A plea from Wendy Crew of Lane Cove North: “Would you put me out of my misery and explain what B.T.C. food is, please? An online search reveals many restaurants called B.T.C. with one possible explanation being Best Teriyaki Chicken, but I don’t think that’s it (is it?). Would appreciate your esteemed advice.” An explanation can be found in the following item.
“Yes, Joy Cooksey (née Marshall), I attended Bathurst Teachers College in 1958/59,” confirms Barry Wooldridge of Harden. “I was a youthful 17, still growing, and always hungry. While many students approached the institutionalised cuisine with trepidation, I consumed the meals with enthusiasm, attempting to delay the next pangs of hunger. While some were surviving, I was thriving.”
“My family has another of the George Reid statues (C8) as found by Colin Taylor-Evans,” reports Scott Illingworth of Kiama. “Maybe George had always thought for him, it was PM or bust.”
Stephen Tait of Rose Bay has also uncovered some prime ministerial bric-a-brac: “Inheriting my great uncle’s sideboard, we found an old, battered silver teapot. ‘The Sir Edmund Barton Trophy for Vaucluse Junior Sailing 1937-38’. This seems appropriate as PM Barton was known as ‘Toby Tosspot’, and that no doubt accounts for the dents. The trophy was awarded to my mother’s cousin, Malcolm Burgess, sailing his Vaucluse Junior ‘Brownie’. Malcolm died over Normandy when his Lancaster was shot down on D-Day. VJ skipper to tail gunner. Lest we forget.”
“Chris Roylance (C8) has rightly called my bluff; I’m no gourmet,” admits Col Burns of Lugarno. “Not only have I never consumed truffle oil, my most epicurean dining experience involves substituting tomato sauce with a fancy relish, and then regretting it. However, it is now comforting to know that my kidneys are safe from being posthumously punched by any glorified cooks.”
Remaining in first class, Eve Colley of Coffs Harbour writes: “I think Twinkies and Humbugs would be the most appropriate additions to the gourmet buffets and Chateau Lafites of the Chairman’s Lounge. Licorice allsorts are wasted on the patrician classes and should be left to those who really appreciate them.”
Barry Cranston of Panania reckons the bleating of fuddy duddy old boys (C8) is the wrong pitch: “In 2006 there was also an outcry at Barker College when the first girl was selected for the school’s first XI cricket side. I’m sure 16-year-old Alyssa Healy became an asset to the team.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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