question about a bottle of Grange, why didn’t Barry just call his mate Nick and ask him whether he had indeed sent such a gift if Barry couldn’t recall it himself?

• Did Barry think that his mate would not provide the handwritten note of thanks to ICAC?

• Why did Barry not record the Grange on the gift register

• Do new Premiers get so many congratulations gifts that they forget what they got?

Tony has been quick to defend his good, honest bloke, state colleague in a gesture that reminds me of the protests made by many bosses in the early days of the NSW Royal Commission into accusations of child abuse by teachers and child care workers.

If Barry O’ Farrell has some medical condition that results in memory loss then I feel sorry for him . But what comes across is an arrogant, self assured, definitive denial one day, and the next an: oops sorry, I forgot, and you obviously have a piece of paper with my signature on it.

Sorry…it just doesn’t add up. 

Or have I been watching too much HBO?

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PS.  Kevin Spacey was born in 1959 too…spooky!

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Art Work of the Week

That caravan I was talking about above

Righteous indignation

I’ve been contemplating why it is so long between blog posts, but I think I have figured it out.

Over the first one hundred days of the current Australian Government there has  something every day that has me in an outrage. I circle newspaper comments with big red loops, grind my pencil under words that nark, draw devil horns and moustaches over seemingly innocuous portraits and send for the thesaurus to find more vituperative words to describe my antipathy. 

There is so much to be infuriated about that I despair I will sever the TV antennae, shred my daily newspaper before I read it, and block all current affairs access on my phone.  I am at risk of becoming a hermit, but I loathe sackcloth and dirt, and really couldn’t grow a post menopausal beard to speak of even if I wished.

I’ve had it with:

·         Inhumane refugee policy

r    Orange lifeboats

·         Lack of transparency

·         Lack of information

·         Cuts to everything

·         Demonising of workers

·         Destruction of the environment

·         Debunking of science, and

·         The general tendency to mendacity and deceit  that tells us we have had it too good and now we need a little Presbyterian austerity, or Catholic penance.

So, I’m taking a well earned emotional break away. I’m off to Rutherglen for a bloody good slurp of the best vintages I can find. 

If I fall of my bike enroute, then someone cover me in righteous indignation and let me sleep it off.

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 ART WORK OF THE WEEK

Nothing is quite like it seems

Detail: Fruit flies.  Acrylic on Canvas