Column 8
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 25, 2008
Good Samaritan window cleaner Craig Williamson (Column 8, yesterday), can put away his poles. "Ah, the dynamics of shirts in trees," writes arboreal fashion freak Jean Peck. "The wind that blew it there also brought the rains, and the sodden garment clung. However, the rain finally ceased, the fabric dried out - and down it fluttered. All sorts of morals here, about ill winds, patience being a virtue, et al, but thanks!" Just think of it as an extended rinse cycle, Jean.
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the bicentennial First Fleet re-enactment. Anyone who was by the harbour that day (and can remember how on earth they got home) will recall the astonishing spectacle as the ships made their way through the hundreds of spectator craft. A little of that moment can be relived at an anniversary exhibition at the Avalon Recreation Centre, running until Monday. There's plenty on show - everything from ships in bottles to scrimshaw. (Scrimshaw ... Oh dear, what have we started with that?). Speaking of Australia Day, what better way to kybosh our discussion on weird food combinations than with a word from the GG? We heard during the week of milk'n'Coke cocktails, but the Herald's John Huxley was chatting to Major General Michael Jeffery in Tasmania the other day, and His Excellency recommended the perfect Australia Day refresher: ginger beer and milk. "Pour ginger beer into glass. Add milk. Stir. Just the job for a hot day." Column 8 wends its way from subject to subject without rhyme or reason, and here's a perfect example. "Bondi piers?" asks Wagga Wagga's June Coombes. "Intrigued by the mention of Bondi piers in your Surfoplane quest, and expecting something like Brighton Pier, I've found photos from 1930s showing two long brick/stone structures on the sand in front of the pavilion, nothing like expected. Does anyone have any information on their origins, purpose, construction? Are these just the bases? Was there originally a superstructure?" Louise Brown of Rapid Creek backs up Dave Edwards-Davis, who yesterday derided the alleged need to wrap rubbish. "Why do we need bin liners?" Louise asks. "What is wrong with using your bin, emptying it and rinsing it out? Garbage doesn't stay in the neat and tidy plastic bags once it gets tipped into the trucks and then into the landfill at the dump." That's true, but what about all the water used in the rinsing process? Maybe it's not an issue in a place called Rapid Creek.We haven't done any maths for yonks, so here we go. "Since subprime mortgages have been in the news," writes Ken Porter, of Byron Bay, "I offer this thought. A friend recently turned 55, a number divisible by five and 11, two prime numbers. This led me to wonder if, as a prime number is divisible by itself and one, would a number that is only divisible by itself and one, and two prime numbers, be a subprime number?" Column8@smh.com.au(no attachments please).Phone 9282 2207 fax 9282 2772. (include name, suburb, daytime phone)
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
