“I wonder if any research has been done into the effectiveness of corflutes on the outcome of an election?” writes Maggie Cooper of Culburra Beach. “Has anybody ever changed their mind walking into a polling booth because of an abundance of plastic mugshots out the front? Yesterday I saw literally hundreds bearing the likeness of a certain former transport minister, famous for ordering ferries that wouldn’t fit under bridges, on a drive from Nowra to Ulladulla. Visual pollution – and I still won’t be voting for him.”
Pre-streaming television (C8) causing society to grind to a halt wasn’t just confined to these shores. Roger Harvey of Balgowlah tunes in: “I hitchhiked through South Africa in 1982. (No, I wouldn’t recommend it now.) As I recall it, there was only one channel, broadcasting four hours in English and four in Afrikaans. All the restaurants closed up on Tuesday nights, as everyone was at home – watching Dallas.”
Pat Smith of Greystanes says that even the good lord had to wait: “In my hometown in the ’60s, Sunday’s Evensong had to be rescheduled because everyone was staying home to watch The Forsyte Saga.”
“Regarding Gail Grogan’s hair-raising contribution (C8), I purchased my first yacht, a second-hand Northshore 31, in 1992, then the much misnamed ‘Going Grey’,” says Warwick Sherman of Huntleys Point. “Four offshore racing yachts and 33 years later, my next boat should perhaps be called ‘Going Bald’.”
“With reference to images of ‘Putin’s stool pigeon’ on toilet paper (C8), I presume the pun was intended?” queries Ruth Magoffin of Cheltenham.
Steve Hulbert’s accidental seniors’ discount (C8) reminded Margaret Malhas of Willoughby of the time she went to Centrelink to resolve a problem with her father’s pension: “I approached the bright young thing on the desk and said “I’m here about the age pension’. She looked at me and said, ‘I can see that’s why you’re here’. I was in my early 40s with not a hint of grey in my hair.”
Nick Walker of Springwood has an interesting angle on the parking preference (C8) discussion: “Back in the day, newlywed, I asked my wife why she always reversed into a parking spot. ‘Makes for a quick getaway,’ she replied. I enquired no further.” For Neil Jones of Panania, it seems that “if you reverse into a shopping centre carpark space, you leave your boot truncated.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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