Collectivism doesn’t have to be a bore
“Speaking of mysteries and unanswered questions, most homes use an electric drill for less than an hour a year,” says Chris Commens of Rosebery. “Most homes have electric drills, though. I have three, so here’s a great idea. My street donates all its drills to a worthy cause and we buy one for the street to share. Oh, we need some rules then.”
“Does anyone know if those who invested in jojoba bean cultivation after the oil shocks of 1974 and 1979 have broad smiles on their faces today?” asks Alstonville’s Malcolm Johnson.
When various variations of the name Margaret (C8) were mentioned, David Woods of Melbourne Harbor mused: “Anyone make margaritas with chicken salt on the rim?”
Daniel Flesch from Bellingen has a rather descriptive grandparent name (C8): “Our grandchildren call me Danpa.”
The British seem to have a particularly poetic approach to railway signs (C8), as Philip Mosgrove of Adamstown Heights explains: “Many years ago, I saw a witty sign written on the toilet door of a British Southern District train: ‘We Encourage Constipation While the Train is in the Station’.”
And when necessary, passengers get straight to the point. Here’s Yvonne Kuvener from Wentworth Falls: “When we traveled on the Tube all over London in the mid-1970s, in the midst of the IRA conflict and the bombings. The sign said ‘If You See an Unattended or Suspicious Package, Do Not Touch’. Underneath it in bold pen was ‘For the Love of the F—‘.”
West Ryde’s Warren Finnan thinks: “With the recent focus on tram signage, the need for ‘No Expectations’ warnings is what was once a fare warning on the Sydney line down to The Spit.”
There is a lot of feedback about Betsy Richens (C8) and her concerns. Odille Esmonde-Morgan of Bridgewater (Tas) explains it for us: “Welkin is an old noun referring to the sky, the heavens or the upper atmosphere. Often used in literature and poetry to evoke a sense of expanse or divine space, it comes from the Old English word wolcen, meaning ‘cloud’ or ‘sky’. A common usage is the idiom ‘make the welkin ring’, meaning to fill the air with a loud noise or cheer. “He is doing it.”
John Flint of Naremburn adds: “As the blessed Romans finally left England, it was the Anglo-Saxons who shouted to the heavens.”
“There was an earthquake in Orange? That gives you added value.” Thanks to George Manojlovic From Mangerton.
Column8@smh.com.au
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