“Donald Trump knows how to turn a quick buck, but he seems to have overlooked an obvious grift,” reckons Peter Riley of Penrith. “In 1941, German bombers scored a direct hit on the British House of Commons. To help pay for the rebuild, bits of the building were salvaged and sold as souvenirs. I have a two kilo block of sandstone with a numbered certificate of authenticity, signed by a colonel. Seems that Trump was in such a hurry to make the East Wing disappear that he overlooked the obvious hustle.”
“Happy Halloween to my favourite little trick-or-treaters and may your night be filled with ghosts, ghouls and giggles,” declares the good-willed Jack Dikian of Mosman. “PS. Our two-year-old French bulldog is meaner than he looks.”
The episode of Return to Paradise (C8) that Don Bain refers to was filmed at our local Wombarra Bowlo, in the Northern Illawarra, and incidentally (and appropriately) across the road from the cemetery, with one of the best views on the coast,” says Janice Creenaune of Austinmer. “It once harboured a mother whale and her calf for half a day. It was a beautiful and memorable experience for many of us.”
The renown of Kevin Rudd’s chief doppelgänger, Paul Hunt (C8), is well known, as Max Redmayne of Drummoyne can validate: “It was at the Sydney Writers’ Festival when Kevin Rudd was launching a book by Bob Katter and asked for questions. Paul Hunt was immediately to his feet and asked Kevin: ‘Given that I’m older than you, when people tell me I look like you, shouldn’t it be that you, Kevin, look like me, Paul?’ Kevin was not amused.”
“In September 2025, C8 kindly included my plea to save Milsons Point Post Office from a planned permanent closure on November 12,” writes Edward Loong of Milsons Point. “As Australia Post has now apparently agreed to it remaining open, huge hugs Granny from relieved locals for being instrumental in this welcomed outcome.” It’s nice to get the stamp of approval.
“We’ve had clichémeisters [C8] long before AI,” asserts William Galton, of Hurstville Grove. “Giants were always gentle, police would either pounce or swoop, and snow in winter always turned the ground into a wonderland. Masculinity was toxic and anti-social activity was a scourge.” Marilyn Chapple of Duffy (ACT) adds, “And the residents interviewed in those ‘tight-knit communities’ are always shocked because it’s a ‘quiet neighbourhood’.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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