It’s city council rate time again and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to open the mail last week to find the rise in my lot was minimal to say the least.

In fact, they’ve only gone up some $171 since the 07/08 financial year.

Better than we can say for the price these days of Telstra, water, gas and energy. And let’s not forget petrol and food.

These necessities have gone through the roof in recent times and they don’t look like stopping their upward rise.

Food prices, in particular, go up and down like the proverbial lavatory seat, but mainly up. And it doesn’t seem to matter which of the big stores you visit.

For example, a dozen disposable razor blades used to cost around $3, and now you’re flat out getting them for under $10. One could always grow a beard I suppose!!

We don’t need Regency Towers

Even the suggestion that a 27–storey development take place in Regent Street in our city is not only breathtaking, but ridiculous, to say the least.

Proposed for the site once occupied by one of my favourite restaurants, The Charcoal Tavern, it would be an ugly intrusion on our skyline.

Who really cares?   

So who really cares if Karmichael Hunt goes and plays Aussie Rules or if former Swan Barry Hall makes a comeback in league or union?

I thought Paul Vautin summed it up nicely in the Footy Show last week in a great chat with Hunt and even suggested he’d be going to see Karmichael make his eventual debut.

And on the subject of the Footy Show, just how much better is it when that the ever waffling Phil Gould isn’t there!!!

Another political essay

A week ago it was Kevin Rudd and a 6000-plus word essay to the nation and now the Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull has had his turn.

Naturally it pulled the Rudd thing to pieces and gave a dire warning that we will face tax hikes to make up for Labor’s big spending.

It will be interesting to see whether the Bob Brown now puts pen to paper, and naturally he will use green ink.

Surprising really

Here we are coming to the climax of the home and away games in NRL and despite some ripper games and some amazingly one–sided wins at the weekend the attendances for all games were a miserable 110,000.

The only games that drew more than 20,000 to them were the Bulldogs versus Rabbitohs and Cowboys and Titans.

The AFL notched up 262,000 with nearly 28,000 going to watch the Sydney Swans, but even the AFL figures were down on recent weeks.

Is the high cost of going to a game for tickets, food and drink really starting to bite?