Issue 814

Shaggy Dog Comments...

Shaggy’s gone walkabout this week, visiting country towns across NSW. One of the things we’ve noticed as we travel into council areas is the road sign welcoming people to the area also includes acknowledgment of the local indigenous people. It’d be a nice step if Northern Rivers councils added something that lets visitors know they’re entering Bundjalung country.

So there we were, driving past the mining town Lithgow, birthplace of Rampaging Roy Slaven. Its other great attraction is the gaol, or to put it warm-and-fluffy speak, the Lithgow Correctional Facility.

There’s a sign on the highway pointing to the aforementioned facility. Underneath it is one of those tourism signs with a bed, to signal accommodation. It could be a novel night’s sleep.

Banks are in the firing line again with the National planning to axe 51 branches, including Bangalow and Brunswick Heads. But given Shaggy’s experience with Westpac in Mudgee this week, it might be a favour to long suffering customers. Mrs Shaggy went to Westpac to pay money off our well-worn credit card (we’re commonly known as ‘parasites’ in banking parlance, because we pay off the account before it incurs interest fees). She handed over the money and the card to the teller. “Now can you key in the pin number,” the teller said. “I don’t know it,” Mrs Shaggy said. “What do you mean you don’t know it?” the incredulous teller asked. “Well, if you look at the card, it’s not mine, it’s my husbands.” The sneering teller then said “doesn’t he trust you?” Mrs Shaggy pointed out that it wasn’t about trust but bank policy, which states that you should not pass on your pin number to anyone, including a spouse, or you’ll be liable for any losses.

The teller continued to argue the point before begrudgingly conceding her demand was against bank policy. Mrs Shaggy left after suggesting the teller should finish the customer service training before dealing with anyone else who makes the mistake of wanting to give the bank money.

Perhaps it’s all those reality TV shows, but the line between fact and fiction seems to be getting increasingly blurred, or maybe nothing’s changed from the days when Orson Welles broadcast War of the Worlds. Last week the governor in a US state issued a press release warning people not to get alarmed about an episode of the drama series West Wing (NBN, Tues nights), in which Martin Sheen plays the US president. An episode that screened in the US last week had the White House coping with a nuclear accident. Since the ‘accident’ happened in his state, the governor felt obliged to remind people it wasn’t real and reassure them that his state had everything under control if there was a problem.

Meantime, the Brazilian tourism board is looking at suing the cartoon show The Simpsons after Homer, Bart and family made a trip to Brazil in a episode screened in the US last week. After a decade of sending up US values, the Simpsons went to Rio de Janeiro where Homer was kidnapped by a cabbie, Bart watched a kids TV show featuring nude strippers and then was attacked by a monkey on Copacabana. The Brazilians believe a cartoon show could potentially ruin their tourism industry by portraying the country in a negative light.

The Summerland Larrikins Square Dance Club recently celebrated its third birthday, appropriately, with a club dance. The Club wanted to do some good and help ‘make a difference’ in the local community to mark the occasion, so club member and trauma teddy knitter, Clare Dwyer, asked if anyone was interested in knitting some of the bears for the Red Cross. Ten dance club members put their hands up. A goal of fifty Trauma Teddies was set but the enthusiasm of the Larrikin knitters, saw the club hand over 100 lovingly made Trauma Teddies to the Red Cross. “We were pleased to help a local charity - it was a simple idea that grew,” Clare explained.

Members travelled from as far afield as the Gold Coast and Glen Innes for the Club’s birthday party. “We hope to be seen as a role model for other dance and social clubs, to encourage them to include some aspect of humanitarian work in their celebrations,” Clare said.

The teddies will be distributed wherever there are sick or traumatised children in need of the loving comfort only a Trauma Teddy can provide, throughout north eastern NSW.