Simon Bennett with one of his daughters, Sophie. Doing Good Weekend’s The Quiz is a Saturday tradition for the Bennett family. Credit: Madeleine Wilson, Mudgee, NSW
My beloved dad, Simon Bennett, died on Sunday. He was truly the greatest man there could ever be, and he was a massive fan of The Sydney Morning Herald, reading the paper every day. On weekends, he devoured Good Weekend in between farm work and watching sport. His funeral will take place this Saturday. We will do The Quiz at the wake with everyone there, to continue a tradition our family has enjoyed with Dad for the last decade or so. Three weeks ago, we did it while Dad was in hospital – he was on fire and we got 18. Last Saturday we did it while he lay fairly unconscious next to us all. I heard him groan when I couldn’t pronounce detritus. A happy memory through all the pain.
Madeleine Wilson
Mudgee, NSW
Presumed guilty
Maybe it’s about time sports administrators admit drug cheats are not going away [August 5]. Why don’t they have two meets – one for the “clean” athletes and a “chemical” meet for those that are “enhanced”? I’m sure the industry would be only too happy to sponsor the latter event. Then we will be able to measure the times between the two and assess whether a pill or substance makes any difference.
Robert Pallister
Punchbowl, NSW
Name of the father
When Brendan Watkins decided to track down his birth mother [August 5] he would never have imagined the emotional journey that would take him on, or the deception of the Catholic Church to hide its dirtiest secrets. The statistics surrounding the horrific circumstances that left many children adopted, or destined to live a life covered by lies, searching for their real identity, are shocking. Thank god for adoptive parents like Roy and Bet Watkins, who gave Brendan love and family.
Judith Caine
Donvale, VIC
The teachers’ pet
Wobbly-headed, snaggle-toothed, staggering like a sailor on a rolling sea, as writer Tim Elliott describes him, Phineas the cat is adorable [August 5]. No wonder he is an Instagram sensation! The fact that his unusual brain condition, cerebellar hypoplasia, is helping his neuroscientist carers (I don’t like the word “owner” when it comes to companion animals) advance medical science on brain disorders is a shining silver lining. This wonderful, feel-good story is exactly what we need at a time when so much of the news is bleak.
Chris Brown
Erskineville, NSW
Dicey Topics
As legendary environmentalist David Suzuki notes, “Humans have grown so powerful, we’ve changed the properties of the planet” [August 5]. The Anthropocene Working Group agrees and in July recommended to the International Commission on Stratigraphy that the 1950s marked the end of the Holocene – an epoch lasting 11,700 years, where the average global temperature stayed within the so-called “human niche” of 11-15 degrees Celsius. Just last month, the average global temperature exceeded 17 degrees for the first time since records began. We must listen to our elders – Suzuki, Attenborough, Goodall – all speaking out about climate change and its effect on life on Earth, before it is too late.
Ray Peck
Hawthorn, VIC
The Full Bottle
A good reason for NOT buying wine in pouches is that glass bottles are recyclable, whereas plastic bags are not.
Juliet Flesch
Kew, VIC
ONLINE COMMENTS
Presumed guilty
It is too easy for athletes to have incidental contamination showing a positive result. We need a better option for testing actual intentional drug cheats. Gds Gds
These athletes have a reverse onus of proof, where instead of sporting bodies having to prove the offence, an athlete has to prove they are innocent. What comes out is the level of contamination around, and how easy it is to inadvertently and innocently be declared a drug cheat, when you have followed all the rules and protocols set out by your sport. Time to have a major rethink on drugs in sport, and how the administration of drugs in sport needs to get better. Barry of Nambucca
Very interesting if not sad article. I am all for catching drug cheats, but equally find it amazing that despite an athlete being “cleared of doping allegations” they are still suspended and hence treated as drug cheats. That’s just not fair. hayes_jimmy
The reason diuretics like furosemide are banned is that they were used to dilute the concentration of the offending steroid in urine, making that agent difficult to detect. They have no performance-enhancing role themselves. Indeed, larger doses that would cause dehydration are likely performance-inhibiting. If the testing is now accurate at such minute quantities (literally less than a drop in an Olympic size pool) surely they could be removed from the banned list altogether (unless you are in a weight class sport, I suppose). David
The whole Peter Bol case was a debacle and an absolute travesty – the entire process and all the people involved need to be reviewed urgently. I am hoping Peter Bol can get his mojo back, but it would be completely understandable if he struggled to do so. He has lost precious time in a pursuit where time and age are so important. And he knows there will be those out there who will forever continue to doubt his integrity, because that’s just the way some people are. The whole thing is so unjust! Mike Jefferson
The teacher’s pet
What a beautiful story and how fortunate for Phin that he ended up with the perfect human parents. I have a special needs cat, and I’m proud to say she is definitely with the right humans (and an incredible vet) to make her life and wellbeing the very best it can be. Bridget84
I love seeing Phin in my Instagram feed every morning. Despite his “wobbliness”, this cat is pure joy made manifest. I love his boisterous lust for life. There is no doubt he is very, very happy, and very well cared for. We are privileged to have people of the calibre of Collin and Daria here in Sydney. SanSouciant
A beautifully written article, a sensational cat and a lovely couple. Inspiring to see people who are trying to make the world a better place in so many ways. Simba
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