Despite a history that goes back over 100 years and the usual myriad of missing trophy tales and Anzac altruism, Peter Jennings of Minyama (Qld) isn’t buying the Soccer Ashes: “Puh-leeze. Soccer Ashes? Give it a break. There is only one Ashes series – Australia v England in the cricket. All the rest that claim to be Ashes series should be sued for false advertising.”
“Recent mentions of Trumpian poetry [C8] have reminded me of a prize I won back in 2006 at the end of an HR conference,” writes Chris Payne of Leppington. “It was a small book entitled The Power of Nice. On the front cover was a quote: ‘If you want to discover the surprising power of nice, read this book. Memorise it. Use it. You’ll be glad you did’ – Donald Trump. I wonder if he did?”
Like Franz Weiss, Mangerton’s George Manojlovic is also familiar with the dart run: “My favourite ‘job’ [C8] in high school was being sent to the corner shop to buy cigarettes for our history teacher. It was a ‘keep the change’ arrangement and proved lucrative for a poor teenager. The brand was Camel, reputedly the only fags with a picture of the factory on the packet.”
It was similar for Lance Dover of Pretty Beach during his days as an office junior: “One of my tasks was to run to the shop to buy St Bruno tobacco for the office manager. Pipe replenished, he would then supervise the office staff behind a suitably dense smoke screen. Managers were also provided with a cigarette allowance and lovely desk-top wooden box to put them in. How times have changed.”
When Warwick Sherman (C8) wondered if Andrew Taubman of Queens Park was a former classmate, it triggered memories of hard knocks: “Just between you and me, Warwick – I am indeed he. Just don’t tell the student and staff bullies, who made a misery of my eight years at Knox!”
“An artesian bakery [C8] on the Sunshine Coast?” questions Jim Dewar of Davistown. “Well, well, well. Aquifer at the thought!”
“The moment a roaming emu at Western Plains Zoo snuck up behind me and took my chicken burger before it reached my mouth, I instinctively called it a thieving cannibal [C8],” recalls Anne Cook of Ermington. “So, in answer to Alison Brooks’ question, yes, and they love cooked chicken too.”
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