Extreme sports

It's nearly three years since Ben left us here, yet it seems like
yesterday that we were writing that it was two years since he left.
On the other hand it seems forever since we saw his cheeky grin and
heard his cheery gravelly voice.

"We only miss you when we're breathing," as the song says.

We are having an open house on Thursday to remember him. We'll eat a
meal together and some of us will try to win the fiercely competitive
Allen's snake tying race—an extreme sport Ben was expert at. Maybe
someone will set a new record. Is there a world record? Maybe it's
time to begin one.

Speaking of competitions, on Melbourne Cup Day this year the
Australian Armwrestling Championships were held down the road in
Doncaster East. Watching the promo video you can't help but be
impressed at the size of the forearms doing the wrestling. But the
smiles and laughing and "jolly good time" vibe captured on the video
make me wonder whether we mightn't add a new item to the December 8th
evening agenda. Given the size of Ben's biceps, his reputation as a
mean arm-wrestler and his irrepressible sense of fun, it could be
fitting to inaugurate an annual CSB Arm-wrestling Competition. We'll
let you know how it goes.