I had just survived a gruelling, hair raising, tearing, and torturous, lucky escape and laid out all the week’s sport for the first time off my own bat.

 

Stretching my arms back behind my head I breathed a sigh of glee and relief when the sports editor said to me, “How about you make your radio debut tomorrow morning, bigfoot?”

 

It was more of a statement than a question.

 

Every Thursday morning since I had started at the paper, I noticed the phone would go berserk at around 8.30am.

 

My colleague seemed to have the same casual chat, twice, maybe the second time a bit sterner but without fail every Thursday morning after the edition went to print.

 

A bloke named Ewan from Southern Cross radio was on the blower last week and this time he was after me.

 

Shit!

 

He asked me whether I’d been given the run through and with this I agreed, yet being no less nervous for the occasion; within four minutes I went from Barfoot, to Bigfoot to Barefoot.

 

I’ll be sure to set him straight next week.

 

This week in the news I would tell him, right after the sports and the weather. I was on!

 

“Hi Ewan”, I probably blared down the receiver. This bastard has infected me I thought.

 

“Twenty-seven new government homes worth in total of $7.5 million will be built in Naracoorte in an attempt to address the current critical shortage of housing. It’s part of the Federal Government’s $42 billion nation building economic stimulus plan and is due to commence in April next year…..

 

“Primary school students from the area have lent their colourful and vibrant artworks to liven up the walls of the BankSA branch here in Naracoorte.

 

“Also a group of tennis players have returned from the Masters Games in Sydney with a number of medals, and hope their win influences others to take up the sport in the area.

 

“More than 1300 people in Naracoorte have had the H1N1 Swine Flu shots since the start of October..

 

“Also the Naracoorte Cricket Club’s goods and services auction was a great success making more than $30,000 to help rebuild their club, the top selling item was a 2009 autographed Geelong Football Club Sherrin.”

 

So it should be!

 

Tune in next week folks, for a less nervous and stagnated report of the local news.