“Two Arts degrees does not a life make.”

“Bloody rain” says Mr ChiversBouncing a basketballOn the one dry patch of courtbloody rain” he nods to our Sports classAnd gives us the afternoon off.Bloody rain all rightAs Annabel and I run to Megalong Creek hutFaster than we ever have in Chivers’s classAnd the exercise we have in mindWe’ve been training for all yearBut I doubt if old ChiversWill give us a medal if he ever finds out.We high jump into the hutAnd strip downClimb under the blanketsAnd cheer the bloody rain As it does a lap or twoAround the mountainWhile Annabel and meEmbrace like winners shouldLike good sports doAs Mr. Chivers sips his third coffeeAnd twitches his bad kneeFrom his playing daysWhile miles awayAnnabel and IScore a convincing victoryAnd for once in our school lifeThe words “Physical Education”Make sense…”

“I decide to make the most of the time we got left before she gets too big for this small town.”

“After the war I was going to make up for lost time. But the time I spent away, it's still lost. No matter what I do, it stays lost.”

“Nobody in school is stronger than me. But when Sally Holmes kissed me, I never felt so weak in all my life.”

“I walked out of his room sure I'd said the right thing maybe not as a father but as a Dad. I'd said the right thing, for once in my life.”

“I'd go off alone,because you can't trust those who want to break the rules and you certainly can't trust those who make the rules so you do the only thing possible,you avoid the rules.”