The movie The Marathon Man could well have starred the late Roger Bond for he loved to run marathons. Even when he suffered a heart attack not long after he completed one in his late 60s and had to undergo open-heart surgery, he couldn’t wait to get back to competition.

Earlier this year at age 70, Roger Bond’s big heart finally gave up and he died of a heart attack at home sitting in his favourite chair.

The lure of increasingly difficult to win premierships has resulted in AFL teams becoming ever more competitive and, as this season passes the halfway mark, 2013 is proving no different with the top sides knuckling down for a tight race to the finish.

At this time of the year knowing the interest it generates, Leski Auctions at 13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East invariably has some football memorabilia up for grabs.

Paintings by the man responsible for building the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in St Kilda Road will be a major highlight of Philips Auctions decorative arts and furniture sale from noon on Sunday, June 16.

Eric Westbrook was appointed NGV director in 1954 and, at the time, the gallery was housed in a decrepit Victorian-era building – later redeveloped as the State Library of Victoria.

Having two grandfathers who are respected antique dealers and silversmiths is bound to influence any young boy in his collecting habits.

Growing up in Worthing, England Graham Chismon was no exception. Although he studied accountancy and later practised at Monsanto in Melbourne, Mr Chismon’s passion for collecting continued to burn – particularly so after 1990 when his family had grown up. An eventual relocation to Victor Harbour in South Australia led to his appointment by Hamilton Museum as an expert in Rockingham porcelain.