thefuckoffkid

So I got back from Coffs Harbour after a week up there. It's a lovely part of the world, sub-tropical northern New South Wales, but it's kind of a dull town. But the whole shindig was at a fancy resort (here) and I have to say, there are worse things than a week of that. A few of us did go to a pub early in the week and win a trivia contest. The prize turned out to be a sixpack of beer for each of us -- XXXX beer, not what I would have chosen, unfortunately... The thing that surprised me a little about that night was that, in a pub that was really more of small town RSL club (the Aussies will know what I mean), one of the teams who we had to work hard to beat had called themselves The Polyphonic Spree (who at the moment are on my TV, playing a live version of "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" ...)

It was weird having a trivia team in an absolutely unhip club in a provincial town like Coffs giving themselves a name derived from a hipster band.

But, on other matters, I got to drink red wine with John Quiggin who happened to be at the same resort, and talk about whether Larry Summers is in fact an arsehole (apparently, yes). I also got to swim at the little beach after being notified by a couple of departing surfers that there was a shark out there somewhere.

(Four of us had gone down with the intention of having a swim at the end of a long day. We stood around wondering whether we should go in, and daring each other to go first. Anyway, we all went in, a bit nervously.and not too deeply. No-one got attacked, but the dorsal fin was spotted again while we were there.)

Apart from being a very luxurious place to spend a few days, the resort we were in was where the Canterbury Bulldogs got into trouble based on accusations of raping a woman who was at the resort. I did get to hear some of the inside scoop on that incident.

Not so much else to report right now. Back at home, lots of work to do.