I'm not offering any great drama with the latest Sydney radio ratings

I'm not offering any great drama with the latest Sydney radio ratings... KIIS, post K and J is losing further traction while SMOOTH continues as the overall industry leader. In fact SMOOTH is just a couple of points below breakfast leader, 2GB's Ben Fordham. This really is the battleground for the rest of the year... Can SMOOTH overtake Ben in the early hours and become the new "Mr Big" in the Radio World?

And so it's farewell to one of our industry's leading men of a generation with the death of Derryn Hinch, "The Human Headline", aged 82. He started his journalism up in Sydney working the crime beat for the afternoon Sun – as tough a job as you could get. Derryn went on to be a talk-back radio superstar with 3AW like forever, as well as high profile assignments on TV's "Beauty and the Beast" and 9's Midday Show. He even had a brief period as a Senator and spent several stints in jail, deliberately challenging contempt of court rulings. He was jailed for twelve days in 1987 for publically naming a priest at the centre of a paedophile case. He was a famous for "stirring the pot". Everybody knew Derryn Hinch was around, I can tell you that. Always good for a headline was Derryn. The press was waiting for him when he was released from jail in '87 anxious to find out how he felt about his time inside. "Well," he replied, "I reckon it's the best food I've had in nearly a year." Larger then life... A big timer over a long, long career.

I know there'll be critics who read the following story and accuse me of being deliberately mischievous, of denigrating the channel TEN newsroom. This isn't true. The story will be recounted exactly as I remember it with the observation that a lot of newsrooms – radio, TV and traditional press – are doing what ever it takes in these tough times to be economically viable. You do what you have to to stay afloat. It was mid-afternoon a little while back when my pal, Richard, rang to tell me that one of his best mates Steve Raymond had died. The sad news was confirmed by the family. Anyway I went into journalist mode and had a quick look at Steve's career, realising that he had a great history with the Ten Network. It was 3.30 by this time and I thought, "Well, Ten News is on at 5 and it might be a nice gesture if I rang and gave them a heads-up about Steve, allowing them to do a tribute in their main news bulletin." I hunted around trying to find Channel Ten's News line but couldn't locate a direct phone number. So I rang the Ten Network Main switchboard, asking the nice lady on the other end if I could have the phone number for the Newsroom. "I'm sorry," she responded, "They don't take phone calls in the News Department." This sort of stopped me in my tracks for a while but I persisted. Could she then just connect me to them on one of their extensions, because I had an important story for them? She was more apologetic this time. "No, I'm sorry but they don't take any phone calls in the newsroom." "But... But," I spluttered, "What if I'm watching a jetliner crash on the middle of the M4 right in front of me... And want to let Channel 10 know about it." "Oh well," she was right on to that one, "You have to message them on their email and they'll get back to you as soon as possible." I was taking deep breaths at this stage, fearing I might have a medical emergency (you've got to be careful at my age). The kind lady on the switchboard, realising I was sucking in the deep ones at this point, then tried to be extra helpful. "Perhaps you could give me the story and I'd pass it on them and they could ring you back if they wanted to?" I sort of surrendered at this point and asked the lady to give me their email contact and I'd let them know what was going on. I sent off a really nice email but never had a response. I got a message the next day telling me the email had been rejected. It seemed symbolic.

We've visited this famous historical tale before and this time I'm afraid we're no closer to solving the mystery, even though there is some helpful information which has arrived in recent years. I'm taking you back to June the 8-9 in 1924 and two mountaineers, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine, are battling their way into a nasty snowstorm about 240 metres from the summit of Everest. This is the last sighting of the two, on the final leg of the climb to the summit. It has given us one of the great questions of the last 100 years... Did Mallory and Irvine lose their lives on the way up or on the way down? Are they actually the first humans to reach the roof of the World and nobody else knows they made it up there? Welcome to 1924, Everest and the Great Myth of the Mountains. It took many years of searching but both bodies have now been discovered, badly injured in what must have been a catastrophic fall. Now this is the really interesting part, and there is some difference of opinion about this. But it's understood Mallory carried two treasured items with him on his final climb – a letter from his wife and her photo. He made a final promise to her that he would put the photo on Everest when he got to the top. Now when they found Mallory's body the letter was secure in one of his pockets but there was no sign of that famous photo. It has vanished. Mallory is the man who gave us one of the greatest lines of the 20th Century. When he was heading off to try to conquer Everest a reporter asked, "Why do you have to climb it?" His reply was, "Because it's there."



Are we still on Planet Earth? Er, just checking after realising the AFL this season is running a final ten. No your hearing is fine... I said FINAL TEN. They're calling it a wildcard round. Now there are eighteen teams in the AFL so as of this year, ten of them will play Finals. I know it's a money-maker and I know the TV channels will love it as will the supporters of teams who manage to extend their season by sneaking into the play-offs. Once upon a time we had a plain old final four. Seemed to work ok. I just have this recurring nightmare that we're into the year 2076 and the AFL has announced a final 18, making the previous 24 rounds that season completely pointless.

Where did that come from? I woke up in the early hours one day and my brain suddenly produced "Bonnington's Irish Moss". What the? This was the go-to cough syrup in my early days – the 40's and 50's. It was famous. And I'm also finding ancient memories of something called the "Bonnington's Irish Moss Show" on Sydney radio back in the day. Was that a variety show with Bobby Limb on 2UE or the old UW? The thing is they're still making this stuff: you can buy it off the shelf down at your local pharmacy 170 years after it was invented by NZ chemist George Bonnington. That red seaweed extract George discovered gives it a bit of a kick if I remember correctly.

SUVLA BAY

"In an old Australian homestead with the roses round the door a girl received a letter,
'Twas a message from the war. With her mother's arms around her she gave way to
sobs and sighs and as she read this letter, the tears came to her eyes.
Why do I weep, why do I pray? My love's asleep so far away. He played his part
that April day. And now he sleeps on Suvla Bay."

(Suvla Bay is one of the revered sites of the Gallipoli landing in the Great War of 1914-18. The song is believed to date back to those early days but its history is wrapped in mystery. It was certainly a famous Aussie country song back in the 1940's and 50's and even a hit in Britain in 1948. The composer's name on the record is listed as Jack Spade but that only complicates the history even more. You see, the term "Jack of Spades" is actually a common music industry code for anonymous or unknown. So who did write the beloved Suvla Bay?)