I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, 

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. 

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; 

And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

 - Robert Louis Stevenson

South Australian Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier has told spectators going to Saturday’s AFL clash at Adelaide Oval to duck and avoid the ball if it comes flying over the fence. 

Just when The Shadow thought we had reached peak stupid, another ' chief health officer' opens her mouth.

Chris Kenny in “The Australian” :

The worry warts and nanny-state aficionados who now dictate the terms of our pandemic pandemonium have given us a long list of instructions. Do not eat bats or pangolins, avoid churches, weddings and funerals, shun crowds, stay away from choirs and do not, under any circumstances, dance or sing. If you must exercise or walk the dog, wear a mask, stay home, limit visitors and ensure you do not touch pizza boxes or attempt to mark a football.

This should keep you infection-free but, just to be sure, stay clear of returning travellers, Victorians and Wuhan lab workers. If you cannot resist conjugal relations, be sure to wear a mask (if it is not on, it is not on) and remember, always, to stock up on toilet paper.

There are echoes here of "Yes Minister", when principal private secretary Bernard Woolley advised Jim Hacker: 

“You asked me to find out about that alleged empty hospital in North London; well in fact there are only 342 administrative staff at the new St Edwards hospital, the other 170 are porters, cleaners, laundry workers, gardeners, cooks and so forth.”

“And how many medical staff?” asks the minister. 

“Oh, none of them.”

Australia has more than 7000 Covid-19 beds but no patients.

But nearer home: will the lockdown be eased sufficiently, so we can enjoy our Club Changeover on 26th June?

Have you booked yet?

The Shadow bets we won’t have bat soup on the menu.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who has a book due out in August called Woke, Inc, tweeted recently that “it’s time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity and Civility’ ”. 

What a strange idea.

Your Feedback

Yes, we at “The Bulletin” welcome your feedback and suggestions. Constructive suggestions, that is.

Unfortunately we don’t get much, which tells one of two things:

a) you are happy with “The Bulletin” as it is,

or 

b) you don’t bother reading it.

However we do get some comments from readers who enjoy the articles.

A few weeks ago David Rush commented:

With the “who" and “whom" discussion for those who have studied Latin, this poses no difficulty. 

And there are many other points of  English grammar that can be easily understood via the strict logic of Latin.

I greatly lament that it is only at a couple of private schools that students can have the great benefit of studying this discipline.

It is via my Latin schooling that I  love  Homer ( what fantastic stories)  Vergil and even the Greek tragedies  ( Euripides, Socrates, Aristophanes etc )

Aaah Latin: a great boost for Lawyers and Doctors. Take this tiny muscle, for example:

The levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle is, translated from Latin, the "lifter of both the upper lip and of the wing of the nose". It has the longest name of any muscle in an animal. The muscle is attached to the upper frontal process of the maxilla and inserts into the skin of the lateral part of the nostril and upper lip.

Thanks David for your helpful feedback: you make us feel all this burning of the midnight oil is worthwhile. 

And we couldn't sneer at our detractors without our levator labii superioris alaeque nasi.