“THE PUSSYCATS” –
By Des Kelly
Image Source: Herald Sun
I have never been a sports-person. Played a bit of ping-pong in the good old days,but that was it. Memories flood back. I wonder how many of my readers remember the Y.M.C.A. in central Colombo ?, this was where billiards and ping-pong were regularly played and I would enjoy a game or two with a cousin of mine, Eardley Demmer, who, in addition to handling those little table-tennis racquets very well, was also a top musician (pianist), studied under one of the very well-known piano-teachers in Ceylon, by the name of Mary Pestongee, came to Australia during the 1950’s, like so many of us, and pursued a career in music in Melbourne, as well. Eardley ended up as the band-leader at the Ascot Vale hotel in Melbourne, contracting his band, Lee Demmer & the Rhythmaires, and, also like so many of us, used “Showbiz” on a part-time basis. By day, he was a Health Inspector for the Victorian Government. Lee Demmer has passed on, but I still remember him accompanying me on a few early recordings that I did in Melbourne Town. R.I.P. Lee.
Now, quite apart from piano playing and ping-pong, when I came to Melbourne as a “skilled-migrant”, skilled at bloody nothing and having had to work like a slave to end up as an unskilled bloody pensioner (only joking, folks), the “sport” that I found myself following was “Aussie-rules” footy.
Quite definitely, the BEST spectator-sport in the World, as far as I am concerned, anyway. Cricket was okay, I guess, until they were running Bunnings short of sandpaper, Soccer is a “girlie-game” complete with some of the best “ham-actors” in history, tennis is only as good as the number of racquets smashed, and the Tarzan-like yells of especially the female players, one hardly hears of billiards nowadays, snooker being now the favourite with “pocket- billiards’ players coming in a close second.
Anyway, where am I going here ?. As I said, when I came to Australia, I was made to understand that I should barrack for one special footy-team. I immediately chose Geelong, only because it rhymed with Ceylon. Although a dog-person,
I now found that I was barracking for the CATS.
They were a fine footy team (when playing at home). Send them interstate and inconsistency was the name of the game. In my book, Gary Ablett Snr. was, is, and always will be the absolute TOP Aussie rules player. Ablett junior is also an excellent player, but everything he knows was taught to him by his “old man”. He readily admits this, himself.
It is 2018. The Cats are just on the halfway mark of the ladder, leading to the final, this year. If they lose to the Hawks of Hawthorn, this week, they will probably (Miss)issippi, the bloody flag this year. This is why I now present the much better-looking “Pussycats” singing just that. Please don’t let us down, boys. Both President Trump and myself are rather fond of pussies, so GO CATS GO.
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