Alan 80 Party Speech
Sunday, 12th January, 2020
The Royal Oak, Balmain
I will never be eighty.
Nobody will ever be eighty
How could you presume to survive that long?
We are very fortunate today
And grateful to Alan
For going to where so few have gone before him,
So that he might light the way
And should some of us be so fortunate to follow in a similar direction,
We will know where and how to go,
And how to get there.
Should he be as fortunate and as full of guile as he has been to now,
This 80,
May prove to be another nuisance middle,
And provide no imminent conclusion of a life.
If 80 does prove to be another middle,
That should not diminish the achievement of having lived so many years.
We have found the pleasure and the romance of looking back today.
Can we find the same pleasure casting our eyes ahead?
We have not yet come to terms with the fires
We are struggling to understand what politics has become
We cannot understand the distribution of wealth without glancing in the mirror.
Climate science has us by the throat.
The future rises like an unsurmountable mountain
And only makes the past more alluring.
Celebrating the past has never been so sweet.
I only mention this because it would be remiss
To turn a blind eye for 80’s sake.
We have been waiting for a wake-up call
Lest We Forget
Bring on the Revolution!
Happy Birthday Alan.