White Pages and Yellow Pages 2026/27 so thin it can be folded twice
“Last week I encountered a striking example of the pace of change,” writes Steve Hulbert of West Kempsey. “My new White Pages and Yellow Pages phone book for 2026/27 has been delivered, folded not once but twice and placed in the narrow front slot of my letterbox. Imagine trying to imagine this a few decades ago!”
Judging by readers’ various anti-advertising campaigns, the grandmother thinks she dodged a bullet by avoiding terrestrial TV (C8). One such reader is Daniel Flesch from Bellingen: “I was annoyed/amused by the TV commercial for a certain brand of car, in which the driver holds the steering wheel in a five-to-one position. The ad activates the car’s safety warning if the car moves outside the center line, but does not give the driver enough control to five-to-one. I’m sure we all know that the safe position is ten to two?”
Katoomba’s Jonty Grinter is no fan of chatty types: “The all-too-common TV advert that both annoys and baffles me is for a hotel price comparison service, featuring a dazzlingly white, rather unkempt man with a wide smile, completely even incisors, all incisors and no canines. It’s very strange.”
“Thanks to Lance Rainey for his corrections on dog breeds (C8),” says Dave Williams of Port Macquarie. “In my humble defense, I am colorblind; a very common disorder that has gotten me into trouble in the past. Thanks, Mom! Women pass it on but rarely display it. I’ve only ever met one colorblind woman, the poor soul was an ophthalmologist.”
“My sister cleaned out our parents’ pantry in 2018 and sent photos of expired pantry items (C8),” recalls Lorraine Palmer of Dural. “The oldest was a jar of ground cumin with an expiration date of 02/08/87. I was laughing about it when my mother-in-law pulled out a jar of Schumann Mineral Salts (cleverly used for constipation, among other things). Date unknown but priced at 2/9, so pre-1966.”
“While having lunch with my friends Peter and Heather, I asked them how long they had been married,” says Richard Pierce of Elizabeth Bay. “‘We’re on to our second bottle of Tabasco,'” Pete replied.
A visit to the Central Coast is a goodwill gesture: “My spirits were immediately lifted when, laden with shopping, tired and drenched on a terribly rainy day, I parked behind a little red car with a sticker on the rear window that read: Dear person behind me, I hope something good happens to you today. So much love for the other person.” Thank you Marion Newall of Point Frederick.
Column8@smh.com.au
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