Anyone for Tennis?

Adelaide revolves around its lunch; more so than anywhere else in my limited experience. I am a small and insignificant part of the machine but, much to Mandy’s irritation, am still expected to attend a pleasing number of luncheons for various speeches and launches.
A day in the city has three phases; the mornings pass by at a gentle pace of slow and steady achievement while the afternoons are spent in quiet contemplation of the lunchtime wine. In between times though, the city bursts alive like a roman candle over the buffet table, everybody desperate to give and gain a day’s opinion into two short hours.

Most of these lunches are great fun as well as being very interesting. Take my lunch this week at a talk by a professor of zoology about how to balance the town planning needs of Adelaide with the requirements of sustainable biodiversity. Get me!!! It was held in an intimate wine cellar and the buffet was first rate with an excellent shiraz, so I was told.

Apart from being a fascinating topic, this lunch witnessed Adelaide’s first case of graph rage as a member of the audience frothed over in frustration (and possibly MacLaren Vale shiraz) about the integrity of the axes on a chart showing the impact of introduced mammals on native species. Most amusing it was too as he could not be silenced on the matter. When he was eventually convinced to take his seat again, it was with a promise to see the speaker later.

You see, lunch is very serious here. Alas Mandy can only hear about them second hand, I like to keep her informed on the standard of food at these places.

On the subject of threatened species, many people in Adelaide will tell you that the city is itself in danger of fast becoming an irrelevant backwater. There may be grain of truth in this too. While it will never have the size or profile of Sydney or Melbourne, people worry that it is becoming the poor relation to cities like Brisbane and Perth.

These cities are booming on the back of massive mining exports and are leaving Adelaide behind, despite the huge mineral deposits in South Australia and the billions of dollars being invested in even bigger holes in the desert.

I have a theory that the city is suffering in comparison because of its attitude as much as anything. This town has something of a split personality. Part of it talks about being a growing and dynamic city while there is a comfortable body of opinion quietly undermining this vision in preference for a nice quiet life of long lunches and sipping wine on their balconies overlooking the parks. In short, it doesn’t walk the walk.

It was announced today that Adelaide’s international tennis tournament will move to Brisbane despite being held here since 1890. It is a significant and popular tournament which acts as the warm up for the Australian Open in January. It is also something of a curiosity in that Tim Henman won it once.

The city is outraged, in an understated and reserved sort of way. Meanwhile the tournament will be held at a shiny new tennis complex in Brisbane and I am left wondering why Queensland has the ambition to spend $70m on a national tennis centre and Adelaide does not.

This is not the first time Adelaide has lost a major event to a more ambitious neighbour. For eleven years from 1985 the city hosted the Australian Grand Prix through the streets and parks until Melbourne showed the kind of initiative often lacking here and spirited the race away.
As a pretty poor substitute, the city still hosts a big motor race each year but is not an international event. The only people really interested in racing big Australian saloons are big Australian saloon drivers who love their country and western music.

Meanwhile the rest of the country sees Adelaide as quiet and rather sleepy. This is a little unfair on a great place, but the city really needs to be fighting harder for its share of the cake, whether it is sporting events, business headquarters or exhibitions. It all seems a little half hearted to me.

On a brighter note though, the city’s national Aussie Rules team are by far the best team in the country and, as I write, are on TV handing out a spanking to Sydney which will be very satisfying for everyone here.

Cheers
M&W