Latest news with #Column8
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
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).'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
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).'
Sydney Morning Herald
13-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Flush with excess
Having been reminded by our friend Carmel Kenniff of Randwick that she reads Column 8 over breakfast and having been informed by Graham Lum of North Rocks that 'the ongoing anecdotes about dunnies (C8) are becoming a pain in the butt,' we think now might be a good time to can the toilet talk, but not before we get an archival perspective from Wendy Bull of North Turramurra: 'I remember my history teacher in the '60s, telling us to count our blessings. The ancient Romans used a communal 'sponge on a stick' (called a 'tersorium') which they dunked in troughs of salt water and if there was no sponge available, they'd use shards of old pottery. If they were out in the country then soft growing moss was used. Think I know what I'd prefer!' 'If you were a brewer, Jim Dewar, You'd gather that steaming manure, Set up a still, On top of the hill, And brew Dewar's Pure Cow-lua.' For this offering, we thank the epical George Manojlovic of Mangerton. Richard Stewart of Pearl Beach has been a C8 contributor on and off for a few decades or so and wants to convey in strongest of terms 'I despise fitted sheets and fitted sheets despise me.' 'Years ago the circus, was parked next to our farm,' writes Kate Fraser of Scone. 'It was a very noisy night as something seemed to have disturbed the lions. Next morning, 300 upset dairy cows (C8) were pressed as close as possible to the shed gate. Milk yield was down for a few days.' Kelvin Atkinson's (C8) premium offering has reminded David Prest of Thrumster that 'nobody's mentioned the man from Waltons who helped housewives plan their budgets.' On hearing that New Zealand's Finance Minister Nicola Willis said that people leaving the country for Australia was 'an ongoing challenge', which could be addressed by growing the economy, Bill Leigh of West Pennant Hills recalled a statement made in the 1980s by then NZ prime minister Robert 'Piggy' Muldoon when commenting about the increasing exodus: 'New Zealanders who leave for Australia raise the IQ of both countries.' 'Not so sure about the wet newspaper test of sharpness (C8),' says Geoff Carey of Pagewood. 'I remember getting into a lot of trouble for using my mother's dressmaking scissors to cut paper. Apparently, paper blunts the blade.' Not with the good scissors, Geoff!
The Age
13-05-2025
- General
- The Age
Flush with excess
Having been reminded by our friend Carmel Kenniff of Randwick that she reads Column 8 over breakfast and having been informed by Graham Lum of North Rocks that 'the ongoing anecdotes about dunnies (C8) are becoming a pain in the butt,' we think now might be a good time to can the toilet talk, but not before we get an archival perspective from Wendy Bull of North Turramurra: 'I remember my history teacher in the '60s, telling us to count our blessings. The ancient Romans used a communal 'sponge on a stick' (called a 'tersorium') which they dunked in troughs of salt water and if there was no sponge available, they'd use shards of old pottery. If they were out in the country then soft growing moss was used. Think I know what I'd prefer!' 'If you were a brewer, Jim Dewar, You'd gather that steaming manure, Set up a still, On top of the hill, And brew Dewar's Pure Cow-lua.' For this offering, we thank the epical George Manojlovic of Mangerton. Richard Stewart of Pearl Beach has been a C8 contributor on and off for a few decades or so and wants to convey in strongest of terms 'I despise fitted sheets and fitted sheets despise me.' 'Years ago the circus, was parked next to our farm,' writes Kate Fraser of Scone. 'It was a very noisy night as something seemed to have disturbed the lions. Next morning, 300 upset dairy cows (C8) were pressed as close as possible to the shed gate. Milk yield was down for a few days.' Kelvin Atkinson's (C8) premium offering has reminded David Prest of Thrumster that 'nobody's mentioned the man from Waltons who helped housewives plan their budgets.' On hearing that New Zealand's Finance Minister Nicola Willis said that people leaving the country for Australia was 'an ongoing challenge', which could be addressed by growing the economy, Bill Leigh of West Pennant Hills recalled a statement made in the 1980s by then NZ prime minister Robert 'Piggy' Muldoon when commenting about the increasing exodus: 'New Zealanders who leave for Australia raise the IQ of both countries.' 'Not so sure about the wet newspaper test of sharpness (C8),' says Geoff Carey of Pagewood. 'I remember getting into a lot of trouble for using my mother's dressmaking scissors to cut paper. Apparently, paper blunts the blade.' Not with the good scissors, Geoff!
The Age
24-04-2025
- General
- The Age
Anecdote delivered, by George
'Growing up in Wombarra in the '50s, I remember the home-delivered ice, bread and milk (C8),' writes George Manojlovic of Mangerton. 'I reckon we also had the first takeaway, of sorts. Our next-door neighbour was the dunny man who drove the red truck and swapped the pans. We local kids took great delight in gleefully boasting that it was the fastest truck in the world because it had 40 pistons and flies.' Peter Miniutti of Ashbury recalls that 'Back in the '80s, milk was still delivered in the morning where I lived. My dog would help himself to the cartons delivered to houses in the street. My neighbours were aware of this and would quickly retrieve their milk when it was delivered. I answered a knock on the door early one morning to find the milkman, who informed me my dog was now jumping on the back of the truck and helping himself to milk cartons out of the crates.' Not everyone got their ice delivered, according to Sharon McGuinness of Thirroul. 'In the late 1930s when my dad was a boy in Canley Vale, the iceworks was at the end of their street in The Grove. Always handy and indeed a problem-solver, he built a little cart and hitched it to his trusty blue heeler, Digger, making my dad's task of collecting the ice a snack.' 'I'm so impressed by Column 8 contributors who can remember their Argonauts (C8) name and number,' says Pam Rawling of Freshwater. 'I joined at eight and promptly lost the piece of paper. Seventy years on I'm still looking for it.' 'I was lucky enough to be at Anzac Cove a few days ago,' reports Steve Hulbert of West Kempsey. 'Preparations were well underway for the dawn service. The stage was all set, including the podium, so we couldn't resist a photo-op. The governor-general will give an address, but I beat her by four days, and yes, security told us to get off the podium.'
