“I was a flight attendant in the Netherlands back in the ’70s when there were no security checks (C8),” recalls Enid Murphy of Manly. “Passengers were requested, upon boarding, to hand in their guns and knives which would be held in the cockpit. Imagine my surprise when given one such item.”
“Some years ago I was bringing back a prized bottle of chilli-flavoured Marmite that I disclosed to airport security staff who, in their wisdom, wanted to confiscate it,” writes Miles Harvey of Newtown. “After protesting it was not a liquid, I was sent to Room 28, where people would hand in their weapons and other dangerous items, that would be placed in a special bag and handed back after landing. The staff in Room 28 thought I was having them on to even think they might include Marmite in the secured bag. After a bit of banter, one of them suggested that, as the lid was plastic, I just keep it in my pocket and walk through security. So I did, and can confirm that all passengers plus the chilli Marmite arrived safely in Sydney.”
“Have TV news reports been taken over by AI clichemeisters?” asks Martin Field of Noosa Heads (Qld). “Not a day goes by that doesn’t feature a story where crimes are committed in ‘broad’ daylight, in a ‘tight-knit’ community, creating a ‘palpable sense’ of fear.” At the end of the day, this is true, but it is what it is.
“As a child in the 1950s-1960s, if I could have Camp Pie instead of Brussels sprouts, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin, rissoles, braised steak and onions, and yes – tripe – I was rapt,” says Geri Badham of Waramanga (ACT). “Please, don’t knock Camp Pie!”
Stewart Martin of Mangerton saw some initial promise: “My recollection is that the can carried a colourful picture of a tempting arrangement of peas, carrots and spuds garnishing chunks of meat with glossy gravy. Sadly, it fell from the can as a brown and chaotic gloop!”
“Speaking of doppelgangers (C8), do a Google Image search for Captain Wallace B. Binghamton, and there standing next to the PT-73 on Taratupa, you’ll see Anthony Albanese!” claims Matt Petersen of Randwick. Allan Gibson of Cherrybrook adds: “C8-ers may recall that fellow contributor Paul Hunt dined out on being a dead-ringer for the current Australian ambassador to the United States.” Pity he grew that beard.
Column8@smh.com.au
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