Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has journalists in every state and territory. Sign up here to get it by email, or here to forward it to a friend. Today's is written by ACM national agriculture writer Chris McLennan.
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Count me among the many who have enjoyed the reality television renovation show The Block over the years.
Yes, it has lots and lots of failings but as someone much wiser than me once said - knowing where the danger lurks is the best way to avoid it - or something like that.
Product placement is rife, the sponsor follows the segment with an advertisement - there's no attempt to hide it.
Keith and Dan haven't been on screen for a while, get them to do the rounds of the contestant's homes to hand out some Maccas.
These last few years it has been all about skylights - last year I had never seen so many in a single building, there was hardly any roof once the Velux (yep mentioned at least 10 times per show) installers arrived.
It looks as though this year is heading the same way.
There are some worthwhile reno tips among all this blatant commercialism.
How many pillows can you fit on a bed, a room reveal missing a throw rug on that self-same bed - oooh the shame of it.
Anyway, I reckon there is far worse entertainment out there, and it's still free-to-air.
I have managed to have a look at most of these Block projects in recent years, to see what all the fuss was about in real life.
Not that I'm upset if I miss an episode, clearly I'm not that sort of fan.
But these projects are nearby in Melbourne, many of them are inner-city and almost become tourist attractions in their own right.
Come auction time (months after we have downed tools for the last time) the crowds out the front are enormous.
It's not advisable for the new owner to creep out the front garden during the night to wee on the lemon tree - you'd end up with your picture on social media.
Builders, tradies, real estate agents, even bankers have become celebrities thanks to the success of The Block.
This year's competition is being waged less than half an hour from where I live at Gisborne, north-west of Melbourne.
This is their tree change year.
Nine gave a local farmer and his sheep the boot and moved five old homes onto his land to give what appears to be five city couples a chance at interpreting what country looks like.
Now I have lived in the country most of my life, I reckon I have a pretty good idea of what country folk like so I am following closely.
The first episode had one contestant nailing some uneven and rough boards up behind a bed to get the rustic look.
Fair enough try but na, country people like easy-to-clean, they like modern. That's what I think.
I'm waiting for a rocking chair on a verandah.
Remember when hobby farms were almost a curse word, then they became farmlets, now they are lifestyle blocks - it's all about marketing.
Whether people like it not, Nine's show, and their sponsors set trends for the way rooms are furnished.
While I am sad yet another farmer has been lost to the urban sprawl, I am fascinated to see how "country" is defined be these sleep-deprived folk.
Sad and a little angry - who is going to grow our food if we keep this up? I just hope the farmer got a handy quid for his dirt.
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