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Rob Venables of Bermagui has a use for the tie (C8) that we hadn’t considered: “In our sailing days I was privileged to cruise to New Zealand with Ian Kiernan, founder of Clean up Australia. Ian reckoned the only good thing about ties was to start an outboard motor when the cord broke.”
“Before supermarkets sold reusable bags, I belonged to a Boomerang Bag sewing group, recycling old fabrics such as curtains into bags to leave outside supermarkets for shoppers to take for free,” says Stephanie Edwards of Leichhardt. “We often used donated old ties to make the handles. Reduced both plastic bag usage and the amount of fabric going into landfill.”
Ron Burke of Arrawarra has another tale from the bowser (C8): “On apprentice wages some 70 years ago, I’d often only put one gallon (4.54 litres) at 2 shillings a time in my ’28 Chev (frequently running out of petrol with a gravity system instead of a pump is another story). Today at a local servo that gallon was $10.89.”
Think yourself lucky, Margaret Grove (C8). Geoff Kervin of Shellharbour remembers dining in a motel in Norseman, WA. “I asked for the wine list to be told, ‘there are three bottles on the shelf behind the bar. Take your pick’.”
Having had about a month of assorted remedies, we reckon it’s time to discharge the subject, but first, here’s Ross Storey of Normanhurst: “Being a sickly child, I was forced to take a tablespoon of an evil concoction called Waterbury’s Compound every night before dinner. It impacted upon my early education as I sat in class trying to figure out ways to avoid the daily torture. I recently looked up the ingredients and found it contained cod liver oil and, believe it or not, creosote!”
And with that, the last word goes to Tim Slack-Smith of Castle Hill: “I would ask Nola Tucker if, after a spoon of olive oil, an orange did not have a peel?”
“Recently, the BOM had the temperature for our area as ’16.7, feels like 16.6′. I know about the wind chill factor, relative humidity and all that, but isn’t that being a tiny bit ridiculous?” asks David Morrison of Springwood. Ridiculous is right, but it’s not deterring Bob Hall of Wyoming: “Can anyone tell me how to get a ‘feels like’ contraption/thermometer? Or is it only the weather bureau that has one?”
Column8@smh.com.au
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