cherry Ripe

Groundbreaking. As a woman, working as a broadcaster for the ABC local radio station 2CN in 1983 and 1984, on the weeks of Parliamentary Broadcasts, we had to do our shifts in Old Parliament House, in a broadcast booth the size of a large wardrobe with two mikes. We were supposed to memorise ever Member's name and their individual electorates! Such as, when they stood up, you would have wait for a pause in their speech to press a button to over-ride and say "Joe Bloggs, Member for Maranoa" — without interrupting the flow of their broadcast speech. And then for the Senate broadcast, remember each Senators name as HE stood to speak. Luckily there were old hands - veterans — at this who helped me big time. The drinking culture was alive and booming: Mungo MaCallum propping up the Non Members' Bar; parties with Heather Ewitt [SP] and Barry Cassidy at their house; weekly dinners with Alexander Downer at a Turkish restaurant in Manuka while Nikki was back in the UK with his two first daughters; running Andrew Peacock from the Travel Lodge to Parliament House when the bells had rung, and he had to get there for a hung vote. The irony of which was the driver who was picking me up to go out for dinner, was my school friend Julia, who's partner at the time was Des Ball, about as left wing as you could get. Nevertheless we got Peacock there in time! Them's were the days. I would never have got to read ABC National News with a name like "Cherry Ripe" but for a strike at the ABC Sydney TV Newsroom Cherry Ripe