First, the good news. The old Milton tennis Centre is to be redeveloped after being left vacant for the best part of a decade.
Now, the bad news. The developers are hoping to build something akin to the Emporium in the Valley on the site with retail, residential, and office spaces.
“We’re thinking it would be a modern version of the Emporium in the Valley,” a spokesperson for the developers was quoted as saying in one of our city’s bigger fish-wrappers.
Well, that’s just what this city needs – another overdeveloped precinct chock full of ordinary architecture tarted up with faux-French touches.
Please, can’t someone do better?
In the past month the Brisbane City Council had cause to send me a letter. Let’s just say the BCC and I are having a slight disagreement about a certain matter.
Having penned a reply to their letter, the next step was to address the envelope to send it off to the council.
But, a thorough scan of the BCC’s letter revealed no return address.
Of course the original envelope containing the council’s letter had long been despatched to my recycling wheelie bin.
Certainly as a ratepayer, it annoyed me to have to track down the council’s postal details. Don’t you think it is basic good manners to include a return address on letters you send? Obviously the BCC doesn’t.
Has anyone told Her Majesty?
The Victorian Government has just scrapped references to the Queen in criminal legal proceedings.
The state’s Attorney-General Rob Hulls says references to Her Maj are outdated. How right he is.
From now on criminal cases will be mounted in the name of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
One wonders if Queensland will dispense with the Queen in the same way.
We’ve got the bad bottle blues
My column last issue about how hard it is to open those little metal tops of bottles of Schweppes ginger ale led to a litany of letters from fellow sufferers.
Why, even this paper’s wine writer David Bray sent me an email. You can probably tell from his photo on the wine page in this issue that he is an absolute dearheart, but he’s a thorough gentleman to boot. We mix socially every now and then outside of work, and he has never, once made a move, although I suspect he’d like to. Anyway, here is just a sample of the letters, postcards and emails I received.
My dearest Ann,
Although of the gin-and-tonic persuasion I write to add my penn’orth to support your opinion of that recent venturer into the arcane arts of torture, the one and only Schweppes. I have before me a diminutive, yet in the realm of instruments of torture a giant, bottle of Schweppes Indian Tonic Water stamped “BB 18 NOV 10 00:59 3212 9323 3” on its side.
Attempts at opening it engender instant wrist contusions, then scalded fingers in holding it under the hot tap, more frictions burns in resorting to towel, sponge, or anything else handy, and then serious risk of lacerations when finally resorting to a Stanley knife to attempt to part the nibs on the cap from the ring holding it in. To do that one needs to hold the bottle on its side and push very hard on the utility knife while holding the cold wet and slippery bottle firm—‘tis exceedingly difficult.
Once success is achieved in cutting through a couple of those connecting pieces of reinforced steel the top may then give way to one of the earlier removal methods. It’s totally beyond the pale!
The only item coming close to ruining a calm evening is the ring pull inside the cap of a 1-litre carton of Devondale UHT milk. Either the ring breaks or the whole assembly comes off leaving the carton forever open to the elements (and the elements inside our fridge are often none too benign, I might add).
Thank you for bringing up these irksome matters. Let’s hope the Authorities Take Note.
With very best wishes
Austin Adams
Kangaroo Point
Via email
Hi Ann
Love your nom de plume!
We all have our pet peeves and the Schweppes twist bottle is just one of mine. The difficulty of opening, the reduction in size and same price for less is enough to make one turn to another brand. I have not had the same problem with other brands. However, there is no other brand for me, not even Kirks. I am rather fond of a splash of soda water with my single malt and only Schweppes does it for me.
Speaking of single malts…not only did Schweppes reduce the bottle size but not the cost without so much as a “by your leave”, the spirit bottlers did the same! Slyly, in the dead of night, the size of all spirits went from 750 ML down to 700 ML, again without any reduction in cost! My Scottish ancestor would spit in their eye.
Keep telling it like it is. I am an avid reader.
Regards
Peter
via email January 12
Dear Ann
I know how you must hate those pesky screw tops. Soft drink is a bit out of my territory (water only with single malt), but the good Mrs B had almost nightly struggles with those wretched wine bottle screw tops. Mind you, we won't buy wine that has a cork, which is even more difficult for her arthritic hands. Often around 6pm I hear the sounds of struggle in the kitchen and know the unscrewing time has come. Do you not have a gentleman to come to your aid?
Yours in understanding and emerging from the far reaches of this publication.
David Bray
Oh, Ann
How I laughed when i read your column about trying to open those jolly little bottles !!
I thought it was only me and my weak wrists
I agree with you too, that Schweppes is a much better drink than Kirk’s
Love your column too
Deb
via email January 18
I also received a lovely postcard for Barbara Curtin who wrote: “Re. bottle top removals. You need a pair of large white kitchen scissors with a grip on the handles.”
Thanks Barbara!
