For the sake of the sound of sensation across the nation, Geoff Gilligan of Coogee would like to thank Herald culture scribe Karl Quinn: “Your article on Bill Oddie (July 30 ) answered a question that comes into my head about every decade. It regarded a skit on a TV show that featured a pirate radio station that had only one record. I hadn’t been able to remember the program. Karl’s tribute mentioned that it was from an episode of The Goodies. The tune was A Walk in the Black Forest (aka Eine Schwarzwaldfaht), by Horst Jankowski.” Granny always wished they’d made good on Graeme’s scheme for a Pirate Church of England.
“I share Helen Lewin’s frustration with the dubbing of English films (C8),” says Elizabeth Savage of Hughes (ACT). “In Italy in the ’60s, my friend and I were delighted to find the latest Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie playing locally. Imagine our disappointment when we discovered they could both speak fluent Italian.”
Paul Taylor of Winston Hills would like to nominate “the Water-Rats or, if you prefer, the Rakalis as the name for the Australian Underwater Hockey Team (C8). The rakali is the size of a small possum, with a distinctly white-tipped tail that is slightly shorter than the body. They are well adapted to their aquatic lifestyle and use their large, partially webbed hind feet as paddles while their thick tail operates like a rudder. Myth has it that they have a distinctive cry when travelling through murky water – ‘We’re the Rakali!’”
“One of the Australian teams should, of course, be called The Down-Unders,” adds Helen Howes of Collaroy.
Sticking with sport, the wise Chris Commens of Rosebery reckons “we can be grateful that Victoria piked out of funding the Commonwealth Games. The medal tally is so bountiful that if held here, this would have been seen simply as massive home-team advantage. Branch stacking of a different order. Credibility is thankfully restored by competing overseas.”
Peter Miniutti of Ashbury thinks “you know when you are old (C8) when you visit a museum or gallery and ask for a senior’s discount and aren’t asked for proof of age. Strangely enough, though, when standing on public transport, there is no recognition of my age by younger commuters offering their seat.” Nola Tucker of Kiama says it’s simply when “your youngest child points out that all your children are grandparents”.
Column8@smh.com.au
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