Not that they could be true.

Tony Abbott is the Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and as such is the official Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition. He is married, with three grown daughters. And a solid, committed Catholic in good standing.

So, I believe, there is no way he would have done something this stupid.

I know I am on the opposite side of the political fence and I disagree with much of what Tony Abbott does and says, yet I find it very hard to believe this scuttlebutt!

Still, anonymous rumour (as all rumours are) has it that there are apparently those in the corridors of Parliament House in Canberra who are talking of such a liason.

I wonder if any of the Parliamentary Press Gallery can throw some light on this matter.

UPDATE!!!

I began to play a game, as many of my readers would have done. IF this story has some basis in fact, and I’m not saying it has. I’m playing “What If“.

If there is any truth in the rumour there may be some clues in the Mainstream Media.

I vaguely remembered something about Tony Abbott getting lost in the bush last year and there was something strange about telephone numbers.

So I checked Google and found my memory was not that bad. He had indeed gotten himself lost (something I have done in the outback as well but that is another story) and had to do an E.T. and “Phone Home”. Problem was, as this news report says, he could only remember one phone number.

I know highly placed politicians lead sheltered lives but surely he could remember his WIFE’S phone number at a time of great stress. No! Just his Press Secretary’s phone number.

That bit is reported fact. The original basis of this story is just unsubstantiated rumour.

But it is fun to play “What If”.

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NEW UPDATE

Following this fantasy to its logical conclusion, there would be a move from the females in Tony Abbott’s family to have him move the offending “Staffer-chick” (who is only a fantasy) out of his office, and replace her with, preferably, a harmless male.

That is all only in fantasy world and has absolutely nothing to do with this coincidental story from The Australian.

James Boyce to replace Claire Kimball as Tony Abbott’s press secretary, which was written by respected journalist James Massola and published January 25, 2011 2:52PM

OUT

IN

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It Has Happened In The Past

If such an unlikely event should have happened it would not be the first time a high-profile Australian politician has strayed from his marriage vows.

Malcolm Fraser

On 14 October 1986, past Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, then the Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, was found in the foyer of the Admiral Benbow Inn, a seedy Memphis hotel, wearing nothing but a towel and confused as to where his trousers were. The hotel was an establishment popular with prostitutes and drug dealers. Though it was rumoured at the time that the former Prime Minister had been with a prostitute, his wife believes it more likely that he was the victim of a practical joke by his fellow delegates.

From Wikipedia

Billy Snedden

In a bizarre ruling, an English court has ruled that in favor of a commercial poster company that argued that a photo that showed a similar (but different) scene taken by a different person in a different place nevertheless infringed the copyright of a poster. What the judge ruled was that photographing a scene that is “substantially similar” to a scene someone else has already photographed infringes the first shooter’s copyright.

Read more of this insanity here at Boing Boing. I’m off to check  whether I can get a case going against all those other photographers who have stolen my composition idea of clouds near the horizon at sunset!

LAST Week contained a cyclonic sweep by the Australian bowlers through the wastelands of the Indian batting and a cyclone forming to the North West of the State. A cyclone named Iggy! It will hang around for a while and Perth will have to suffer from about 5 days above 40C!

Hats and Crowns:-There were no crowns this week with DaddyP and dinahmow the best with 5/7 while Magic Hands, DaisyFae, Sandy and yours truly all scored a hat-avoiding 3/7
THIS Week Yet again, I used a lot of guesswork this week.  There must be plenty of quizzees who can do better at this weeks quiz.

Previous Dunces

20th Jan No hats awarded.

13th Jan 1/7, Daddy P, nursemyra

7th Jan, 1/7, Daddy P

9th Dec, 1/7, Rob
2nd Dec, 0/7, Rob
25th Nov, Andrea
18th Nov, daisyfae, Rob, gitwizard, silverstar98121
11th Nov, 2/7, Jess, Tony
4th Nov, 1/7, healingmagichands, Puddock, nursemyra, Cybe R Wizard.
28th Oct, 2/7, Cybe R Wizard, Daddy P, sandy
21st Oct, 0/7, daisyfae
14th Oct, 0/7, healingmagichands
7th Oct, 1/7, azahar,
30th Sept, 1/7, Rob

Crown Winners (7/7)

3rd Jun, 2011, dinahmow
10th Jun, 2011, dinahmow
1st Jul, 2011, dinahmow
8th Jul, 2011, Buff
15th Jul, 2011, dinahmow
5th Jul, 2011, dinahmow, Rob, Cybe R Wizard
26th Aug, 2011, Magic Hands, dinahmow
2nd Sept, 2011, dinahmow
23rd Sept, 2011, dinahmow
30th Sept, 2011, healingmagichands
11th Nov, 2011, nursemyra, dinahmow
2nd Dec, 2011, dinahmow

13th Jan, 2012, dinahmow

Welcome to the first Friday Foto Finder.

I’ll be posting between 7 and 8am, Australian Western Time (Midnight in Gt Britain and about 7pm in the Eastern USA.

And so, my first entry.

I can almost hear him saying “Velcome” in his Transylvanian accent.

Actually, he is not Transylvanian. He is an Aussie Flying Fox or Fruit Bat.

He may not suck your blood but, on the East coast where they are native, they have been implicated in transmitting the Hendra Virus. And that could well be worse!

Leave your comments on the Friday Foto Finder blog and wander off to visit the other “Finders” entries.

The normal Court Jestering one-liners were expected to be unexpected and so he could throw them into a gathering as and when he felt like it.

When it came to story-telling, however, the King decreed a rather unusual way to announce the daily appearance of the Royal Storyteller.

All the King’s courtiers knew a story was about to be presented when out strode the Royal Mime carrying upon his shoulders the Royal Dunce, who in turn held high a placard bearing the title of the forthcoming story.

Thus, from that first day until the present, every story told in King Arthur’s Royal Court began with dunce upon a mime…

Friday Foto Finders

A new place where photographers can display their craft and their imagination.

Each week a new word will be given and the challenge is to find one of your images to match the word.

Become a friday foto finder

1. Find a photo from your collection for your entry; add a few words to your post, should you desire.

2. Add one of the linked badges to your post.

3. Leave a comment with a link back to your friday foto finder post.

4. Visit the other players to see and comment on their offerings.

5. Have fun!

Join the  new photo challenge this Friday!

The word for this week is “Welcome”

She would find out where the local movie company was shooting on location and park her truck, which she called simply “The Box”, near-by. Technicians and actors alike would stop by for some pastry and coffee during breaks from shooting.

The director was shooting the most important scene in the movie. In this scene the lovers walking along a deserted beach decide to break off their relationship and return to their respective spouses to live the rest of their lives with only the memory of their short interlude to comfort them in the years ahead.

He had shot the scene several times in order to insure that he had obtained the most dramatic effect.

That evening, on reviewing the daily takes, he was shocked to find every take was spoiled. As the stars were talking, the camera swept around the surrounding loneliness of the empty beach. But in every take, there was the concession truck with several people enjoying its wares.

He immediately called his cinematographer and shouted angrily, “I told you never to pan Dora’s Box.”

Not a Shock Jock in sight!

 The Australian Women’s Weekly, Saturday 24 January 1942

 The Australian Women’s Weekly, Saturday 24 January 1942