“I’ve been told that there was a pistol shooting range in the spaces under the Sydney Harbour Bridge southern approaches in the 1960s and 1970s, maybe even in one of the bridge pylons,” writes James McDonald of Waverley. “Is this true or an urban myth?”
The latest exam howler (C8) to cross our desk literally did that, via surface mail, and comes from Tom Symonds of Kensington: “My most memorable recollection from my teaching days is twofold: ‘Charles Darwin was a voyeur who travelled the world studying orgasms’.” “Then there was the School Certificate French candidate for whom the French President at the time was Pompey II,” adds Peter Heron of Forestville.
Speaking of the written word, N. Andrew McPherson’s pen-friend query (C8) resulted in many readers asking if the digital version counts, or “e-friends” as Les Shearman of Darlington describes them. Some, however, do occasionally put pen to paper, like Alison Stewart of Waitara: “I still correspond with my German pen-friend. Since 1952 we have written faithfully, in English, as her grandfather wished her to learn it. In 2003, when visiting Hamburg, she presented me with a copy of the first letter I had written her, as a nine-year-old. Her grandfather had corrected the errors I’d made. When earnest, we still occasionally use snail mail. Otherwise, email. Her son stayed with us on exchange, in the Olympic year 2000.”
“I claim Column 8 as my Australian pen-friend,” says John Walter of Atlanta, Georgia (US).
Shirley Rider of Point Clare reflects: “Before becoming a librarian, I spent a few years as a secretary using Pitman shorthand – widely used then. I still remember it and often write notes and memos to myself in shorthand. Saves time. Does anyone remember or use Pitman shorthand these days?”
“Why would anyone want to do a cryptic crossword (C8) quickly?” asks Ann Babington of Lambton. “Taking my time doing it is one of my great daily pleasures.”
“Back in 1986 when the USS Missouri was in Sydney, I was in the Pymble Hotel with friends,” recalls John Willis of Tea Gardens. “We couldn’t remember the date the surrender was signed on the Missouri, so I rang the American Embassy and asked them. Nobody there could tell me, so I said ‘that’s okay, I’ll ring the Japanese embassy, they’ll know’. The Americans asked me not to do this, so I compromised and rang Column 8.”
Column8@smh.com.au
No attachments, please. Include
name, suburb and daytime phone