Thursday, July 20

One of our Probus members has passed away this week.  We have a number of members in their late-eighties or nineties so it has to be expected but it's sad, nevertheless.  This old gentleman was born on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 and was named Charles William Victory Crowden.  The midwife took credit for the 'Victory' part.

I find myself using the phrase 'passed away' when I talk about people who have died, although I'm not a great fan of euphemisms.  The modern trend of saying someone has 'passed' is mealy-mouthed and  I hope it dies a natural death itself.  When I hear it, I always think of a yacht that was moored at Gravelly Beach when we lived there.  It was called Passing Wind.  Wonderful!

A couple of friends have just come back from a cruise in the Mediterranean.  One of their fellow-passengers was Clive Palmer, accompanied by his lawyer and his minder. I've always accused Marilyn of taking extra things on our trips 'just in case', but she's never reached the heights of taking a lawyer, just in case.

Our friends said that the other Australian passengers avoided poor old Clive.  I wonder why?  Surely he would have some interesting stories to tell.  Maybe, people think there is too much similarity between Clive and Donald Trump.