“Some Drivers!”: Sunday, 14th August, 1977

I awoke at twenty to seven and heard that Australia is 4-120 at stumps. Some radio commentators have gone as far as to say that the current side possesses the worst array of batsmen of any Australian side since the First World War.

I briefly vacuumed the new carpet in the spare bedroom before Tiki shampooed it with a recognised brand of carpet cleaner. We left it for an hour, however, when she vacuumed it, again, we noticed that the shampoo had not made any perceivable difference to the stains which harboured the dirt. Tiki, therefore, resorted to the use of dish-washing detergent and warm water to remove most of the mark that had been left there yesterday by her father.

I left at twenty past twelve to walk to her parents’, only to come upon the ‘Galant’ parked outside the corner store on Taren Road. I squatted behind the car with the intention of scaring Tiki, when she emerged from the shop. However, so much time elapsed that I decided, instead, to walk on and beat her to our destination.

Unsurprisingly, Tiki appeared at the crest of a hill as I was making my descent. Due to the fact that the street possessed no footpaths and there was no passing traffic, I was progressing along the road’s surface. Her realisation that I had seen her meant that she had been presented with the ideal opportunity to aim the vehicle straight at me. She did not waste it, sending me scrambling on to the nearer nature strip as two men looked on in horror.

Having mowed the expansive lawns for the in-laws, I later watched the last twenty-five minutes of the match between Australia and Iran, which was being telecast from Melbourne. Iran won this qualifier, for the next World Cup of soccer, by one goal to nil.

I had intended to walk home at eight o’clock, but “Mum” asked me to watch “Steptoe And Son” on Channel Seven. It was so cold by half past eight that I needed little persuasion to travel, instead, with Tiki and, from 8.40, we watched the British comedy, “Holiday On The Buses”. The film, which bears the copyright of 1973, includes in its cast Reg “The Rag Trade” Varney and Kate “Love Thy Neighbour” Williams. Tiki and I saw it on just our second date two years ago.

 

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