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“Up early and reading an online story about British pubs by Herald travel expert Ben Groundwater, I was astounded to see two embedded ads for GROUNDWATER DRILLING SERVICES, illustrated with a gushing pipe,” notes Mark Southcott of Thirroul. “By 7.45, news of this vital service had gone – humans may have intervened to challenge the ad-matching computer – but should we warn Ben?”
“I was excited, as a teenager, to be taken to Parramatta RSL with my parents for a rare celebratory meal,” recalls Maureen Partridge of Baulkham Hills. “Just as our main courses arrived, two men approached and told us to ‘eat up as fast as you can and then leave’. Our sin? My World War II veteran father was wearing a collared shirt and jacket but no tie (C8). Sixty years later I still avoid clubs.”
“Seeing reference to needing to wear a tie to get into the Chatswood Charles in the ’60s brought back memories of a liquor licence law where you could only buy a drink after 8pm if you were having a meal,” says Ian Costley of Belrose. “The Charles provided a tiny paper plate with a fish finger, meat ball and minute vegetable item to satisfy the law, at a bargain price. Luckily, there was no requirement to actually eat it.”
“On a morning walk last week I smiled and said good morning to a young woman walking in the opposite direction,” reports Jim Pollitt of Wahroonga. “She also smiled and nodded, then, as she drew level, she said, ‘Do you need a change of clothing?’ Hurriedly checking myself for a possible wardrobe malfunction, I turned to ask her for clarification, only to notice the little ear buds and realise she was talking hands-free on her phone.”
Joe Moore of Blaxland shares his train of thought: “It was reported yesterday that rail passengers were ‘detrained’ after the failure of the Sydney rail network. I assume they were ‘retrained’ when the problems were resolved. Any late passengers would, of course, ‘mistrain’.”
“James White’s item reminded me that the Duke of Edinburgh was a successful four-in-hand (C8) driver,” offers Brian Harris of Port Macquarie. “Alas, all the hard work of training the horses, polishing the harness, carriage, etc, was left to his large team of grooms. He merely turned up, competed, gave each horse a treat and departed. Makes Boyd Exell’s achievements even more special.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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