“As a contributor, may I note, and to be added to your philatelic vexillologists (C8) store of knowledge that the supervising engineer in charge of the re-erection of the clock tower and flagpole in 1964 was none other than the well-known Frederick Kenneth Hosking (‘Ken’), who I will now refer to as Dad,” writes Robert Hosking of Paddington. “I accompanied Dad to the stone yard where the masonry was stored, carefully laid out and numbered. Dad also taught me (inter alia) the secrets (excepting DA, of course) of solving the Herald cryptic crossword, and spent his retirement heavily engaged in philately.”
And may Granny note that, last Wednesday (September 28) marked one year since we last accidently called you Robert Hoskins. At least you would’ve scored a few plaudits for The Long Good Friday.
Marcus Daniel of Bellingen is on the case: “Too late, Clive Waterman (C8), young woman spotted riding her three wheeled suitcase in Sydney airport on 7 August after leaving a flight from the relative backwater of Mauritius. Any earlier sightings from C8-ers?”
“I recall an Edward Loong (C8) witty one-liner in C8 not too long ago about getting lawyers to smile in photos by saying ‘fees’ rather than ‘cheese’,” says Col Burns of Lugarno. “It reminded me of the maxim that a bad lawyer can let a case drag out for several years whereas a good one can make it last even longer.”
Joy Cooksey of Harrington reckons that “Colleen Starkey’s lens-problem spider (C8) was obviously just trying to get a better view of a new website.”
Warren Mitchell of Mosman was “riding my motorcycle in the country and stopped to relieve myself [Too much information, Waz - Granny] and placed my helmet on top of a fencepost. After resuming riding, I noticed a large spider climbing across the visor of my full face helmet. When brushing failed to remove the hitchhiker, I realised it was on the inside of the helmet! Subsequent rapid stop and helmet removal ensued.”
Still on the road, Robert McElhone of Roseville was just thinking: “Not that I want to, but if I wanted to put my car over a cliff like in a typical action movie, how do I do it? My new car hits the brakes automatically if I open the door while it’s moving?” Suddenly, the “remain in your vehicle (if you think it’s a good idea)” instruction doesn’t appeal.
Column8@smh.com.au
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