ABC Grandstand

Those who know me well know that A./ I love football and B./ I like to ring talkback radio and talk about it.

Gerard Whately is my favourite commentator and during the "Sunday Inquisition" on ABC Grandstand he was taking calls about the dramatic sacking of Mark Harvey and appointment of Ross Lyon at Fremantle.

I rang in but when my turn came to speak the line went dead. Rats! I rang back and was lucky enough to get through a second time, and was in fact the last caller they took before the end of the program.

Later in the afternoon there was a fantastic documentary on the "death" of Fitzroy and their merger with the Brisbane Bears in 1996. I sms'd a few mates to see if they were listening to it, one of whom was Birchy.

I was very pleased to receive this email from him later that night when I got home from work, and with his permission I reprint it here.

Holty,

Got your text but only later that night, but in reply to your question yes i was listening.

I was in my shed doing some welding, a Saturday afternoon in my shed with footy/grandstand on the radio (my idea of heaven), when i hear Gerard Whately say let’s take some calls. I hear he has “Marcus in Geelong”, and I think surely this has to be the one and only, the unofficial Mayor of the seaside town, the voice of the buses from the Bellarine peninsula, and I wait expectedly for his wisdom, his insight, his vast knowledge of all things football, but then silence.

Then Gerard tries again, “Marcus in Geelong”- silence, then a 3^rd time “Marcus in Geelong”- nothing but the sounds of silence. Gerard informs me that we having some problems with the line and he moves on to the next caller. NO! My hopes dashed, but anticipation stolen from me like a child robbed of his lollipop, and I return to the work in the shed disappointed and feeling somewhat let down.

But wait! Minutes later I hear Gerard say we have “Marcus in Geelong” and I’m put out of my pain as I hear that familiar voice and become elated to hear him refer to mates from the West. I yell out to the timber and metal in my shed, that’s me he he's talking about, and my beloved yet frustrating Dockers he refers to. And I continue on with my welding, my Sat afternoon just got all that much better thanks to the magic of radio, and country wide broadcasts, because I was briefly united once again with a mate.  

Thanks for the call Holty!

Birchy