More theatrical encroachment. “Death of a Salesman (C8) reminded me of a 1957 production of Macbeth by the North Sydney Independent Theatre Company, starring Leonard Teale (also the radio voice of Superman at that time),” recalls Joy Cooksey of Harrington. “As he was racing up the stairs to the stage, he tripped over. Some smart alec Leaving Certificate student in the audience yelled: ‘Up, up and away!’ It was the highlight of the production for the audience, but Mr Teale was not amused.” Marjie Williamson of Blaxland witnessed the same thing at the Elizabethan Theatre in Newtown – again it was a young student who yelled it “as soon as Leonard Teale started speaking.” Damn those little Australians!

“On the door to the women’s toilet at North Sydney Council Building, there is a sign announcing that, for reasons of security, there has been the ‘installation of a motion sensor’ in the space,” notes Nedra Orme of Neutral Bay. “Sometimes, things are just taken too far.”

George Zivkovic of Northmead wonders if “readers happened to see the photo in Wednesday’s Herald of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton brandishing microphones at two paces during the 2016 US presidential election campaign, looking very much like a singing duo? I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher instantly sprang to mind. I’m sure there are others.” To be Frank, Somethin’ Stupid occurred to us.

“Did anyone notice that the article in the Herald praising the health benefits of seeds in the diet was written by Sam Rice?” asks Catherine Craig of Mollymook.

John Lees of Castlecrag has pointed out that the subject of missing socks (C8) has been “done to death” in Column 8, so we’re hoping he won’t mind if we permit one last shot at the debate from Bill Dougherty of Grafton: “My friend David came to the conclusion that his wife had a one-legged lover.”

Further to John Back’s citing of euphemisms used in news reports (C8), William Galton of Hurstville Grove asks: “Can anyone tell me the difference between operations where police ‘swoop’ and those where they ‘pounce’?”

“I admire Andrew Cohen’s (C8) brazen and underhanded scheme of employing pseudo-self-denigration to coerce Granny into publishing his comments. Col Burns, being even less funny, more ignorant, shameless and now also demonstrably unoriginal, expects Granny to afford him equal recognition.” The author, naturally, is the apparently unremarkable Col Burns of Lugarno.

Column8@smh.com.au

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