Friday, November 16, 2012

Australia's national poet Adam Lindsay Gordon

Australia's national Poet Adam Lindsay Gordon available on iTunes and Amazon music downloads
The touring show on Australia's national poet has been recorded in studio now and with the added special effects of the production crew  is a very entertaining listen.

Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-70), Australia's acclaimed national poet was many things in his time.  A mounted trooper, champion jockey, horse breaker and Member of Parliament.  He was the first to capture Australia and her people in the words of poetry, paving the way for Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson and William Ogilvie to create poetry that was uniquely Australian.  In his travels, he lived in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia - no mean feat at a time when travel was on horseback or by sailing ship, and his words spread by word of mouth across the nation.

TRIBUTES TO ADAM LINDSAY GORDON


Gordon's English military instructor:

"...idle and reckless, but I never heard of him doing a dishonourable action".

"Adam Lindsay Gordon has left Australia a sterling, manly ideal for its manhood and its poetry, and it could not have had a more robust master".
—John Masefield, Poet Laureate



"Gordon was a fine poet and a fine sportsman, and it is curious that in a sporting nation like ours his great merits have not been more generally recognised".
—Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of 'Sherlock Holmes'


"Gordon knew both pleasures and trials. He not only experienced them, but was inspired by them, and set them down in matchless poetry, and left to Australia a great literary legacy. Gordon's poems rang with sincerity".
—Sir Stanley Argyle, Premier of Victoria

"Gordon is one of the finest poetic singers the English race has ever known".
—Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, poet and author


"...he was the poet of the horse.  No other poet ever understood horses so well.  He made the live in his poems.  The rhythm in his poems was the rhythm of riding.  But they contained also such lofty philosophy of manhood as only such a hero could have penned".
Douglas Sladen, biographer

Marcus Clarke, author of For the Term of his Natural Life:

"The poems of Gordon have an interest beyond the mere personal one which his friends attach to his name. Written as they were, at odd times and leisure moments of a stirring and adventurous life, it is not to be wondered if they are unequal or unfinished. The astonishment of those who knew the man, and can gauge the capacity of this city to foster poetic instinct, is, that such work was ever produced here at all".

H M Green, reviewing Gordon's poetry:

"We read Gordon, not for his fine phrases, but for the directness of some cry, and above all for the breadth and effectiveness of any utterance taken as a whole. And we read him because even if we ourselves are not hunters, sportsmen, soldiers, adventurers he uncovers some underlying stratum of such men in us, opening up to us the road of adventure and blowing over it the wind of romance".

John Riddoch, confidant-in-chief:

"...a moody unsociable man when his poetic fit was on -- a great smoker. Often on arriving at the house he would go away into the bush and fend for himself rather than face company inside".

John Riddoch (presumably):

 This comes from 1869 when Gordon accepted an invitation to visit his friends the Riddochs, at Yallum:
"On his previous visit he had taken a whimsical fancy to a gnarled old gum tree that stood in a sunny paddock a few hundred yards from the house. After breakfast he used to climb it, and sit in a natural armchair upon a crooked limb. There he would fill and smoke successive bowls of his clay pipe, and those who were curious might see him from time to time jot down lines in pencil on paper spread upon the branch, or sometimes on his hat. He never had any thought upon the time, and when meals came round he generally had to be specially summoned, whereupon he would slide down the trunk and apologize for causing delay".

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Home Club Open this weekend...

10/11/12 Saturday. A good week of golfing fun finally getting out to practise without interruptions.The cross us amateur golfers bear is that we have to let golf be second more often than not to our regular living. In my example the need to have less time golfing is not that much of an irritant. The balm being that my golf has improved a lot since 2009. The 'less is more' as an ethos to recover from the injury flare-up in August has been maintained in line with not having to practice as much to play reasonable golf.

Fluctuating between a 12 to 14 handicap in the 2012 season whilst playing to a 6 handicap in my best competition round in review has me satisfied at the minute. Did not manage to reach my goal of a ten Handicap in 2012. it was always a big ask given the combination of ability, fitness and other commitments.

Already my fitness has been improved with reducing my weight by 8kg in the past three months and well on target for losing 10-15 kg in total by January 2013. The past month while gradually playing more golf again has been highlighted by the noticeable difference of being 8 kg lighter.

This week concentrating on putting has been the main goal, closely followed with range time with the #3 to #6 Hybrids. Hitting them well enough yet have had too many shots that hook to the left. This has a major affect in lessening the greens reached in regulation. I need that to improve to improve my handicap. It is not a major fault that needs correction as it is caused by the adjusting to being able to rotate my hips when swinging. This was almost impossible in 2009 when i returned to the game. This is a significant physical ability change, I lapse into the previous restricted body movement pattern unconsciously still and this causes the ball to draw to the left a lot at times. 

All is good though and with the club open tomorrow I am still considering if playing Kingston today is going to happen or instead play socially on the home track. Thankyou for your time and attention. "Hit 'em straight all."
 Geoff

Monday, November 05, 2012

Back in the winners circle...


5/11/12 Monday. It has taken a few weeks and little good fortune but at last I have returned to the winners list. This weekend took the extra step and played twice in competition Saturday at Kingston SE Stroke round for a Gross 89 for a Nett77 (12hcp) with 33 putts. With a sub 80 gross score dropping off my handicap went out to 14 for the Sunday round.

 

Nothing spectacular playing wise plugged along steady steady had a few chances for birdie along the way, still with a poor putting result 34 in total for the round. A Gross 85 off the stick this time a Nett 71 and my handicap has dropped back to 13 which has been the median number for 2012.

 

Off the tee I was in some very good form as the round wore on. Fairway and short game play was all effective and the combination of hybrids and irons has proven itself. In good physical condition and this will be the set up for the better physical condition golfing. At the minute it's very different with summer replacing the winter tough as granite playing conditions. The all hybrid set will be a valuable option in the midst of the winter weather season also.

 

This week a Bowen Therapy tune up on Wednesday is booked. This will release the stiffness that playing twice in two day has brought on. After which apart from some dedicated putting practise nothing else is going to be added to the preparation for the Club Open on Sunday 11.11.12. Having played myself into some winning form after a month itis going to be a big ask to get a win in theOpen but will be having a red hot go at the A grade handicap section. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”

Geoff

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Better golf with better equipment...

1/11/12 Thursday. Continuing the equipment experiment yesterday and today has seen a few changes in the clubs now in the bag. Making allowances for my ability has been enhanced with the technological advances in club development. There is such a wide variety of game improvement clubs that golfers can access to provide game stability.

This has seen me since returning to the game use cavity back, Shark irons, Bridgestone j33 and j36 combo sets, Titliest ap2 and  hybrids with a complete set from #3 to PW. This came about after another breakdown at the end of a season and physically restricted from playing my best golf. In the past two months using the hybrid set my golf has improved and I am back to playing to or near handicap.

Now with the improved physical condition and weather as summer nears I have had a few social hits with the ap2 irons. After this experience during the week the bag set up is #3 to #6 hybrids and #7 to PW, SW irons. So far the difference is with improved short game distance, maintaining the accuracy of past weeks with all hybrids. What is noticeable is the improved 'feel' of the iron compared to the softer feel of the hybrids.

Some time to go with this development yet the idea is to have the option of two set ups that are compatible with my physical limitations. As I have commented recently my golf is not about making big improvement or changes now. It is fine tuning and building on the good golfing base that been established with coaching and practise. It is not one thing that improves my golf it is a complete package from tee shots, fairways, short game, putting and mental approach. Thankyou for your time and attention. ‘Hit ‘em straight all’
Geoff