(if the full movie is unavailable in your benighted country, try a short trailer here)
I know it's crazy but we binge-watched INNOCENT on iview until 2 o'clock in the morning. It was such an interesting whodunnit - does anyone still use this term? - that we just had to finish the whole series in one sitting. Of course, I was late getting up this morning.
Or at least the ducks thought so, who, not finding me at the pond at the usual 5 o'clock, had completely surrounded the house, and so I 'ducked' out to give them their three scoops of chook pellets which so far has not yet succeeded in turning them all into productive egg-laying chickens.
It's now just after 7 o'clock and I'm keeping my eyes on the stove where the porridge is bubbling away. Add a spoonful of honey and a handful of raisin and breakfast is ready, and I will be too, to face the world again.
I checked prices in New York and the Dow Jones is up a healthy 550 points and, after yesterday's fall by 2.74%, BHP is also up by 2.06%. This must be algorithmic-driven trading or deliberate manipulation to drive the small retail investors into selling out, as no company of the size and calibre of BHP could possibly change its value by that much overnight. Anyway, with the Australian dollar down to a new low of US$0.73317 - which should translate into even bigger dividends as BHP's earnings are in US dollars - I should see BHP's local share price return to above $50.*
The lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney and even regional centres is continuing. It's rumoured that even our postman is now working from home: he reads all our letters and rings us if it's anything important. What's also important is that the Eddie and Moses Obeid/Ian Macdonald-trio will soon be in lockdown, or rather lockup, for many years to come for having broken several commandments. To misuse an Einstein quote: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human greed!"
I keep two lists, an ever-expanding list of things I kick myself for not having done, and an equally fast-growing list of what to buy next from BUNNINGS. I can't do much about the former, but the latter will require another trip into town before the week is out, or maybe even today while Padma is at the weekly Bitch & Stitch meeting in the local church.
So why the non sequitur "Ich denke oft an Piroschka", I hear you ask? Well, all that binge-watching we've done in recent weeks puts into sharp contrast my early pre-television childhood when going to the cinema for a matinee screening of such "Heimatfilme" as "Heidi" or "The Trapp Family" was a special event anticipated - and "Groschen" for "Groschen" saved up for - weeks ahead and remembered weeks and months later. Being the youngest, I always had to tag along with my older sisters Bärbel and Monika who chose the movie which, predictably, was never "Tarzan" or "Buffalo Bill" but movies like "Ich denke oft an Piroschka".
And I still do!
P.S. * Following the release of BHP's operational results on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs updated its forecast to "40% increase in EBITDA (60-70% margins) and 55% increase in FCF in FY22 (equating to c. 15% FCF yield), driven by our positive view on iron ore, met coal, copper and oil prices. We forecast a dividend yield of 11-12% in FY22 & FY23. We forecast a final dividend of US$1.88/share (85% payout) in August" - click here.
