Summerabbacat

Benny and Dick were more like Frankie Howerd and Are You Being Served I think, lots of sexual double entendre and pure smut if I remember correctly. LOL. Of course, Benny, also had his #1 smash hit single in 1971/72 with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West).

He was on the ABC on a Saturday night if I remember correctly. I liked him too as he used to criticise religion mercilessly, which my father did not like, plus he drank on TV, which my father also did not like. My grandparents liked him and my grandmother also liked the Val Doonican Show too, so we always got to see both at their home in Macksville. We watched quite a bit on the ABC as we only had the ABC and one commercial channel which was based in Tamworth I think. I suspect we had the same TV channels as you. Countdown was my favourite and I liked Bellbird too.

I quite liked this song, much more so than Down Under by Men At Work. It was the biggest selling single of the year in 1983, bigger than Flashdance (What A Feeling) (#2), Gloria (#3), Billie Jean (#4) and the hideous Every Breath You Take (#10).

I don't think any of them could platypus.

How much can a koala bear?

A light-hearted tale centred on Gran (Alice) and her grandson's foster son, Caleb, whom she also affectionately refers to as her grandson. Gran books a cruise to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, aboard the Oceanic Princess and Caleb accompanies her. Along the way we meet some interesting characters, the three Z's, Shaz, Raz and Maz, bogan cougars on the hunt for some male flesh; the Barracudas, a gay water polo team, who befriend Caleb; Rodney and his granddaughter Olivia, the former who takes a shine to Gran; and the unsavoury Kevin, who takes a shine to Caleb. There is action aplenty, particularly involving Caleb. The action continues when they return home, the closing chapter, a dinner party at the home of Craig and Justin, Caleb's foster dads, the former who is Gran's grandson. A dinner invitation is extended to Daniel and his wife, Rani, who once again does not "disappoint" with her nasty, bitchy comments. The fireworks are ignited because Rani has never met anyone like Gran before, and Gran does not mince words.

A weekend of sun, seafood, sightseeing and sex, of the Clinton/Lewinsky variety. The departure was sweet sorrow, but I am certain Martin and Nathan will reconnect again soon. Until then, they can "console" themselves with The Three Degrees and some hands-on home "therapy".

The playful and humorous banter between Alex and Neil continues to grow. Neil is still a little hesitant at times, testing the waters with questions like the one in this chapter. "Oh Neil, polish my wood baby". "Oh Alex, sing a song of semen, I's gonna spray those tonsils". A natural progression, with no pressure or unrealistic expectations. What a delight it is to witness the growth in the relationship between Alex and Neil @Robert Hugill.

The fake wisdom tree is like a religious zealot, a spitfire full of bluff and bluster. It appears Vince may have managed to curtail it, but unfortunately the entire Black Forest is on the march like an army of religious zealots, hellbent on enforcing their ways/beliefs as the only ones which are "true". It is possible Jack's taunting of the fake wisdom tree and his exposure of its lies, may have been enough to convince young Theodore to tell his father the truth about his theft of the flint for the Embercasting. If this be so, it is likely the future will be altered such that Theodore's pack will not perish in its entirety. A whirlwind chapter @Laura S. Fox. I had an image of the evil trees of the Black Forest resembling whirling dervishes, chanting mad Mansonite nonsense like Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins and Leslie Van Houten.

It appears to me they are well and truly rooted @drpaladin, but never fear Jack will prevail, whether by design or luck remains to be seen.

"Gran these are our friends, Daniel, our travel adviser and his wife Rani” Did Daniel actually marry Rani or are they just domestic partners @Wombat Bill? Her put downs of Daniel in this chapter, which only she seemed to find amusing, rang true. I remember well she behaved like this towards him in the past, so I am surprised he would have been desperate/stupid enough to have actually married her. Gran's admonishments of Rani were delivered with class and wit, neither of which Rani possesses in any capacity. She may have a pretty exterior, but her interior is ugly and toxic. Her dismissal of Rajani's journey does not augur well for Rajani; I very much doubt she can count on any support from any of her biological family. Rani is a product of her upbringing, but she has been afforded a great deal more freedom by her parents than what Rajani has been afforded. Hopefully Daniel will divorce Rani and send her back to her parents in Harris Park, and they will marry her off into a more "acceptable" situation to them. This will not sit well with Rani, but I say "suck it up sister".

I read this chapter last night about the same time as you @dboggs9700 i.e. about 13 hours ago. I thought it felt like the end of the story and now note it has been 'Completed'. Although I am somewhat disappointed there was no confrontation with Sam by his mother, James and Evan, like @Davide, I think his having vanished into thin air is a realistic scenario. I can hope he encounters the three cars as "speculated" by @Lee Wilson, but I suspect a more realistic death is one by drug overdose. Prior to his death it would not surprise if he has hooked up with a single woman of means or a wealthy widow and conned her into supporting him with a sob story of how his family abandoned him. A story well told @ChromedOutCortex.

I would not dare to suggest a cat alone, which is why I suggested a dog, horse, pig or cow as well. I know the latter two are not usually looked upon as human companion animals, but from what I have read and heard, both make adorable "pets" (not a word I particularly like). I should have suggested a sheep or goat as well, although like a pig and cow they are not usually thought of as "pets". I did not suggest any bird(s) as invariably they are kept in cages which I personally do not like, and they scare the bejesus out of me and shit on EVERYTHING. Believe it or not, none of my comments on this chapter have been of a sexual nature, all have been of a "serious" nature, apart from Patsy's quote regarding the windscreen washer with buns of steel.

Cart tart. LOL. I have not heard that one before @Wombat Bill. Trolley dolly and space waitress.

If Rodney was a TV producer prior to his retirement as Gran indicated in chapter 15 I think it very unlikely he has never met a gay man before, unless he was only producing children's TV programmes. He will need to undergo a serious readjustment of his attitude if he wishes to pursue a relationship with Gran long-term. As for his comment about Caleb, whilst I understand the reason for his comment, Caleb was under no obligation to out himself to Olivia. It was Olivia after all, enough said. The teaser for the next chapter promises a cat fight, one which may involve Rajani's bitch of a sister, Rani. If Rani is involved it will no doubt be her slagging off Rajani. Perhaps she may take on Edward, a "contest" which would be marvellous to observe as Edward would wipe the floor with the nasty little cow.

Felix forbid if they had children. None of them even have a non-human companion animal @chris191070. @Mark Ponyboy Peters may need to attend to this glaring omission, not one cat, dog, horse, pig, cow or any other companion. C'mon Mr P, one of them at least should have a pony. 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄

Mmmmm, the Thompsonville Ten does have a 'criminal gang' vibe to it @weinerdog, one which I failed to recognise until you pointed it out. If all ten were younger, skinny and blonde they could have been the Thompsonville Twinks, but that would have defined the general public's perception of them. Apart from Tony, none are politically active in any gay-related causes, and none of them including Tony, appears to want to be defined by their sexuality alone e.g. if Tony was not a famous author who had written a novel about a gay character living in Thompsonville, I doubt he would have been specifically categorised as a "gay author". I don't believe any of them are ashamed to acknowledge they are gay, I think they just don't want to be known as a gay man first and foremost. Of course, this may change as they age, any one or more of them may become involved in gay political causes, but for now they are living life to their best ability, which is what most people, including gay men, invariably do. For this reason I refrained from referencing their sexuality in their "group name". One must also remember they live in rural Australia, where even now there is likely to be at least one Monolith and a couple of Thompson's to every Mrs Hamilton. The latter is I believe still the exception rather than the rule, although @Mark Ponyboy Peters is likely to be a better judge of this than me as I have not lived in rural Australia for 42 years. What say ye @Mark Ponyboy Peters?

Thank you @dboggs9700. I have ALWAYS loved disco in its many forms and have never been embarrassed to say so. Cats, ABBA, Donna Summer and nearly all things disco, the greatest things in life for this late-wave boomer.

Oh he was a just windscreen washer I picked up at the traffic lights, buns so tight he was bouncing off the walls.

The first "official" gathering of the Thompsonville Ten - Matt and Luke, Tim and Guy, Tony and Aaron, Scott and Justin, and now Kieran and Charlie. If all things go well it could be the Thompsonville Twelve with the addition of Kevin and Jack, and perhaps even a baker's dozen, even if only temporarily, with Patrick. Trinity de la Creme and the Sisters of Divine Disgrace. LOL. Love it. Harkens back to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, although they were "sisters" of a different kind. Macquarie Harbour is in for a treat, a night of fierce fabulosity. Sequinned frocks, feathers (faux hopefully) and glitter. A night to abandon gender stereotypes and be entertained. A night to celebrate Sylvester. Marvellous @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Too Marvellous For Words.

But did they @chris191070? Methinks Gran may have fooled Craig, but I am not so sure she fooled Justin. Gran explains the facts of life? Methinks this will be to Rodney; Craig and Justin are business partners and lovers, Caleb is gay and not interested in Olivia.

My thoughts exactly @LeeSA. Earnest's fear was palpable and very disconcerting. It was as if he is indentured to the school for some reason. Professor Moreau's words only served to heighten my suspicions that evil lurks within the walls of Veridien Academy, an evil facilitated by Rector Reichenau and Boris and perpetuated by its students in accordance with their social standing. Chilling @Laura S. Fox, the scene with Earnest the most disturbing yet.

Indeed so Algernon. I doubt we will see Lady Bracknell in attendance.

He has used summat on several occasions now and I was not quite sure what it meant. Oddly enough, I "hear" him speaking when I read what he is saying, although I have no idea what his accent is, it is likely a combination of a number of different accents, but definitely NOT Vicky Pollard. It used to fascinate me how Matt Lucas could speak such gibberish so quickly AND with a completely straight face.

"Sorry: bloke was making a pig’s ear of it." "So you volunteered?" "'Course! They were worried a kid would catch the loose wood.” However, his expression suggested he didn't think that likely. "Shouldn't that be the old bloke's job? He's the janitor, I presume." "Useless. Here to unlock doors and that's it." I laughed. " ‘Songs Written and Floors Mended’. We make a nice duo." "Daft bat." I'm loving many of Neil's expressions. I don't think they are Hugillisms so much as they are variations of real words like mebbe instead of maybe. I have no idea in what part of the UK people speak like this, but I seem to recall TV shows from the UK I have seen in the past where mebbe was a commonly spoken word. Starting a sentence with "mind" is something I have heard/read before too, and not just in the Hugillverse. I am in total agreement with Su Senoria Lancaster (?), Vizconde of Valencia, @Gary L and his comments above regarding the pacing of the burgeoning relationship between Alex and Neil. Much like Gray and Matt @Robert Hugill, the poet and the birder, the composer and the carpenter.