The dawning of an elephantine era
'We Herald letter writers may be fond of clichés and over-used metaphors but, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, we're (literally) on the same page in our desire to maintain anonymity for the 'elephant in the room' (C8) because any public vote would likely proffer Trunky McTrunkface,' offers the always erudite Col Burns of Lugarno.
'No need to cry crocodile tears Dawn Hope, your curiosity, while it won't kill the cat, is a red herring, and you may be on a wild goose chase trying to find out the name of that elephant,' adds Mary Carde of Parrearra (Qld). 'I've heard it straight from the horse's mouth, who put that very same question to the fly on the wall; apparently while they're all having a whale of a time, nobody knows who's who in the zoo.'
For Pasquale Vartuli of Wahroonga, Dawn's search has thrown up another mythical poseur: 'Apropos the name of the elephant in the room, who was 'Larry Dooley' often referred to by rugby league commentator Frank Hyde?'
Col Mitty of Warrawee and his mates know how to get the lead out: 'I've been reminded of the moment in my pre-teens when a friend aimed his air rifle (C8) at another friend and struck the target between the eyes. The pellet slid under his skin stopping just under one eye. I was shocked, the shooter was speechless and the target screamed. I don't believe the police were informed.'
'The passing of John Shakespeare marks the end of a short but illustrious life of a highly talented cartoonist,' writes Allan Gibson of Cherrybrook. 'Many of his Fairfax/Nine colleagues will hold special memories with those who left this masthead receiving a caricature of themselves. Away from the newsroom, but looming large over Granny's shoulder, one George Manojlovic of Mangerton was named in August 2016 as Column 8's most prodigious contributor. His prize was a caricature of himself depicted with the Column 8 doctorate drawn by John Shakespeare. For the record, George had 68 entries. He was closely followed by Paul Hunt of Engadine (66), Jim Dewar of North Gosford (65) and yours truly (59).'
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