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Some of Sydney Harbour's iconic landmarks. (Image source:
www.crystalgraphics.com)
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Boss, Boss! De Plane, De Plane...
As the tranquil sounds 'O sizzlin' hot rain
Ah-splashin' down upon Kona's Disappearing Sands lava encrusted shores tinkle
Thy Ivory's... What better way to launch into this riveting No Fenders tome
whilst Opinin' on "Island time," eh?
Wanderin' PM...
This past December thru early January, I
listened to another CD Audiobook at my typical Snail's pace, since once again
I've let No Fenders rule Thy life; URGH!
Alas, thoust
Herculean task was thoust taken uponst
Thyself in some
contorted way to keep Thy Audience amused. Whilst I' was off 'N away playing on
the B-I-G' Island, albeit Thy tank Done Ran Dry a few weeks out before
departing. And hopefully that great 'Ol White Leviathan won't ram me in thou
Pacific Ocean!
Thus I found it most
Apropos that although I'd selected the author, Bill Bryson, who's travel tomes
are quite enjoyable, I-T was either karma or just sheer luck that my friendly
librarian reserved In A Sunburned Country
for Mwah. Which is Bryson's travel-log upon his Walkabout Down Under, published
in Y2k; (2000) Aye Karumba!
As naturally I'd had Australia Mates! Upon
thou noggin', since Somme-thuns' just occurred Down Under in Bloody Melbourne,
albeit I'd be coming home one day late, and obviously several dollars short;
Botta-Boom!
Having chosen to
leave a day after ST Pete's IndyCar season opener, in order to view; Err listen
to I-T on Thy Telie' since there's perceivably more than two Silver Cars; Err
Red 'N White joustin' for victory Stateside.
Although I was
mildly worried that Scotty Somonex' Goodyear would put me to sleep & I'd
miss my flight; Hya! Then again, the IndyCar broadcast times are typically far
MORE palatable then Formula One's abysmal Oh F%%KING DARK 30 here on the West
Coast...
Alas, I believe Bryson starts off the book in
typical dramatic fashion by wryly musing that Australia's the land where their
Prime Minister simply went for a Walkabout and swim in the nearby
"surf," only never to be seen again!
As the man in Questione, who I'd never heard
of before was the late Harold Hunt, Australia's Prime Minister between 1966-67,
before simply vanishing in the waters of Cheviot Beach, on the coast of Victoria nearly a
half century ago!
Was that a Mercedes Cigarette Boat that just Swamped
Me?
Hey! What's 'Ol Golden Child doin' racin'
about Melbourne's Sydney Harbour underneath the famed "Coathanger?"
And
shouldn't Lewis Hamilton be busy piloting a Silver Arrows round Bloody Albert
Park instead of a Magneto Green machine; Err Green Hella Magno paint scheme
Powerboat! Underneath the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
As Don't
know 'bout Y'all, but I had ZERO clue that Mercedes collabourates in the sport
of Power Boat racing, primarily those ultra sleek, speedy and blindingly fast
Cigarette boats!
As AMG has just celebrated its tenth
anniversary of said collabouration by producing the aforementioned Marauder,
partnered by the current spec AMG GTR and corresponding AMG automotive products
over the past ten years. Although the Marauder's
nearly 3,300bhp is a tad bit higher than current AMG automobiles!
And whenever I think 'bout Power Boat racing
retrospectively, naturally I Flashback to the late Didier Pironi, who contested
70 Grands Prix for Tyrrell, Ligier and Ferrari between 1978-82, before his
Mega' Shunt which effectively forced his retirement from Formula 1.
Although I know about Pironi's death from a
"Rogue Wave" from a passerby Tanker during his fatal boat race, I've
never heard or read anything 'bout the other two passengers aboard; Jean-Claude Guénard and journalist
Bernard Giroux.
Whilst as typical, Grizzled Journo' Joe
Saward has expounded upon the presumably forgotten Monsieur Guénard, and 'Ol
friend of Pironi's, fellow racer and le Reggie's' (Renault) original Formula 1
project leader - in one of his nearly 100 Fascinating F1 Facts he's been
sharing with us this year.
Meanwhile, naturally Didier's name always
triggers the death of his Ferrari team-mate, the legendous' Gilles Villeneuve,
for which I've scribbled the previous tome about the late Quebecer...
HMS Endeavour...
As once again, symbiotically, the islands of
Hawaii and Australia clash, or perhaps more appropriately are intertwined for
Mwah, As Bryson pontificates 'bout how if Bloody 'Ol Captain Cook hadn't
discovered Australia, and proclaimed it to henceforth be under the rule of the
British Empire, and more importantly the Bloody Queen! Then Australia could
have very much have fallen into the hands of the French Wee Wee!
Interestingly, reportedly on Captain James
Cook's third and final Pacific Ocean voyage, he narrowly missed our Straits of
Juan de Fuca, and laid anchor at nearby Vancouver Island en route to Hawaii,
where he ultimately met his death in 1779 after attempting to kidnap the local
Hawaiian's chief to rest control favourably towards his expeditionary force...
As I look forward
to another visit to nearby Kealakekua Bay
which I visited as
a wee lad' before the Ocean wiped the road to I-T out! Having just viewed it
from above a few years ago now.
As perhaps I'll
get to go via boat tour to Captain Cook's monument on thou Big Island...
