Respect

There were reportedly 35,000 of us at the Cenotaph ("empty tomb") in Martin Place for the ANZAC Day dawn service. It was moderately cold, but I was OK with my scarf and beanie - which, I hasten to add, I removed at the appropriate points. The ceremony consisted of veterans and representatives marching, dignitaries being welcomed, the laying of wreaths, hymns and speeches, the odd fainter in the audience, the "Last Post" bugle call/minute's silence with the lights cut, and the UK, NZ and Oz anthems. Very moving stuff that I hadn't experienced since I was duty-bound to do so as Year 6 captain. They say the number of attendees is growing annually, which attests to the command the ANZAC legend, particularly Gallipoli, has on the Australian psyche. I'm fine with that. Such bravery and self-sacrifice deserves our eternal respect. I've already whinged on Twitter about waiting yonks for a bus home. There was one consolation. As we drove down the road, I spotted a grey-haired digger, multiple medals pinned to his suit, seated alone on a park bench. Smiling serenely, his gazed was directed towards the rising sun. He probably appreciated it more than most.


Tallying: The Demonic deck was the winner over the Divine, six duels to four. Ergo, Wizards Of The Coast is evil :-) Scores at bottom.

Recommending: www.kingfallen.com - the official site of an interesting band of which my mate CS2 is a member. The lead singer reminds me of Marillion's Steve Hogarth, and that's a massive compliment.


(Div,Dem): (20,-1*),(-8*,3),(-4,6*),(30,-5*),(-2*,13),(0,13*),(-12*,18),(12,-13*),(9*,0),(-3*,18). *Went first.