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It’s Tuesday night. I’ve just watched “The Bill” and “Rove” is about to commence. Have just had a lovely piece of steak for dinner. Now sipping on a glass of wine. It’s my regular Tuesday night and I love it.

A few things have happened in the last week.

Basking in the glory of my “big scoop” with John’s story about ATM fraud, I was thanked at work for breaking the story. I told my boss I wouldn’t have known about the story if I hadn’t gone out for a drink on the Sunday night. He was not, however, conducive to the idea of a “drinking allowance” that may have enabled me to gather more stories. I think he is being very short-sighted :)

Last Tuesday night, Sue arrived for a whirlwind visit from Melbourne. She’s studying a postgraduate degree through the University of Technology, Sydney. She seems to be doing quite well with it, in fact she’s managed to top her class in the accountancy subject which she says should be a cause for concern for the other students. She arrived on Tuesday night and we went for dinner at the local Vietnamese restaurant around the corner. That was great.

I can’t remember what happened on Wednesday and Thursday night. They were obviously uneventful. On Friday night, after work, I went out with some people from work. We had a few drinks, a few laughs. What more could you ask for.

On Saturday and Sunday I went to the cricket on both days. One of the great things about walking from home to the Sydney Cricket Ground is seeing the games of amateur cricket along the way. Although they’re obviously not as exciting, games like this one, have a great view of the city. Players also seem to spend a lot of time practicing their golf skills in the outfield. Saturday was quite exciting with NSW playing SA in a 4-day match. Steve Waugh scored 120-something and was warmly welcomed by the crowd. In stark contrast, on Sunday, he got out for 7, and his brother, Mark got out for 0 on a duck. He said “fuck” a few times, and challenged the umpire and was duly reprimanded. Steve was really a class act to watch as he sent the ball through the gaps in the field with almost monotonous regularity. A couple sat down in front of me, a family, husband and wife, and two infants. The wife made me laugh when she said, “Oh Steve Waugh… is he related to Mark Waugh”. The husbland replied sheepishly, hoping no one would hear, “Yes”. “What? His brother?” she said at the top of her voice. “His twin brother, actually”, he whispered. “Has he played cricket before his”. “Yes, he’s the Australian cricket captain. Keep your voice down”.

The weather in Sydney continues to confound us all – beautiful one day, hideous the next. As 99% of NSW is now affected by drought the plants are doing odd things. Nonetheless, as it’s getting warmer most of the summer plants are now in flower. I don’t exactly know what this particular tree is, but it’s beautiful and it caught my attention on the way to the cricket on Sunday.

Yes, there’s only 1% of NSW that’s drought free – the area around Bombala. I spoke last week with a local farmer, Sophie Longden, who said “in the mid to late 90s, we had to do a lot of hand-feeding. Many people lost stock and core breeding herds”.

Sophie and her husband, Keith Campbell, live at at “Myla”, 20km south of Bombala. This photograph illustrates how lush things are at the moment. So far this year they’ve received 556 ml of rain, although there has been none so far in November. In the last couple of weeks “grass has started to turn off and the winds have become hot and strong” compared with last month. Conditions are better now. “Mind you”, she says, “We’re not sitting in a swimming pool with a martini in our hand”.

Last night, Damien and I went to see “Crackerjack”, the new movie featuring Mick Molloy. I didn’t know until last week that he and Sophie Lee had separated. She’s now married to someone else and is, by media reports, pregnant at the moment. The movie has a “Castle”-like quality about it, dealing with a small bowling club in a suburb of Melbourne about to be taken over by a larger bowling club.

According to the publicity associated with the movie, Jack Simpson (Molloy),is

a calculating prankster who works in an inner-city office block, is up in arms when he’s suddenly forced to play lawn bowls. You see, he joined the Cityside Bowling Club years before – but only because they offered great car parks near his work – and now, unfortunately, the system has caught up with him and the local team is one player short. Seems Cityside is in financial dire straits, and with the addition of the anomalous Jack to their team they’re able to enter a tournament for a cash prize. Naturally, Jack discovers the sport ain’t half bad, and neither are the old coots he plays with and, pretty soon, he forms a relationship with both, ultimately becoming enmeshed in the fortunes of the club, who need to win this tournament to survive monetarily.

It’s pretty funny, though not hillarious. It’s more gentle than I thought it may have been. Overall, Damien and I had a good night. A nice chat, a couple of beers and a good movie. Isn’t that what life is all about?

On Thursday night, I’m off the Media Christmas Drinks at Parliament House. This is the first year I’ve been invited. I’m told it will be a hoot.

And then on Saturday night, I’m accompanying a friend to the “RSVP Cocktail Party”. RSVP is an online dating service for heterosexuals. They also organise regular events. I received my confirmation of attendance today.

Thank you for confirming to attend the Special Edition – Poolside Party – 23rd Nov. 7:30 PM Darling Harbour. The pool deck at Darling Harbour’s Novotel Hotel has hosted RSVP’s rare and most romantically favourite cocktail parties that only few people have experienced. Style and grace will be combined with the fun and excitement of meeting other like-minded people. This will be the last chance this year to attend a designer style party with a twist. NO SWIMMING! That’s the rule, but hey, lots of dancing right next to the pool and, of course, if you choose to dress the part and want to wear something like resort, beach or Hawaiian wear, go for it, otherwise dress to impress. Goldilocks’ famous Mission Possible ice breaker game will be one of the highlights of the evening with prizes to be won by playing. Designer Parties are “the perfect party to network”. TIME: 7:30pm ’til midnight COST: $15 (pay on arrival). Drinks consumed on cash basis. Cocktail nibbles provided. WHERE: “POOLDECK” reception level, Novotel Hotel, 100 Murray Street, Darling Harbour. (Next to Grand Mercure Hotel.) DRESS: Dress for the outdoors, venue is outside, unless it rains. Dress to impress or wear resort, beach or Hawaiian! TRANSPORT: Trains to city. Buses and taxis nearby. Monorail to Darling Harbour. Water taxi and ferry services handy. PARKING: Public car park at Novotel (behind Harbourside). Discounted parking after 7pm. NOTE: In case of rain, we will use Liquid Bar, only a few metres away – the party will go on!

Bet you can’t wait for a report on that one.

Anyhoo… better go, as Dannii Minogue is on Rove.