“The mention of a Bankcard sticker on a car (C8) reminded me of an old Holden wagon I purchased in the ’70s that had a ‘Red Phone Here’ sticker on the rear window,” recounts John Swanton of Coogee. “It was always amusing, sitting in peak-hour traffic, when people would wind down their windows, asking to make a call.”

On the eventual demise of Bankcard, Brad Elliott of North Rocks wonders if it had anything to do with their original promise of never paying more than cash for purchases.

“Can I suggest an addition to Paul Barber’s (C8) list of Melbourne uniqueness?” requests Nick Bocock of Kiama. “He omitted one of the most quirky, infamous (and frightening, if you don’t know what’s going on) road rules you’ll ever encounter: the hook turn!”

Lance Rainey of Rushforth can assist Caz Willis (C8) on all things Geordiesque: “NSW has only one Newcastle, hence no need to add ‘on Hunter’ to differentiate it. England has three (upon Tyne, on Clun and under-Lyme) plus another half-dozen in the rest of the UK. Before the advent of postcodes, these post-nominals were quite useful. And remember that our American friends often specify ‘Paris, France’ just to make sure we know they’re not referring to Paris, Texas, or one of the other 20-odd in their country.”

“What about the Australian superhero (C8)?” asks Trevor Lord of The Ponds. “The man from Wentworthville, Chesty Bond. His uniform was his undies. He didn’t change, he just turned them inside-out.”

While Granny thinks the Kate McClymont extolment from Paul Wynn is fully warranted, Peter Donohue of Gymea reckons “the Herald also has supervillains. Confirmed every time I attempt a DA crossword.”

Dave Horsfall (C8) says he only knows one person to have won a car. This had Jennie Curtin of Blackheath seeing double: “Our family has won two! The first was a Mini Minor in 1970 from a Reader’s Digest competition (yes, if you replied to that annoying correspondence they kept sending, it could actually produce a winner). And in 1981 I proudly won a Datsun 180B in Channel Nine’s ‘Classic Catches’ for the summer of cricket. For aficionados, it was John Dyson’s magnificent grab at the SCG that clinched it. One had to select the best catches and put them in the same order as the commentators – true skill.”

Column8@smh.com.au
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