Rohan July 16th, 2007
I’ve been enjoying SBS’s coverage of the Tour de France for the last few evenings – so much so that the telly is often still on well after 1am (well after bed time for this little black duck).
But to be honest, I have no idea why I am so compelled to watch, night after night, right to the end of each day’s riding. After all, I’m not normally a cycling fan at all. I don’t ride. I don’t know too much about the sport and its many nuances. I certainly don’t know many of the riders. I haven’t even owned my own bike since I got my driver’s licence 20 years ago!
So I got to thinking, just what is it that makes Le Tour such an interesting event…
- The skill and daring of the riders?
- Their physical and mental strength and endurance?
- Could it be the spectacular, but inevitable, crashes that occur from time to time? (As much as you don’t want to see anyone getting injured, it does make for interesting viewing.)
- Perhaps it’s the commentary team’s seemingly boundless knowledge of the race, the riders and the surroundings?
- The picture postcard scenery at every turn?
I’ve a feeling it’s a combination of all these things, which, when packaged into a single all-encompassing spectacle, presents viewers with a thoroughly engrossing and intriguing experience.
Highly recommended.
Rohan June 6th, 2007
It’s been a distressing 48 hours in our household… more distressing than when Matilda smacked her head on the pavers in the courtyard after falling down the step; more distressing than when Sarah developed an allergic reaction to penicillin after we took her to the hospital; more distressing than when The Glass House got the flick from the ABC…
We lost the TV remote control!
Talk about turning the house upside down trying to find the thing; in cupboards, under couches, in bedrooms, in the fridge, dishwasher and microwave, in the bathroom. We even contemplated checking the rubbish bin (desperate times…). And so, here we were, 7 years into the 21 century AD (the Third millennium, no less!), and we are reduced to actually having to get off the couch and walk up to the TV and press the little buttons on the front to change channel and adjust the volume. Outrageous!
Where did we end up finding the remote? Under one of the couch cushions… yes, I did mention the we checked the couches, a number of times in fact, but for some reason the pesky little remote stayed hidden for a full two days. And was there one particular person to blame for the loss? Well, the jury’s out on that one. The girls are off the hook because they were in the bath when it went missing. Emma and I both agree that she was the last to actually use the remote, but (and this is purely circumstantial OK?) the remote was found under the cushion where I was sitting immediately after the remote went missing. I have no recollection of picking up the remote control after Emma had used it to turn on Mythbusters. Could be a case for the team at CSI:Melbourne.
So, all this begs the question: what tactics do you employ when you’ve lost something near and dear?