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Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 14

September 2025

ISSUE NO. 14

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September 2025

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Culture

Sports of All Sorts

By

Goal Mouth

Hansan Lu via Unsplash

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Today About Time launches a regular sports column. Please let us know what you’d like to see covered. Send your opinions to our sports editor, Goal Mouth.

Willy Pleasance

NRL/AFL: ‘Outsiders’ threaten the homes of football

The natural homes of football – Sydney for the NRL and Melbourne for the AFL – are under threat from ‘outsiders’.

With the finals fast approaching, Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm and NZ Warriors occupy three of the top four spots on the NRL ladder.

In the AFL, Adelaide, Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney, Fremantle and even Gold Coast are breathing down the necks of Melbourne-based power teams Collingwood (4th) and Hawthorn (8th), with Geelong (2nd) well in the premiership race as usual.

This reminds me of an old friend, an ex-Melburnian living in Sydney. He supports the Storm in the NRL because he knows how much that annoys Sydneysiders and Sydney in the AFL because he knows how much that annoys Melburnians. No wonder he’s a friend.

Unsplash

Cricket: Ugly England loses its moral compass

Are the English turning into ugly Aussies on the cricket field? The players seem to have listened to their coach, New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who urged them to be less friendly to opponents. McCullum’s comments came during England’s gripping series against India, which ended 2-2 after England collapsed in the fifth and final test to lose by just six runs.

In the drawn fourth test, captain Ben Stokes became bad tempered when Indian batters Ravi Jadeja and Washington Sundar wanted to keep batting until they reached their centuries rather than call the game off early.

Stokes and his teammates – regarded by many English fans as the ‘moral guardians’ of cricket – turned nasty when they realised they couldn’t win. They barely acknowledged their opponents’ milestones, made spiteful remarks and half-heartedly chased the ball to the boundary.

It seems that the England players’ commitment to entertaining cricket works only if they’re on top. They’re becoming hard to like – and, if Stokes and co try it on when they come to Australia this summer, they’re bound to feel plenty of heat from local fans.

Unsplash

Athletics: Run like the wind

Australian teenage sprinting sensation Gout Gout has a new rival. Gout, who is 17, has a fastest legal time of 10.17 seconds for the 100 metres (he has broken 10 seconds twice, but they were wind assisted).

Japan’s Sorato Shimizu, who is just 16, broke the under-18 world record at a recent high school meet, clocking 10 seconds flat. That’s flying, but it’s still a fair way short of Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set in 2009.

Gout and Shimizu could clash in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships which start on 13 September.

Meanwhile, Australia’s other sprint star, Lachie Kennedy – who has a legal time of 9.98 for the 100 metres – has pulled out of the championships with a stress fracture in his back.

F1: Racing towards a world title

Boy, that is some driving. In little more than a year, Oscar Piastri, 24, from Melbourne, has won eight Formula One races and is on course to become world champion, emulating Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.

For the record, it took other Aussie drivers Daniel Ricciardo 14 years to win eight races and Mark Webber 12 years to win nine.

Hansan Lu via Unsplash

Rugby union: A tour to remember

Once in 12 years, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team and their hordes of fans tour Australia. More than 40,000 Lions fans made the tour this winter and revelled in their team’s 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies. At the same time, they provided a welcome boost to the Australian economy.

According to NAB, the Melbourne leg of the tour alone generated more than $20 million at accommodation, food, retail and entertainment outlets.

The highlight was a dramatic finish in the second Test at the MCG, watched by a world record crowd for a rugby union match.

A senior English medico, Neil Tolley, joined the Lions throng with two old friends. This is what he said about his time Down Under:

“We received a fantastic welcome in Australia, explored wonderful cities and countryside and visited iconic venues, with the highlight being over 90,000 rugby fans at a packed MCG to watch a closely contested and exciting game.

“The series is now over and our collective experience of meeting fans, enjoying the rugby and the wonderful Australian people and the country will sit forever in our memories. Thank you, Australia, for putting on the very best of shows and giving us the time of our lives!”

Today About Time launches a regular sports column. Please let us know what you’d like to see covered. Send your opinions to our sports editor, Goal Mouth.

Willy Pleasance

NRL/AFL: ‘Outsiders’ threaten the homes of football

The natural homes of football – Sydney for the NRL and Melbourne for the AFL – are under threat from ‘outsiders’.

With the finals fast approaching, Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm and NZ Warriors occupy three of the top four spots on the NRL ladder.

In the AFL, Adelaide, Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney, Fremantle and even Gold Coast are breathing down the necks of Melbourne-based power teams Collingwood (4th) and Hawthorn (8th), with Geelong (2nd) well in the premiership race as usual.

This reminds me of an old friend, an ex-Melburnian living in Sydney. He supports the Storm in the NRL because he knows how much that annoys Sydneysiders and Sydney in the AFL because he knows how much that annoys Melburnians. No wonder he’s a friend.

Unsplash

Cricket: Ugly England loses its moral compass

Are the English turning into ugly Aussies on the cricket field? The players seem to have listened to their coach, New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who urged them to be less friendly to opponents. McCullum’s comments came during England’s gripping series against India, which ended 2-2 after England collapsed in the fifth and final test to lose by just six runs.

In the drawn fourth test, captain Ben Stokes became bad tempered when Indian batters Ravi Jadeja and Washington Sundar wanted to keep batting until they reached their centuries rather than call the game off early.

Stokes and his teammates – regarded by many English fans as the ‘moral guardians’ of cricket – turned nasty when they realised they couldn’t win. They barely acknowledged their opponents’ milestones, made spiteful remarks and half-heartedly chased the ball to the boundary.

It seems that the England players’ commitment to entertaining cricket works only if they’re on top. They’re becoming hard to like – and, if Stokes and co try it on when they come to Australia this summer, they’re bound to feel plenty of heat from local fans.

Unsplash

Athletics: Run like the wind

Australian teenage sprinting sensation Gout Gout has a new rival. Gout, who is 17, has a fastest legal time of 10.17 seconds for the 100 metres (he has broken 10 seconds twice, but they were wind assisted).

Japan’s Sorato Shimizu, who is just 16, broke the under-18 world record at a recent high school meet, clocking 10 seconds flat. That’s flying, but it’s still a fair way short of Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set in 2009.

Gout and Shimizu could clash in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships which start on 13 September.

Meanwhile, Australia’s other sprint star, Lachie Kennedy – who has a legal time of 9.98 for the 100 metres – has pulled out of the championships with a stress fracture in his back.

F1: Racing towards a world title

Boy, that is some driving. In little more than a year, Oscar Piastri, 24, from Melbourne, has won eight Formula One races and is on course to become world champion, emulating Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.

For the record, it took other Aussie drivers Daniel Ricciardo 14 years to win eight races and Mark Webber 12 years to win nine.

Hansan Lu via Unsplash

Rugby union: A tour to remember

Once in 12 years, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team and their hordes of fans tour Australia. More than 40,000 Lions fans made the tour this winter and revelled in their team’s 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies. At the same time, they provided a welcome boost to the Australian economy.

According to NAB, the Melbourne leg of the tour alone generated more than $20 million at accommodation, food, retail and entertainment outlets.

The highlight was a dramatic finish in the second Test at the MCG, watched by a world record crowd for a rugby union match.

A senior English medico, Neil Tolley, joined the Lions throng with two old friends. This is what he said about his time Down Under:

“We received a fantastic welcome in Australia, explored wonderful cities and countryside and visited iconic venues, with the highlight being over 90,000 rugby fans at a packed MCG to watch a closely contested and exciting game.

“The series is now over and our collective experience of meeting fans, enjoying the rugby and the wonderful Australian people and the country will sit forever in our memories. Thank you, Australia, for putting on the very best of shows and giving us the time of our lives!”

About Time Book Club: Archer’s Voice

About Time Book Club: Archer’s Voice

About Time Book Club: Archer’s Voice

By About Time
By About Time

This month, we’re reading Archer’s Voice, featuring our very own interview with the author, Mia Sheridan. Archer’s Voice is a New York Times bestselling romance novel. The novel centres on Archer Hale, a reclusive and mute young man with a troubled past, and Bree Prescott, a woman trying to escape her own traumatic history.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 5

7 MIN READ

Film Review of Wicked Little Letters

Film Review of Wicked Little Letters

Film Review of Wicked Little Letters

By Vincent
By Vincent

Set in the period following ‘The Great War’ (World War I), Wicked Little Letters is a comedic re-telling of true events that took place in Littlehampton, England.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 12

2 MIN READ

Review of Songs Inside

Review of Songs Inside

Review of Songs Inside

By About Time
By About Time

Songs Inside received the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival and Documentary Australia Award at the Sydney Film Festival. It’s touring around the country.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 13

2 MIN READ

Book Club Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

Book Club Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

Book Club Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

By About Time
By About Time

Set on a quiet island in the dead of winter, The Wife and the Widow is a gripping mystery/thriller told from two perspectives.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

6 MIN READ

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Book Club Review: The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

By About Time

Set on a quiet island in the dead of winter, The Wife and the Widow is a gripping mystery/thriller told from two perspectives.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

6 MIN READ

Movie Review of The Wasp

By Vincent

The Wasp is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the viewer in suspense until the very last moment.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 9

2 MIN READ

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Reviewed by Mark

I've read thousands of novels over the last fifty-odd years and not one of them was romance, but while I'm trying new things – like paraplegia and prison – I might as well add in a romance novel to my life experience.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 8

3 MIN READ

Movie Review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

By Vincent

Welcome to the planet where the apes are rulers and the humans – as far as we know – are reduced to a subspecies.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 8

2 MIN READ

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