Random Thoughts: On gardening. By Jean Bedford
Peter Corris is taking a break to heal a break and we hope he will be back at his keyboard soon. In the meantime, in lieu of Godfathers we will be publishing random thoughts from the NRB editors. Here is the first, from Jean. When we moved to our unit in Earlwood 10...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on skinfolds
AFL players, and footballers in general, are not known for their wit and bons mots. An exception is Chris Judd, recently retired Carlton midfielder and former captain of the West Coast Eagles. Judd won many awards in his 279-game career. An all-rounder in every sense,...
SANDRA LEIGH PRICE The Bird’s Child. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
An unusual and imaginative novel, The Bird’s Child traverses surreal territory in a historical setting. The unlikely bringing together of the stories of a pogrom orphan, an albino runaway and a charming drifter cruelly scarred by war creates in The Bird’s...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on digging up Newtown
The advantages to living in Newtown are many and varied. Transport? Trains and buses in all directions. Shopping? Two kilometres’ worth on both sides of King Street – newsagents, supermarkets, discount outlets and top-of-the-line establishments. Entertainment? The...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on the umbrellas of Newtown
Spring, more than winter, is umbrella time in Sydney. You might walk out on a sunny morning and get wet ten minutes later. You might take shelter, have a coffee and have to put your sunnies on as you start out and run for cover before you get home. Happily, in...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on beggars and buskers
Walking on either side of King Street, Newtown, say from Missenden Road to the railway station, it’s a rare day that you don’t encounter a beggar or a busker or both. They are a feature that helps to give the precinct its character. Their variety is considerable –...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on Buddy Holly
For no particular reason I can think of I recently experienced a wish to listen to Buddy Holly. I’d had some singles and a vinyl ‘best of’, but that was a long time ago. I went to the HUM CD and DVD shop in Newtown thinking I’d have to order an album in. As everyone...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on going blind
One of the few books in my parents’ house – the collection was kept in a hallway cupboard – was an edition of Henry Lawson’s short stories. Its publication was somehow sponsored by the Sun newspaper. I have no idea how my parents acquired it. Neither...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on the tyranny of the motor car
Recently, I was walking up Watkin Street from Wilson towards King in Newtown on a Saturday afternoon. The street was parked solid and as one car pulled away another, whose driver must have been lurking and dwelling on the spot, slid in. The look of satisfaction on the...The Godfather: Peter Corris on going to the gym
After a lapse of quite a few years I’ve joined a gym again. My first gym was in Wollongong about 20 years ago. I’d broken a bone in my hand, couldn’t play golf and needed something to keep me fit. The gym was run by a West Indian with the fine name of Lincoln Webb,...The Godfather: Peter Corris on writing columns
This is my 80th column for the NRB and time to reflect on the experience of column writing. I’ve had a somewhat similar gig once before – as a TV columnist for the National Times in what proved to be its dying days. It was money for jam; I was provided with a...
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