tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post997371833630690193..comments2023-08-05T09:14:35.297-07:00Comments on Standing in a Spanish Doorway: "Why not Australia?" -- My latest opinion column for Catalonia TodayBrett Hetheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702371494104087763noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-79846308614703932052018-05-24T11:11:16.020-07:002018-05-24T11:11:16.020-07:00OK, I've got it now. Phew!OK, I've got it now. Phew!Brett Hetheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05702371494104087763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-31740021807925133962018-05-22T12:13:57.632-07:002018-05-22T12:13:57.632-07:00Aha! We are not the same. He's blogger and I&#...Aha! We are not the same. He's blogger and I'm wordpress. He's him and I'm me. I was a bit confused, too. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-21213651689263201012018-05-21T22:54:44.962-07:002018-05-21T22:54:44.962-07:00To Sackerson of Broad Oak Magazine...To be honest,...To Sackerson of Broad Oak Magazine...To be honest, I'm not sure which is which, of the two of you but I have a better idea now you've said you are from Broad Oak. I did visit this one and found it excellent as well as yours: https://sackerson.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/the-house-by-the-sea/<br /><br />Or maybe this is yours too? If not, then...<br /><br />Bretthttp://bretthetherington.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-60465009041135294802018-05-21T10:06:13.147-07:002018-05-21T10:06:13.147-07:00Hi Brett
Confusingly, the second comment by "...Hi Brett<br /><br />Confusingly, the second comment by "Sackerson" is not mine, didn't know there was another. He thanks you for visiting his blog - did you? Bit worrying.<br /><br />Best wishes<br /><br />Sackerson of Broad Oak MagazineSackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17284329249862764601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-79024119829627424742018-05-21T07:29:36.358-07:002018-05-21T07:29:36.358-07:00Thanks for the tip on the Dave Allen doco. I will ...Thanks for the tip on the Dave Allen doco. I will certainly give it a viewing. I think he probably found a warmer welcome in Australia than he did in England, only partly due to the large number of people with Irish family history there!Bretthttp://bretthetherington.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-59468491266152786122018-05-21T00:33:46.255-07:002018-05-21T00:33:46.255-07:00Thank you for your comments on my blog! Indeed, th...Thank you for your comments on my blog! Indeed, the late, great Dave Allen. Have you seen his documentary,In Search of the Great English Eccentric? It's out there on YouTube.<br /><br />Funnily enough, (as I'm sure you know) he spent some time in Australia and had a really successful TV show there. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-30437623712822721892018-05-20T23:50:17.635-07:002018-05-20T23:50:17.635-07:00Yes, I can understand why you'd have similar f...Yes, I can understand why you'd have similar feelings about England. I lived there for a couple of years but have very little desire to visit it for a wide variety of reasons. I grew up in an Anglo household with a Geordie father and mainly British TV: The Two Ronnies, that awful Benny Hill crap and only Dave Allen to save us.<br /><br />It seems to me that most public critics of society there (just like Australia) are often to be found in the role of humourists. I'm thinking of people like Frankie Boyle, Russell Brand, Stewart Lee or David Mitchell and not a single female comes to mind, though there might be a few on radio. (Polly Toynbee's work stands out though.) It's such a crucial function in a healthy democracy, that of the ever-skeptical sniping voice. <br /><br />Of course, we can find serious analysis every day in The Guardian but preaching to the converted is not what's needed for genuine change.<br /><br />I liked your blog because of its personal, intimate quality. It can be the best kind of thing to read. In Bob Dylan's words: "She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind. She put down in writing what was in her mind." Bretthttp://bretthetherington.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-9240199454832803392018-05-20T10:25:48.750-07:002018-05-20T10:25:48.750-07:00Funnily enough I have similar feelings about life ...Funnily enough I have similar feelings about life in England. We do have public intellectual, though - Will Self and Mary Beard immediately spring to mind.<br /><br />I read someone saying the other day that someone (I can't remember who) had said that the Scottish independence referendum (held in Scotland a while ago) had been fuelled by a crisis in the identity of the UK - the Scottish wanted to be more Scottish, the English wanted to be more American. It was a comical rather than an analytical remark but it was close enough to some sort of truth to be poignant and funny.<br /><br />PS thank you for visiting my blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-86730362602105802482018-05-20T03:33:02.423-07:002018-05-20T03:33:02.423-07:00Maybe so but in Australia the use of prescription ...Maybe so but in Australia the use of prescription "happy drugs" like Prozac is going through the roof though. A few years ago the OECD ranked Australia second in the world in anti-depressant prescriptions.<br /><br /><br />http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-22/australia-second-in-world-in-anti-depressant-prescriptions/5110084Bretthttp://bretthetherington.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812692415595591653.post-28162832195715542122018-05-20T02:18:15.625-07:002018-05-20T02:18:15.625-07:00Perhaps happy people don't need to think much....Perhaps happy people don't need to think much.Sackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17284329249862764601noreply@blogger.com