I'm doing my best George, but you can't rely on me as your sole form of entertainment.
Still, I'm very pleased to have a reliable reader in WA -- particularly a journalist I admired in the early '70s on The Oz: in a mad, mad world you were,likeNic Nagle, sensible, intelligent, and focused. None of us would last a minute ont hat paper now. That's why I'm doing this.
I like your claim to having "discovered" me after i camped in your Sydney house in 1971 -- which is true. Having worked in London I found it strange that Ruert couldnt afford a Hotel room for me.
But it was nicer out on you enclosed side verandah.
Amazing story. I was reading it when The Whitlams song Blow Up The Pokies came on the radio. Made me think: the casinos you and your tennis player friend frequented were mostly owned by crooks and cheats. They most probably paid off or corrupted police etc; today the casinos and poker machines in Australia are owned by legitimate corporations, RSL clubs etc and instead of bribery, they pay off our governments with royalties to spend on sports fields and infrastructure ... hence The Whitlams line "...so that the trains run on time". Yet the misery of gambling addiction remains constant through the ages.
Yes, even though Kenny Fetcher was a gambler, he pleaded with everyone NOT to allow casinos into Australiam, because he had a heart. "Thousands and thousands of families will suffer if they do" he tol everyone who would listen -- and, of course, he was correct.
Kenny knew that spinning wheel could mesmerize some into handing over their savings.
But governments of all persuasions oculdn't resist the extra income.
I'm doing my best George, but you can't rely on me as your sole form of entertainment.
Still, I'm very pleased to have a reliable reader in WA -- particularly a journalist I admired in the early '70s on The Oz: in a mad, mad world you were,likeNic Nagle, sensible, intelligent, and focused. None of us would last a minute ont hat paper now. That's why I'm doing this.
I like your claim to having "discovered" me after i camped in your Sydney house in 1971 -- which is true. Having worked in London I found it strange that Ruert couldnt afford a Hotel room for me.
But it was nicer out on you enclosed side verandah.
Hugh
Gday Hugh,
Another ripping yarn. but come on mate, pick up the pace.
Suspect you might be breaching some law or rule when you write "Of course no addicted gambler will quit when HE is on a winning streak."
What about "her" and "They" and all the other binary (or not) gender possibilities available in the year 2024?
And don't ignore the seahorses...
Glad you're still not pushing up daisies.
George Williams in the oft forgotten Swan River colony.
Amazing story. I was reading it when The Whitlams song Blow Up The Pokies came on the radio. Made me think: the casinos you and your tennis player friend frequented were mostly owned by crooks and cheats. They most probably paid off or corrupted police etc; today the casinos and poker machines in Australia are owned by legitimate corporations, RSL clubs etc and instead of bribery, they pay off our governments with royalties to spend on sports fields and infrastructure ... hence The Whitlams line "...so that the trains run on time". Yet the misery of gambling addiction remains constant through the ages.
Yes, even though Kenny Fetcher was a gambler, he pleaded with everyone NOT to allow casinos into Australiam, because he had a heart. "Thousands and thousands of families will suffer if they do" he tol everyone who would listen -- and, of course, he was correct.
Kenny knew that spinning wheel could mesmerize some into handing over their savings.
But governments of all persuasions oculdn't resist the extra income.
Hugh