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Notes and references for Oct 30th seminar at Worcester State.

Ordinarily, I end my Australian tours in Melbourne, stay on a week or so and play golf in the best golfing city in the world. Last November, though, as I was beginning to put this year’s schedule together, The Hawke Institute at the University of South Australia contacted me and asked if I might consider becoming a visiting fellow, to talk rather than sing, to walk across the greens of Adelaide and perhaps sample a local red or two along the way.

Stairwell of the old Polydor building, circa 1984. I’m accosted by a rather imposing Paul Weller. “Hey Lloyd! What’s all this about you slagging off my song? “Well, I thought it was crap. “‘Forest Fire’ ain’t changing nothing, is it?”

Dave Daley from Salon asked me for 800-1000 words for their Father’s Day series. Here’s his spec “I’m asking people to distill all this great cultural wisdom down to one …

After 27 years, I wonder, could one maybe map the trajectory of my (so-called) career using the hotels I was booked into? How was I doing? Where was I staying?

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! Soaking wet, freezing cold, I trudge wearily back to the clubhouse, five clubs in hand, no balls remaining. Utterly defeated.

Dear Lloyd Cole: On behalf of the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, congratulations! You are an award winner in the prestigious SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.

The bartender at the Prince of Wales looks like Ray Davies wrote “Lola” for her: She has clearly not always used the Ladies. At six-feet tall and with bleached-blond hair, she cuts a striking figure, and in a voice that is indeed a deep dark brown she tells me they are all out of Coopers Red.