Ellis, for those who like this sort of historical minutiae, went on to become vicar of St Clement Danes, now the RAF church in The Strand in London, near Australia House. This might be useful trivia for dinner parties, whether noodles are served or not. THE Prime Minister will present the Ellis trophy to the victorious Wallabies this evening, and I hope the crowd hoots as rudely as it did when he declared the tournament open.
As I wrote then, this is not a personal shot at John Howard. There is a proud Australian tradition of booing all and any politicians who take the stage at great sporting occasions to hog the limelight where nobody wants them.
Other people might find it puzzling. Nobody boos the American president when he throws out the first ball of the baseball season, for instance. If the president of China whacks the first ping-pong ball over a net in the perfumed Beijing spring, I dare say he is greeted with rapturous applause. But that should not stop us. We are young and free and, better still, girt by sea. Let the jeering echo around the world.
Hear, hear! Oi, oi oi! And stuff like that.
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