“On Monday night, on the American TV quiz show, Jeopardy, the question was asked, ‘The letters SMH can stand for the same expression as OMG, and for a newspaper in the land Down Under’,” notes Christine Miller of Robertson. “The American contestant knew the answer: ‘Shaking my Head’ and ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’. World Famous SMH!”
George Manojlovic of Mangerton has more on the Flight into Egypt (C8) itinerary for Jack Dikian: “Yes, Jack, there was a stopover – it’s depicted in Caravaggio’s Rest on the Flight to Egypt. In it, the subjects are quite obviously baroque, but of course, they would be: the flight was not-for-prophet.”
Just south of Berry, the Turfco cows like a roadside theme. We’ve had Barbie & Ken, State of Origin, even Santa and his ‘cowdeers’, and now we’ve got Paris 2024. Bob Ambrose of Narooma reports that “Green and gold cows and calves adorn a magnificent 10-metre-high, hand-built Eiffel Tower (we suspect made from old pallets). It made our patriotic blood surge.”
George Zivkovic of Northmead notes that “Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic are participating in the Olympics, where they hope to get their fourth medal for rowing. Unfortunate surnames given their sport?”
Switching to the NRLW where Ian Aldridge of Goulburn observes that the teams “have the same names as those in the NRL, including: Sydney Roosters, Newcastle Knights and North Queensland Cowboys. I think the more appropriate team names would be: Hens, Dames and Cowgirls.”
“I lived west of Cowra,” recalls Seppo Ranki of Glenhaven. “Going into my room to change out of my uniform after school one day, I found a snake (C8) neatly coiled in the middle of my bed. After being disturbed, it slithered under the bed and disappeared into a gap in the floorboards of the ancient cottage we lived in. A lot of carpentry was done the next three hours before I could contemplate sleeping in that bed.”
“Over a decade ago my youngest son, a ‘city boy’ in his initial week of teaching at Braidwood Central, was confronted by the sight of a huge eastern brown snake in the playground,” writes Janice Creenaune of Austinmer. “A Year 10 student jumped into action to assist, picked it up and delivered it over the fence. Unfortunately, for his efforts, the student was given detention by another staff member, for ‘playing with the snake’.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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