“Following the death of radio personality John Laws, it’s important to recognise his famous appearance in a 1968 episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo where he played the dishonest conman ‘Honest Jack’ Jamieson, who was illegally selling land blocks of the Waratah National Park, even attempting to sell the Ranger Headquarters building,” recalls Mark Berg of Caringbah South. “I could never look at John Laws in any other way after that.” In which case, it’s probably just as well Mark didn’t catch Laws’ tour de force as Claude Fitzherbert in Nickel Queen (1971).
Allan Gibson’s discovery of “£30 conscience money from an unknown taxpayer” from 1947 (C8), has June Love of East Gresford reflecting that “£30 would have represented around five times the basic wage in 1947. In Australia circa 1947, the basic wage was about £5 pounds 5/- or in other words, five Guineas.”
“My father was a Commonwealth driver around 1960 and on one of his assignments he was asked to drive Mr Whitlam (C8) within Sydney,” writes Gordon Dean of North Turramurra. “He asked dad where he lived, and my father answered East Bankstown (now Greenacre), Mr Whitlam said that as they were very close to our place, could we possibly drop in for a cup of tea? Imagine my mother’s surprise at the sight of this very tall and elegant man arriving in a big black car with dad for a cuppa and a few biscuits.”
Regarding that 1975 last supper, Greg Phillipson of Aranda (ACT), says “Surely I can’t be the only one who has never heard of a horiatiki salad. Imagine my surprise when I found it is the humble, but delicious, Greek salad.”
Adrian Bell of Davistown is “amused at the narcissistic dwellings on Philip Ruddock’s handsome features (C8). Philip took the vacant spot of Articled Law Clerk after I left the esteemed law firm of Berne Murray and Tout, in Bridge Street. After Philip’s comment to their classically beautiful legal clerk that he ‘would invite her out except she was Greek’, we were amused that he became Minister for Immigration. Seems old Liberal attitudes die hard.”
“The Irish pub yarn from Michael Payne (C8) reminded me of the story of two old ladies in London discussing their great-grandfathers,” says Pasquale Vartuli of Wahroonga. “‘Mine fell at Waterloo, you know!’ said one. Not to be outdone, the other lady immediately enquired ‘Which platform?’”
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