DOYEN 1: What a week to kick off the column Ricardo Carvalho. Banks and bashings, horses and lip hair, it’s all happening in Bendigo.
D2: Yes, it is indeed young Bucci. The new trends are certainly all the buzz at the moment but it seems Bendigo cannot forget its rich past either.
Council again had to grapple with the issue of heritage at its meeting this week.
One councillor must have been pretty uncomfortable as he sat right on the middle of the fence all night. He allowed the permit for a modern development in a heritage area but argued strongly against another one in a less sensitive area.
But the big issue this week is the Bendigo Cup.
Many Bendigonians polled are pretty keen to get “blind” at the cup, the horses seem to be a side attraction.
This attitude justifies media hype about Australia’s binge culture. Do you think this is a worry?
D1: Might be hard to avoid an over-quenching of thirst with today’s forecast.
The cup will be a drunken haze for most people, which is certainly concerning.
I wouldn’t go as far as one of our colleagues did recently in a national paper and say racing is driven by three vices: greed and addictions to gambling and alcohol. But too often a day at the races is treated purely as a day to wear nice duds and get on the gas - a bit like a wedding but with horses instead of creepy relatives ruining the fun.
Should be another interesting game of Frogger going on at the McCrae Street “Death Zone” tonight.
D2: I was speaking to a cabby last night and he was amazed there hasn’t been tragedy yet. He was not looking forward to tonight’s rush for taxis. He was urging patrons to be stayers and not sprinters over the whole day.
The cabby hopes there will not be a need for a steward’s enquiry.
nfD1: Let’s face it, you’ll be hailed as a prophet if something happens. It might be the wake-up call everyone needs.
Seems that just down the road from the famed “Death Zone” there’s an ice-cream turf war about to start.
D2: A “Cold War” of sorts perhaps? The opening of Cold Rock Ice Creamery could on the other hand turn the area into an Ice Cream precinct - a word the Bendigo Traders Association love.
With summer quickly approaching consumers should benefit with competition set to drive the cost of a cone down.
nfD1: Great spot for an ice-cream precinct, with the water fountains just around the corner in Bull Street perfect to rinse your sticky hands - until someone runs you over.
bfD2: Washing your hands is certainly better than wiping them on your moustache. It is again that time of year when men all around Australia, and indeed the world, have to decide what “mo” they will wear in November.
I’m inclined for a classic Motorhead handlebar. Will you be working hard at a caterpillar?
D1: I’ll have to start calling you Anna Coren if these remarkable segues continue. I’m hoping for a thick caterpillar, which is sure to blossom into an orange butterfly as Movember progresses. Last year it looked as if I’d pasted some of Cameron Ling’s hair to my lip, such was the ranga tinge.
We’re calling on all clean upper lips to join or sponsor our Turpie’s Tache team this year.
Visit http://au.movember.com/register/2 7979 for all the info.
Email a friend