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Canberra Today 21°/25° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Welsh / Wilting enthusiasm for condoms on love’s big day

You know where to put it… in the bin for many. Photo by Mike Welsh

MY Valentine’s Day dawned awkwardly with a text from a local panel beater wishing me “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mike” and alerting me to the troubling fact that, “many of our clients have had issues choosing their repairer of choice ….”

Mike Welsh
Mike Welsh.

But by mid-morning romance emerged in the form of a free National Condom Day, long-stemmed (plastic), red rose with a pack of condoms with the attached message: “You know where to put it”.

Sadly, by late afternoon scores of the roses had been discarded across the city, prophylactics intact. I kept mine. Nostalgia, I guess.

STILL on wistful yearnings of yesteryear, what does CM Andrew Barr have against older Canberrans?

The man who allegedly told a public meeting in 2016 that he wasn’t “interested in the views of people over 40”, has bagged the “small-town, backwards, 1940’s mindset” resistance to high-rise development across the city.

Barr said a “nostalgic” attitude existed “among a certain generation of Canberrans”, which he conceded would “remain for the rest of their lives”. Are Barr’s ageist comments those of someone not planning to seek re-election?

Nimbin activist Gerhard Weihermann… up early for a solo smoking ceremony at Parliament House. Photo by Mike Welsh

THE 10th anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s apology to the stolen generation drew thousands of visitors to Canberra, among them Nimbin activist Gerhard Weihermann. Up early for a solo smoking ceremony at the front doors of Parliament House, Weihermann arrived at 6.30, but was quickly moved on by three friendly AFP officers to the lawns where he was able to conduct his ceremony.

Parliament House with a touch of Mr Fluffy. Photo by Mike Welsh

MEANTIME, while the atrium at Parliament House resembles a Mr Fluffy house (triple glazing ahead of the predicted stones of hypocrisy?), down on the ground is the bizarre story of rogue security bollards.

Apparently, in five incidents the undersides of Comcars ferrying politicians have been pierced by the pneumatically powered poles randomly rising as the vehicles pass over, resulting in several reportedly being written off.

Fault is aimed squarely at the controversial multi-million dollar security upgrade of the site.

HOW many car parking spaces does a public car park have to offer to the public to qualify as a public car park?

Trying to score a spot in the Bailey’s Corner park lately is akin to a lottery and is creating a hostile environment. With ACT MLAs and their staff taking over a large chunk and the Northbourne Avenue end closed for construction, frustrated motorists could be forgiven for thinking they are not welcome in the city.

After 20 minutes of circling they are forced out to try their luck at the nearby Magistrates Court facility where they must compete with even more drivers circling for a spot that just doesn’t exist. Tensions are running high and a potential car park rage incident is just waiting to erupt.

THE Trump administration’s announcement that Admiral Harry Binkley Harris Jr is to be dispatched to Canberra to take up duties as US ambassador may have diverted an awkward diplomatic slap.

Last month former Deputy PM Tim Fischer labelled the failure to appoint an ambassador as “bordering on a diplomatic insult” with the role remaining vacant since September, 2016.

Good news is that the highly decorated son of a US Marine and Japanese mother, Harris has been described as “down-to-earth, direct” and “not afraid to be undiplomatic”, which makes him potentially an entertaining and colourful addition to our diplomatic community.

AND the final word (for now) on the Barnaby Joyce scandal is one which has barely been uttered over the past few weeks. While archaic words such as mistress and affair have annoyed the PC police, adultery doesn’t get a look in.

Guest speaker at last October’s National Prayer Breakfast in the Great Hall, Christian author and theologian, Dr John Dickson, tweeted: “Don’t get the ‘righteous outrage’ about the imbalance of power in Barnaby’s relationship, surely, what most undermines high office is adultery: the deepest betrayal of the most solemn promise to one’s deepest love”.

 

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Mike Welsh

Mike Welsh

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