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Apr 21, 2020Liked by John Birmingham

Back in the early-mid 1980s I was teaching and studying and in other roles in the (then) TESOL and multicultural education fields. I remembered the October1966 film version of the 1957 novel "They're a Weird Mob" and what a bewildered yet loveably naïve character as played by Walter Chiari the main character was - and who wouldn't want to be a part of that black-and-white rough-and-tumble Aussie world if the prize was Claire Dunne. Anyway by those early 1980s I was becoming deeply interested in writing which told our national Australian story/stories from all the participatory players - of whatever ethnic, linguistic background - among the names of writers I came across was Giuseppe "Pino" BOSI (1933-2017). An Italian immigrant arriving in 1951 he was fluent in standard English (among other languages) but totally at sea in terms of idiomatic or colloquial English - like the character Nino Culotta. He was a generous man and agreed to come along to one of my adult TESOL community classes and tell them about himself (among others such as poet/writer Peter Skrzynecki and novelist Olga Masters). He referred to himself as a model for the Nino Culotta character. In fact he had a book of short stories (from a some ten already published in "La Fiamma" in 1955 - "Australia Cane" ready for publication, accepted in fact but not proceeded with when Jon O'Grady's "They're a Weird Mob" as published by Urethras Smith... He told my class about how he had been forced to study spoken English as an entirely different form of the language after arriving in Australia (and there were many nodding heads at that remark) but that his best progress came after his children began attending school - referencing playground rhymes and such things - an aspect I kept in mind during my many years in Japan - picking up on the cultural aspects which flow through reference and allusion - the matters which colour an entire language. The week after his visit there was a large spread in with the SMH or The Australian about Pino BOSI and his family. Truly a larger than life character. This is totally off the track of your own desire to take apart and re-build in your own way the kind of writing which carries viewpoint through humour - bizarre humour indeed... I am looking forward to the journey - take us away, John!

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John, just remember to keep it simple and do a couple of things-

1. Please keep writing

2. If in doubt please refer to point 1😀

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Looking forward to your thoughts on the 5G army of wokeness...

Fear and loathing should be required reading.

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That was a most seductive plug - I'm in!

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