'The 'Ber's' won't be what they used to be!

Firstly, the wine

A few years ago, I discovered the wonder that is Pinot Noir from Martinborough in New Zealand. When you think Pinot Noir from NZ, most think of Otago. While good, they are invariably on the fruiter side as opposed to the earthy, full bodied Pinots that I like. When I discovered those from Martinborough (and I have now had several), they have the full bodied taste that I enjoy with a Pinot. Te Kairanga is just one of these. I remember having a bottle with a work colleague at a great steak restaurant in Wellington (The Portlander at the Rydges Wellington - a must do when we start travelling again) and I have been hooked ever since. It is also available at Dan Murphys should you wish to try it (no endorsement of Dan's...just know you can get it there).

I love this time of year. I even have a name for it - 'The 'Ber's'. It comes with a theory of mine which is that when we get to the time of year when the months end with '...ber', we start getting into the fun time of the year - at least here in Australia. The days are getting longer, the weather gets warmer and it's a fun, downward slide into Christmas/New Year.

Generally, it is marked by several milestones that you can set your clock to. Footy finals are in September, Daylight Savings starts in October the weekend before Bathurst. The Spring Racing Carnival starts to get momentum building up to the first Tuesday in November and the Melbourne Cup. Cricket starts to find it's feet and the season of Christmas parties; both in social and professional circles commence. Before we know it, it's time for Christmas and the turkey sandwiches in front of the Boxing Day Test. It's a great time of the year.

This year, it will be different. Already is. Footy finals have been pushed out with the AFL Grand Final on that one Sunday in October...in Brisbane! Ask me at the start of the year what would have had the better odds of happening; a pandemic or the AFL Grand Final not being played at the MCG and I would have laid money on the pandemic hands down. That we have both is at times just too hard to get my head around.

As we have seen in 2020 with nearly everything that we have known in the past, the next few months will be different and that includes the events that characterise this time of year. The Premiers of our footy codes doing their lap of honour in front of 25-50% of a full stadium, no one camping at the top of Mount Panorama, a small roar as they turn into the home straight at Flemington and not being amongst a crowd at a Melbourne Cup lunch.

And while these are perhaps down the list when it comes to what is really important at this time (and I definitely get that), I think it will be a massive jolt for a lot of people. It will bring a number of tangible signs that we live in different times; if that hasn't become apparent already. Times that may not ever go back to what they were a mere twelve months ago.

I am interested how these next few months will go. For me, it is usually a special time of year for many reasons. Especially as it is one where you get to catch up with those closest to you; something that has been a challenge at the best of times for all of us this year. I suspect there will be good days and bad days as it has been for the majority of this year. Just have to ride the rollercoaster and hope you don't get chucked out at the sharp bend.

In the end, the 'Ber's still have the potential to be that good time of year. We just have to adapt and accept the changes that it brings us.

It is what we have been doing all year so why stop now?

And one more thing....

It would be remiss of me not to mention the unexpected and untimely death of Dean Jones. It is a great tragedy when someone dies. More so when it is earlier than expected and kind of jolts you when it is a figure of your childhood. Especially in sports where it may have had a huge impact on that time of your life.

Deano wasn't ever one of my favourite players I have to admit. I tended to drift towards players that seemed to resemble how I played the game; the grafters like Mark Taylor, Allan Border, Geoff Marsh etc. That and Deano was a Victorian; which for a New South Welshman made it almost impossible to like (do not get me started on that one dayer in Sydney when he told Ambrose to take off his sweatbands). That said, there isn't anything I wouldn't have given to play like he did. Skip down the track, hit the bowlers back over the heads with a straight bat. Make a one into a two regularly and throw it in flat and fast from the boundary over the stumps.

Fact is, he changed the way Australia played fifty over cricket. He set a standard that set a tone for players coming after him and blazed a path for the likes of Michael Bevan, Adam Gilchrist, David Warner & Alyssa Healy. He was also a core part of the resurrection of the Australian Test team under Allan Border with a career that was befitting of being inducted in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.

That and the more I thought about my time playing cricket in the 80's and 90's, I remember putting on the yellow zinc on my lower lip when I fielded along with wanting to own a pair of Oakleys (I think I settled for a similar style in RayBans). That and I took to wear sweatbands when I batted; not that I was in that long for them to be that useful. I guess I realised that Dean Jones had more of an impact on me than I thought. Vale.