I’m voting for footy

Qut Men's Waterpolo

Down to earth with a thud today, driving across town before breakfast to collect The Ballerina from a sleepover. On the way home I shopped at the butcher, the greengrocer and the supermarket, buying dry-aged rib steaks, nutty muesli, yoghurt and a box full of veggies. Then toilet paper.

At home I washed and hung three loads of washing. I even ironed. The nesting instinct is strong after a week away.

Farm news

The Husband returned after an overnight visit to The Farm. The sewerage system needed servicing so he drove down yesterday to meet a plumber. Fortunately it turned out to be a small job, just a fan needed replacing and the system given a once-over.

The Pooch, who also went for the drive, found a recently deceased wallaby and feasted, wandering up to the house late in the afternoon covered in blood and smelling like a ripe carcass. His favourite morsel was the vertebral column, which he chewed and licked dry. Unfortunately all that not-so-fresh meat didn’t agree with his delicate digestive system. This morning The Husband opened the laundry door to find liquid pooch poo smeared up the wall and over the floor. Seems sewerage was a consistent theme to his farm visit.

Socialite status

The Socialite wandered home around midday today, nutbrown and bleached after a week at the Gold Coast playing waterpolo for QUT at University Games. She popped her shoulder out early in the tournament, the latest in a long list of injuries and ailments to plague her. She’s not having a happy year. Her team finished fourth overall, a decent result given they failed to win a game last year. And the QUT men’s team won gold.

Footy finals

Speaking of winners, after lunch the whole family curled up on the sofa to watch the AFL grand final on the big TV. Uncle Mark, who’s staying with us for a few weeks while he’s in between houses, pulled up an armchair. He and The Husband are rugby league followers but my family history has a stronger influence. Ours is definitely an AFL household. And while we don’t follow the game closely during the season we always gather to watch the big one.

A great win

Like the QUT women’s water polo team, Richmond was a surprise finalist, having finished 13th last year. Their runaway victory over Adelaide today, 16.12.108 to 8.12.60, had all the hallmarks of the underdog triumph and was a joy to watch. Richmond player Dustin Martin added the Norm Smith medal (best on ground) to his Premiership and Brownlow Medals, the first player in history to claim this trifecta. Imagine how his mum must be feeling tonight.

Nicely put

Over dinner, The Socialite told us she passed someone on a busy Brisbane road today holding a ‘vote no’ sign. She waived her middle finger at him in salute as she drove past. The Husband admonished her, saying the Yes lobby shouldn’t be so aggressive towards No voters, citing a story about a ‘nice young Catholic girl’ who’d been harassed by people for holding a similar sign. The Socialite, who is tired and fragile, burst into tears and said the nice young Catholic girl will lose nothing if gay people get married whereas gay people being confronted with such signs feel so worthless they want to kill themselves.

The Husband paused for thought and then changed the subject.

 

Angela Bensted Bw 1x1
Angela Bensted is a Brisbane-based freelance writer who likes to listen first and struggle with syntax later. She pitches stories to magazines and helps businesses produce compelling copy for print and online.
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