Episode 311 - Green Eggs & Snoods
2022-11-17
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake
Roving reportersSarah Jefferson Tracey Wood
Show notes
From the Facebook post
Join us this week as we celebrate achievements and lament mishaps.
Sarah from the West side pops in from Whitfords Nodes (opens in a new tab) parkrun , while
Tracy in a Tutu chased down her NENDY at Robelle Domain (opens in a new tab) parkrun.
The office lady is back in the comfy chair playing 'who am I?' as
Mel & Olly debate Dr Suess and whatever is a snood?
[Dr Seuss quote omitted]
From the podcast feed
Join us this week as we celebrate achievements and lament mishaps. Sarah from the West side pops in from Whitford nodes parkrun, while Tracy in a Tutu chases down her NENDY at Robell Domain. The office lady is back in the comfy chair playing ‘who am I?’ as Mel & Olly debate Dr Suess and whatever is a snood? “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.”
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptGuest
Oliver Spake
The Office Lady's "who am I?" reveal and deep-dive interview marking Ollie's 250th volunteer occasion: his first ever volunteer stint (marshalling, talked into it by Co-Event Director Brendan), his 19 volunteer roles, favourite roles (barcode scanning, then timekeeping), voluntourism at Bellerive, his top three away events (Bellerive, Nambour, Geeveston), his NENDY at Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens, and the coming weekend's Queens Domain parkrun plus the Point to Pinnacle half marathon up kunanyi for Carrie's Beanies for Brain Cancer.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:23
Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country, tired from building a deck with help from his mum and her partner Ken, and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country. Mel flew to Queensland to join Simon Mackley at the eighth anniversary of Calamvale parkrun on Yuggera Country, where in 80s fancy dress she tripped and fell heavily in the first kilometre but hobbled on, with Simon returning on course to bring her home and a super duper stuffed in her sock for a sore ankle; brunch at a cafe next to a medical centre, an afternoon with Simon and Carolyn, then a cancelled flight home rescued by Jetstar staff and a Qantas seat.
Mel's tourist tip starts at 4:03
Mel closes her Calamvale trip report with the week's tourist tip after a fall, a suspected sprained ankle and a cancelled flight: "Perhaps it should be when travelling, ensure you have an adventure buddy on hand in case things go wrong."
Launches and anniversaries starts at 5:35"Where is the cake?"
The newest WA event (given as "Dobbin Park", at Jurien Bay) launches with 35 of 77 finishers being genuine first-timers, a stat credited to Chris Fraser. Then parkrun South Africa's 11th anniversary and Ireland's 10th, with a running gag about which stone or metal each year corresponds to. Picked up again with Mudgeeraba's fourth birthday and Calamvale's eighth, where Mel notes there was no cake, only super doopers.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 12:23
Two roving reports crossed to back-to-back: Tracey Wood from Robelle Domain parkrun in Springfield, Queensland (chasing her NENDY, interviewing local parkrunner Mika, tourist Lauren, and the ED/RD pair Darren and Janine), then Sarah Jefferson from Whitfords Nodes in Perth for event 222, interviewing Buddy Up Australia volunteer Jane Ingalls and first finisher Stu Anthony.
Dazza's starts at 27:13
Dazza turns the cafe green for Ollie's 250th volunteer occasion. Posts from Kath Atkin (Western Springs, NZ), Natalie Sopa (Hobsonville Point), Bec Bailey (Shellharbour, green tutu and zoomies), Heather Morgan (Coonawarra, joined the Adventurers Club), Sonja Pohlman (mini frond at The Beaches), Bruce Purdy the Ideas Man (Wallaby Track's return after flooding, most-liked post), Joe McLean (marshalling at The Ponds), Michael Schultz (PB at Scribbly Gums Conservation), Chris Gore (great nephew Christian's 50th), Johan Duvenhage (Innibos, South Africa), Helen Rutter (250th at Goole, UK), Calum Burrell (stopwatch bingo at Goole) and Geoff Glaab (Amsterdamse Bos, Netherlands).
the Frond starts at 29:51
Fronds of the week: Sonja Pohlman's "delightful surprise of a mini frond at the Beaches" with P1, P2, Luke and new listener Georgina Devine, and Helen Rutter's "small frond at Gould [Goole]" for her 250th. The Consolidated Club Report later names the largest frond of the week, eight adventurers at Robelle Domain.
the Obi Award — Oliver Spake starts at 36:59
Awarded to Oliver Spake for reaching 250 volunteer occasions, "250 official volleys, and everything else he does in the background at Shell Harbour [Shellharbour]." Announced not by the hosts but by a "mysterious Obi announcer" in a beach skit; Ollie says "I've got no idea who it is."
the Informant starts at 37:19
The Informant appears in character on a beach, tracked down by a delivery boy from the Channel 2 News Crew carrying an envelope from Mel asking him to record the Obi announcement, "I'll have a large car [carton] of milk waiting for you when you get back to the office." He signs off the award with "Good man, Oliver. Cheers to that."
Level 2 with a View starts at 38:44
The Office Lady (Sam Schroder) returns to the comfy chair and plays "who am I?", feeding the audience clues, 12 City to Surfs, a 56:25 PB, a 2016 Sydney Marathon, five M2M Challenges, Eurovision and the Socceroos, wife Cathy, daughter Hannah's chemistry degree, before revealing the guest is co-host Oliver Spake, then interviewing him about his 250th volunteer stint.
Emails starts at 57:04
"You've got mail", a personal message from Bruce Purdy, the Ideas Man, about the zoomies at Wallaby Track and a proposal for an international parkrun zoomie day. The hosts spend several minutes hunting for a suitable date (Amelia Earhart, the Wright Brothers, Houdini's 1910 Diggers Rest flight, International Dog Day) before deciding to crowdsource it from listeners.
Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:01:05
For 12 November 2022: 331 members, 268 taking part at 143 locations, 21 UK events plus one each in South Africa, the USA, the Netherlands and Poland; locally 35 in Victoria, 27 NSW, 22 Queensland, 9 SA, 8 WA, 7 North Island, 5 Tasmania, 4 ACT, 1 South Island. Largest frond: eight adventurers at Robelle Domain. Milestones include Helen Rutter's 250th at Goole, Carmel Roll's V50 at Yowie, Nelson numbers at Wagga Bridge (111), Taree (333) and Mitchelton (444), Michael Blain's Cow Club, Sue Smith's Bee Gees Club and Roberta Winters' Alphabeteer at Victor Harbor.
International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day starts at 1:04:47
Looking ahead: uglies are already appearing, with Bruce sporting his new one at Wallaby Track and Chantel wearing hers. Mel's order is delayed because she is waiting on a visor. Ollie also notes the Wright Brothers' 17 December anniversary sits awkwardly close to the ugly singlet day.
Sign-off starts at 1:05:21
Mel noted they already knew where Ollie would be next week - heading to Queen's Domain and then his big event, Point to Pinnacle - and wished him well; he said he was excited to get back to Nipaluna land in southeastern Tasmania, was very underprepared but would give it his best, would track it on Strava and text photos from the top, and hoped for snow. Mel, who could not drive at the time, hoped to hitch a lift to Toolern Creek and up her Peel Ellis Cup numbers. She thanked Ollie for joining her, gave the Facebook and email contacts and said that was it for another week.