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9:00 PM "Virgin's use of the word 'guests' is tolerable," writes John Bunyan, of Campbelltown (What's wrong with "passengers"?, Column 8, Thursday).
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"Fear of boys was still rife when I was at Sydney Girls High in the 1950s," recalls Nora Hinchen, of Naremburn (decorum advice, Column 8, Tuesday). "Our headmistress, Miss McMahon, forbade us going within 100 feet of the rickety fence dividing us from the boys' school, because 'it has come to my notice that boys are throwing their balls over the fence with their phone numbers on them'."
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"When you pay for a stamp, you are not just buying a small piece of sticky paper," writes John Casey, of North Ryde (Column 8, for some days).
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"When I was at Sydney Girls High School in the 1940s," recalls Dorothy Rhodes, of Killarney Vale.
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Are you the sort of person who collects board riders in your pantry for possible future consumption? If so, Margaret Combley, of Maclean, has found the ideal property. "The real estate section in our local paper includes an advertisement for a beachside home at Yamba," Margaret tells us. "After extolling the spectacular views, the agent adds the enticement 'Watch the surfers in the spacious kitchen, which offers generous storage."'
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"I hereby appoint myself official arbitrator in the case of Glen Coulton vs Column 8," pronounces Ralph Davis, of Wahroonga (the quotation marks at the end of the cat's name paragraph, Column 8, Wednesday). And my verdict is... you are both correct. Glen, like me, is evidently a reader of the online version, in which the apostrophe use is clearly erroneous. But Column 8 is evidently a reader of the print version – probably a perk of the job – in which the apostrophes are indeed in the right order. Now the question is, how could this happen?" How, indeed?
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On the subject of translations of product descriptions from Chinese to gobbledegook (peculiar LED torch brochure, Column 8, Wednesday) Ron Bradbury, of Armidale, agrees that "we have plenty of fun with brand names translated into English. My personal favourites include 'Mean Well' electronics (at least they're doing their best) and 'Goat and Wall' soy sauce (a picture of a goat and a wall immediately make me think 'soy'). But what about the boot on the other foot? How would Chinese distributors translate 'Streets' ice cream, or even 'Birds Eye'?"
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"A Column 8 correspondent might answer this one," presumes Tony Everett, of Wareemba. "As you come off the Anzac Bridge heading into the city, there is, on your right, the old Edwin Davey & Co building, now restored and with units built. Protruding from the building, near the top, is a white shed. An explanation would be welcome." We are told that this is one of the weird consequences of heritage listing – the ancient metal shed had to be retained, no matter what was done to the rest of the building.
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"I am hoping that one of your C8Phds could advise me as to where I can buy Australian glace fruits," pleads Norma Glyde, of Glenhaven. "I have been making Christmas cakes for 59 years, and have easily sourced these products in the past. However, for the last two years they seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Help please."
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"While researching my English ancestors recently," writes Kerry Close of Point Clare, "I came across the 1851 Census for Buckingham Palace. Yes, even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had to be counted, but interestingly enough Prince Albert is listed as 'Head', while Queen Victoria, then head of a very large Empire, is listed as 'Wife'. Surely she was not amused, much as she idolised her dear hubby."
Column 8: Dalgety bride
From our Spellcheck Nightmare Desk: "The Christmas newsletter from John Barilaro, MP for Monaro, mentions among the achievements of the year the continued work on 'the $4.5 million rehabilitation of the 132-year-old Dalgety Bride'," reports John Williams, of Jindabyne. "I admire the pluck of the old gal, getting hitched at double my age and living a lifestyle that necessitates going into rehab, but it worries me that she's costing the taxpayer three hundred times my own annual age pension."
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Let us start the day with Latin lessons, after yesterday's inquiry about whether John Cleese's centurion was correct in his form of "Romans Go Home" in Monty Python's Life of Brian.
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"I don't know, Linda Collien – 100th birthday balloons are far more common than you might imagine," reports Susan Glass, of Bellevue Hill (centennial inflatables, Column 8, Tuesday). "When arranging the 100th birthday bash for my mother, in Glen Innes, which has a population of roughly 6000, my brother and I were ordering table centres at the florist's a few weeks before the big occasion. We wanted a 100th balloon for mum's table, and were advised to take one with us there and then, in case they sold out."
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"Bob Cee questions whether anybody believes them," writes David Roffey, of Mosman (scam callers, Column 8, Monday).
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"In 1876 George Custer was about to set off with the 7th Cavalry to what was to be known as The Battle of The Little Big Horn/Custer's Last Stand," we're told by Peter Roy, of Coffs Harbour.
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"I await the usual outrage after the announcement that the price of postage stamps is set to rise," writes Susan Tomlin, of Port Stephen. "When I worked in the New South Wales head office of Australia Post in the 1980s, a stamp was the same price as a copy of The Sydney Morning Herald. One dollar to send something from Sydney to Broome? Outrageous indeed!"
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"In 1139, Pope Innocent II banned the use of the crossbow as it allowed common men to shoot down and kill knights in armour."
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Richard Mackay's business card title ("Director of Possibilities", Column, since Monday), has been outdone.
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"Richard Mackay is an archaeologist, and possibilities have taken him far from the student days we shared in the 1980s," reports geoarchaelogist Tessa Corkill.
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"Yes, I too find stepping on curled-up leaves very satisfying and enjoy rating the level of 'crunch'," confesses Jenny Chapple, of East Kurrajong, along with many others (Column 8, Saturday), "according to its volume, on a scale of 1-10. I recommend elongating the crunch, by placing the foot down from heel to toe rather than stepping flat-footed."
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Column 8 came across a business card in our wallet this morning, with no clue as to how it got there (we all have cards like that, found days, weeks or even months after the event), of a certain "Prof Richard Mackey, AM." All well and good, but the job description under Richard's name intrigued us: "Director of Possibilities." We considered calling the number to ask for details, but hesitated. Who know what might have happened had we done so?
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"When I went to school by rail in the 1950s, the trains had a pattern of lights on the front indicating their route," recalls Jennifer Katauskas, of Wahroonga .
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"In the itpro page of the Herald's BusinessDay on Tuesday," notes Ted Hamilton, of Normanhurst, "I read that 'Australian researchers have written code that ... can make calculations at a fraction of the speed of standard, transistor-based computers'."
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"I too think the loud CityRail announcement that I'm in a quiet carriage is odd, particularly when repeated four times in my 15 minute train journey," concurs Andrew Smith, of Lane Cove.
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"Could all those educated prior to, say, 1970, grab and lock up every 'that' that they come across? There is an absolute plague of them, many in the wrong places."
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"On Saturday Richard Murnane asked for techniques used by dishonest customers," writes Rose Cunningham, of Yarravel. "I witnessed a failed heist at a checkout where a man had four large boxes of breakfast cereal in his trolley. He offered one for scanning, but when the checkout operator insisted they all be scanned he argued that she should use a multiples key. She insisted, and he became annoyed and stormed off. A supervisor was called to remove the abandoned boxes, and when they were lifted out fell batteries, red salmon and razor blades, a hearty breakfast indeed!"
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"There is a netted swimming enclosure in Davidson Park (or Garigal National Park, near Roseville Bridge)," reports Norman Carter, of Roseville. "It has been there for many years. So has an sign nearby which warns 'This enclosure is not shark-proof.' Presumably the net is to keep people in."
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"With the distinct possibility in the future that on arrival at one's destination, one's car can be told to go away and find a parking spot on its own," asks Jon Stuart-Masters, of Batemans Bay.
