The old-boy network has your cards marked
“Not only am I an old fart (C8), but myself and many of my friends were card-carrying members of the Australasian Order of Old Bastards in the 70s.” claims Greg Mudie from Dungog. “The rules of the cult were explained by a fellow member asking, ‘How’s it going, you old bastard?’ When met with the statement, it was stipulating. You had to present your card. The punishment for not doing so was a round of drinking. “I fondly remember the look of fear we encountered when we challenged our friend KO as he emerged from the surf at Freshwater Beach, naturally cardless.”
“I remember the ANU scavenger hunt very well as a student there in the 1960s,” says Stein Boddington, from St Clair. “The criminals were seriously advised to return the mace to the Houses of Parliament before anyone realized it was missing. The Drysdale pictures on the War Memorial were hung and properly preserved. I think the sign outside the Civic Center Police Station was finally returned and the Japanese tourists were allowed to continue their holiday by the busload. Those were the days!”
“My student sister and her boyfriend came to our house in the mid-1950s,” recalls Judy Jackson of Orange. “They borrowed our baby daughter as the only pure candidate they knew who qualified as a required virgin!”
Duncan McRobert of Hawks Nest writes: “Recent comments about wine descriptions (C8) reminded me of the scene at a dinner party when the host brings out a bottle he claims has been hiding in the cellar for 10 years.” “A guest who knew a little about wine was asked for his opinion: ‘I’ll put it off for another 10 minutes, if it still doesn’t work, I’ll put it off for garbos at Christmas.'”
It’s been a long time since our Davistown poet laureate Jim Dewar brought us the news of the day in verse, but what better time than the FIFA World Cup? Some football friends from Brussels,
Experienced in challenging football matches,
Trump’s plan was foiled
And the dream of your team,
Flexing his football muscles.
I couldn’t help but notice the name of the ship in the picture. reporter Shane Wright’s article ‘Less pain at the gas pump, but more pain at the grocery bill’ says: Brooke Walker from Blackmans Bay. “Unfortunately, it’s called ARSHIT. I think that sums up the mood in the Strait of Hormuz right now.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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