Greenhorns have got it plaid
More beginner bashing, this time from Drummoyne’s Pauline McGinley (C8): “It was not uncommon for ‘hairshirt’ students teaching in Scotland in the 1970s to be sent off in search of some of that elusive tartan paint. This often involved searching dark cupboards until a much-needed break could be secured for the teacher.”
William Galton of Hurstville Grove recalls a similar swatch for apprentices, but in his case it was striped paint and “sky hooks, full stall packs and horny pies. The latter for when you were sent to the bakery for smoking.”
Paul Duncan of Leura has a “slightly less fortunate story from the streets of Paddington (C8). We lived in a bald terrace in the 1960s (no front garden) and put the lounge suite on the path outside while painting the lounge suite. We had never heard of the local rapid recycling service and when we went out to bring the lounges back they were gone. It was off to Vinnies for us.”
“Better than libraries that lend trolleys, ladders, etc. (C8), peopleEastwood’s Barry Lamb claims: “They started in Denmark and there’s one in Perth too. They ‘lend out’ to people from different backgrounds so ‘borrowers’ can get a feel for people with different lifestyles and backgrounds.”
“Here it goes reporter We’re Americanizing our language again,” laments Peel’s Donald Hawes. “It’s not a pacifier, idiot!”
David Price of Mosman says: “My all-time favorite bumper sticker (C8), once seen at Balmain, said ‘My karma has just surpassed your dogma’.”
Bearing in mind that Aidan Cuddington was actually looking for alternatives to bumper stickers, Darlinghurst’s Ian McNeilly writes: “During a trip into the vehicular hell that is Los Angeles’ freeways, I spotted a sign on the rear window of a large four-wheel drive vehicle: ‘Cover me, I’m changing lanes’.”
True to the Golden State, Rose Bay’s Sue Leong said it’s “not an alternative to bumper stickers, but I still have the frame with my California license plate that says ‘Driver reads braille.’ Simple explanation: I taught students with visual impairments.”
Moving on to less popular stickers, Ashfield’s Jo Flores has other concerns: “Don’t get me started. When are we going to ban fruit/vegetable stickers? It’s damaging to the environment and gets stuck between teeth. Sheesh. Little barcodes show up on colonoscopies!”
Column8@smh.com.au
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