“Can we abolish this imported ‘Trick or Treat’ American custom (C8)?” implores Dave Horsfall of North Gosford. “Hallowe’en itself is an ancient British custom going back many centuries, but ‘Trick or Treat’ is purely commercial in nature. And in this day of ‘stranger danger’, who in their right mind would send their kids out knocking on the doors of total strangers? Next we’ll be observing Thanksgiving!”
“It’s off to the place of my birth for the Second Test,” observes Don Bain of Port Macquarie. “Looking forward to hearing how our commentators handle the city’s new name – Gqeberha!”
Garry Thomas of Oatlands feels sorry “for Geoff Goodfellow trying to pronounce Marky Mark’s (C8) name. When he played for Eastwood, we gave up and just called him Alphabet! Didn’t have the problem for long as he moved on quickly.”
Completing the sports report is George Zivkovic of Northmead: “One of the headlines the day after Australia’s opening game at the Rugby League World Cup bleated ‘Moses injures calf in World Cup’. I wasn’t aware that representatives of the RSPCA were also present in the bunker that night.”
“Who says the economic gods don’t have a sense of irony?” questions David Scandol of Balmain. “On the day that 600 blast furnace employees from the Whyalla steelworks lost their jobs, it seems ironic that our tour of the site was abandoned mid-way through because our bus broke down. The bus was made in China.”
“In response to David Leary’s remark about what students were permitted to bring into the exam room (C8), when I sat the school certificate, pocket calculators were not permitted but I, along with other students, used a slide-rule,” recalls Natasha Lee of Alexandria. “On each desk was also a logarithm table book.”
“Someone attempting to smoke was the only odd thing that occurred during exams that I sat,” says Elizabeth Savage of Hughes (ACT). “However, I remember hearing of a student at an English university who demanded a glass of ale, as was permitted under old rules. He was refused as again under the rules he should have been wearing his sword.”
“David mentioned current students are still permitted a pair of compasses, a protractor, and set square,” observes Paul Hunt of Engadine. “It’s time the government introduced legislation to protect students and teachers from such dangerous implements. The legislation could be titled the Instruments of Maths Instruction Act.”
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