Starting with the bushfire reports at the start of the year, 2020 was the year that the Auslan interpretation accompanying news briefings achieved the long-deserved recognition for just how expressive and useful sign language is. Barbara Wilson of Freshwater knows that young children learn a language very easily when people are using the language around them, and so wonders, "Are littlies now conversing in Auslan?"
Having become an avid watcher of the morning COVID briefing as he want to know when he will be able to finally give his grandchildren their Christmas presents, Matthew Wilson of Mona Vale has picked up one useful piece of Auslan. "The underarm swing with a balled hand means Bowlo."
Given that the sign on the entrance to Rookwood Cemetery says Rookwood Necropolis (city of the dead), the neighbourly Meryl Savage of Lidcombe "hopes the occupants are not disappointed to be excluded from attending the cricket test at the SCG".
Also noting the restrictions on attending the upcoming Test match in Sydney Richard Jary of Waitara says, "If residents of Rookwood turn up then I suspect we have a bigger problem than COVID as the zombie apocalypse has begun. But then 2021 has to out-do 2020 somehow."
Nola Tucker of Kiama remembers the last time we had a massive water storage challenge at Warragamba Dam after a major drought. "The Premier of the time begged the people of Sydney to turn on their taps to help lower the dam levels. Might be worth another try. Time to wash windows, cars and driveways."
David Calvey's contribution (C8) reminded Michael Box of Lugarno of his time living in the US, in particular of Coors beer, which according to the advertising was "made from 'pure Rocky Mountain spring water' ... and very little else. Then, they introduced Coors Lite, raising that fundamental chemistry question: 'Is it possible to dilute water?' "
Heather McAlpine of Kiama contributes an impressive entry to our list of unusual final resting places of body parts (C8). "To celebrate the end of an era my uterus was buried beneath a backyard tree with an ocean outlook. It was accompanied by a sign that proclaimed, 'Womb with a view'."
Having read of the good reasons to support the use of "inches" in our daily life, David Warren of Mona Vale asks, "May I seek your learned readers advice on the continuing (and only) use of 'footage' to describe a film clip?"
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