No Final at the G Again

MCG

So Long, Marianne

No Final at the G Again

Confined to quarters and simple pleasures, I am buoyed by memories of the cheery lyrics of Leonard Cohen.

A year ago, on 26 August 2020, in an open letter

I asked Dan Andrews "How bad does it get?"

Dan Andrews hasn't answered yet.

But I hear him coughing all night long

A hundred floors above me in the Tower of Song.

Back then we were confined to our homes, unable to invite friends around for dinner and there was a curfew. Shopping was limited to essentials. We were not allowed to play tennis or golf; public parks and children's playgrounds were closed. We were not allowed to go to the footy or meet in cafes, restaurants or pubs. Theatres, cinemas and art galleries were closed. Our children could not go to school. We had to work from home. We were banned from attending church; numbers were limited at weddings and funerals. Masks were mandatory.

Dan appeared on TV every night to thank us and to tell us how proud he was of us for doing the right thing. The police fined recalcitrants caught out after dark or old men nattering in the park, and arrested a pregnant mother for a Facebook post encouraging dissident behaviour. Richmond won the Grand Final at the Gabba.

Things are different now.

It's time that we began to laugh

And cry and cry and laugh about it all again.

_______________

The Grand Final of Australian Rules Football is held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG or the "G" for short) every year on the last Saturday in September. It is a major event in Australian life. Last year it was held at night in Brisbane, the first time ever it was held elsewhere.