Earl Hood

Ernest thanks for that insight. The official was right but I keep thinking if Jurrah's community had remained stable and fully supported him and if he had not got the series of injuries that curtailed his number of games in his final two years, if those problems didn't eventuate I am wondering when the coaches would have dropped him for his lack of defensive footy? If we had a side that could pump the ball inside our 50 arc often enough, you know a fit Jurrah would be kicking at least 3 or 4 a match, if not more. Hmmm yes as a coach I note his opponent running off him and setting up a couple of goals but I still think we would be ahead with a freak like Jurrah up forward and I did see him tackle people very efficiently at times. Anyway the reality was his community disintegrated and he was always going to struggle physically with injuries at AFL level, I believe. Unlike some others my memory is that he lost the unified support of his community to stay in AFL, he was also struggling with long term injuries and yes he did lose personal support from welfare officers at the club when Neeld took over and he took some time off to attend a marriage ceremony. I think once the Yuendemou Community fractured, Jurrah as an initiated warrior was conflicted and the rest is an unfortunate history!

OD I suspect you are correct my Cuban banana deal is in tatters. I have been double crossed somewhere at the highest levels. I am currently licking my wounds in Cancun after being whisked out of Havana last night by my brother in law one step ahead of the local police chief. You may remember my brother in law sells vacuum cleaners in Havana, well the whole time I was there I never saw him sell one; I suspect he was so frustrated he started drawing pictures of vacuum cleaners as a side line I suppose to earn some pesos. I quite liked his sketches actually and remember showing them to a few of the regulars at the Wonder Bar where I would have my regular afternoon banana daiquiri. They were very interested in them so he had potential clients no doubt about it but when I mentioned this he went ballistic! Next thing I know we are all off to the airport to catch the first plane out? To add insult to injury I had my stash of real Cuban coffee, the Inner Party coffee confiscated by the communists at the airport customs. So I have nothing to show for my trade deals except a few kilos of guava paste! I suspect there will be no Cuban bananas in OZ anytime soon.

Hottest autumn on record in the southern 48 states in the USA I note today. Just for inclusion in the debate. Carry on with your defence.

bj the way you describe it I may take up smoking again! Ernest, profit is everything but it is not about me, I do it only for the Syndicate and our share holders as you know.

Good God there must be Cuban bananas in OZ already! Fidel has gazumped me.

Hmmm Good point HT I have been negotiating in Cuban Pesos forgot about AUS $. At the moment I calculate that I can get them to market for about 71.40 Cuban Pesos/kg. The other point to make is that Cuban bananas bend the other way, to the left, rather than to the right as you are looking at them. Not sure if this will pose a marketing problem or not?

RL as I posted some time ago I am on the cusp of finalising a trade deal here in Havana that will ship bananas to OZ, as many as we need! This deal will be bigger than the Trans Pacific Partnership if it comes off. The paperwork is all but done but it still needs Fidel's final sign off but it is difficult to catch him when he is awake these days. Fingers crossed that there will be no banana shortage in my lifetime!

I had a delicious banana daiquiri at El Floridita Hotel today with Ernest. He wasn't there in body but he was in spirit. Plenty of bananas in Cuba and they do taste sweet. I can see a business opportunity here, bananas and guava paste, not sure what we can off load on them in exchange though, perhaps some of our marketing gurus to convince them of their need for some superfluous stuff they haven't got?

None of them here that I can see DC. You thinking of Malta?

I am with you in spirit Earl. However when you have been lying around for as long as have its hard to become energised. It's all changed so much that I am sure I would not recognise my old haunts. My old flames are also the worse for wear. it's depressing to think that Cuba is now being viewed as a market by the imperial powers and its old foe is now seeking to exploit it shamelessly. I would love to go back to my old Cuba but alas it has gone. Never go back is my motto. The memories are all that matter. Ernest I could have sworn we were together in spirits, gallons of them, the other night at the Hotel Ambos Mundos. I know I had had a few too many Cuban Libre's but I was sure it was you. While Fidel lives the Revolucion continues! But not after he goes I agree. I am here on assignment with only the best interests of Cuba as my guiding principle of course. Tomorrow I head west toward the mountains with my brother in law who owns a vacuum cleaner franchise in Havana. I am not sure why but he has been acting rather odd lately, we are going to be looking for installations or something in the jungles apparently? Thought with your knowledge you might have some idea what is going on.

Greetings from Havana I was hoping to catch up with Hemingway but can't find him. I have been to all his old drinking holes but no sign of him. Otherwise the weather is very balmy and the rum is flowing freely in between my official engagements of course.

Unfortunately I will be infight for the next 36 odd hours to LA and Mexico City so I shall be missing the suspense and intrigue of tomorrow's draft from Adelaide. Being OS I will be depending on the considered opinions of R&B, BB, Biffen, Uncle Bitter and DC to reassure myself that we have nailed picks 3 and 7 or otherwise! That said I may be too busy to take it all in as I am on a secret trade mission to Cuba on behalf of Malcolm to open up a dialogue with our Cuban friends, ahead of the Americans. I will of course be in communications with some of the most important officials in Habana. As well I have a commission from MFC to seek out any potential AFL talent while I am there. Anyway let us hope we get a couple of absolute guns who can play and who can get on the park regularly. Adios Amigos

No interest except I was hoping for some injuries to some key players though. Won't say who.

Sir you have omitted the 4 flags he played in as well! Unless I have my history wrong.

Fair enough Junior. I suppose I had my doubts about where we stood in the scheme of things when the presidents of the top clubs took off to the USA a few years ago to study equalisation with one token small club president from the Dogs as I remember. Then they came back from their junket and decided very little change was needed because yes we are all equal. Then I think of that 12 month sham of an investigation into our tanking from 2009 and the leaking of allegations to Caroline Wilson every second week; you know the secret meeting in the vault, that turned out to be a regular weekly coaches meeting in an atco hut. Instead of dragging the AFL to court to call their bluff, we had to bend over and take it because we were on AFL welfare. And Gil the Dill's explanation on our $500K fine for not tanking is a masterpiece in corporate speak. This fiasco made us a laughing stock but yes we all on the AFL distribution list, so we are all treated the same. Do you really think Collingwood or Hawthorn would have copped that Shyte even though they also did their share of tanking?

Wrecker so some people made some statements. Big deal, including "Tim the target". We know you guys want to shoot them down. do you feel better? But what is your fricking point? The physics is indesputable, we keep pumping C02 into a closed system, feed energy by the Sun and we are getting warmer but you don't want to deal with it, you want to score points on whether someone predicted that something would happen, and whether a model has got it right. Your Andrew Bolt style "attack the man" stuff bears no weight with me. Diversionary tactics I believe.

A paper profit I think, we are still on AFL welfare. And until we are making an actual profit, you know where our tangible income actually is more than outgoings, we will be vulnerable and lack respect.

BBO did you pizz on the server?

BBO we were both young and silly and besotted with each other, she an aristocrat, me just a young outrageously handsome and gifted international agent with special eyes as she used to comment. Yes there was this magnetism that drew us to each other but she wanted a no strings attached affair, I knew that just would not work for us, especially in the back seat of the Roller. In the end things just got too tangled and I had to move on. I was drawn to blondes and needed to explore my sexuality and developed another relationship this time with Alan but that never worked and his father banished him to Thunderbird 5 in outer space as I remember.

I used to have it off with Lady Penelope in the back of her Roller, regularly!

Can someone explain the article in today's Age that rated the liveability of all Melbourne's suburbs? If you can please explain to me how Borewood comes in at 80 out of 321 and ahead of Fitzroy at 82? Good heavens I mean the two suburbs are like chalk and cheese. And then the suburb of my birth Box Hill South comes in at 83! So with all I have achieved in my life I have moved one rung up the liveability scale or 0.003% improvement in 30 years! Don't say a word of this to DC.

Highly unlikely I would have thought but still worth the ask!

Does he chew gum?

Well BBO I tried to but things turned out not as I expected today. After my business breakfast at Wild Timor Coffee House I was supposed to be met by my best man in a 4 tonne truck to drive out to Tullamarine Airport. But he when he didn't arrive I had to track him down and found him finally half cut in my Thifty rental truck and not making any sense. So there was nothing for it but for me to jump in the drivers seat and set forth for Tullamarine in the rain and peak hour traffic driving this unresponsive hulk of a vehicle, with Parker snoring beside me. I get to The freight storage centre gate but they won't let me in without Customs papers, so I have to reverse the beast with no help and pull into the car park and all I get is abuse from these appalling hairy men in singlets who drive big trucks! What is their problem, surely if they see a smaller truck with Thrifty written all over it, they know to steer clear, anything could happen. Anyway after being informed Customs would not be available for 2 hours I set off for a coffee at Maccas but then found it is impossible to park a truck in Maccas at Tulla so headed off on the freeway and found myself opposite Gladstone Park Shopping Centre in a Maccas! I ordered a latte to have here and was given a half litre mug of grey coloured milk, with a hint of coffee flavour, what is that about? Anyway I was definitely doing my bit and pressing the flesh with the ordinary people at this stage. Back to Tulla and finally Customs clears my consignment of cargo from Egypt, but not after he had a good look at the sarcophagus and the Greco Roman statues, all above board of course, really why do they waste our tax payers money and my time. I mean why even question my statue of Zenobia from Palmyra as if I am some antiquities thief! Really. Anyway in retrospect what a day it has been and Parker is still [censored] so must provide some constructive feedback at our next performance review meeting.

BBO how prescient of you. I am off the new Wild Timor Coffee House in Carlton this very morning for an important business breakfast.