The invisible man
WEST END author Deedee Cuddihy was talking to a chum about the struggle to maintain mental acuity as the years pass.
The chum revealed she’s not content keeping her brain sharp by remembering the names of past Prime Ministers.
Instead, the other night she lay awake for over an hour attempting to recall the names of the stars of The Magnificent Seven.
"I got six of them,” she explained with understandable pride. “But was really stuck on the final one, until it came to me… Brad Dexter!"
“Who the heck was he?” asked a discombobulated Deedee.
"He's the one everybody forgets," explained the chum.
(To test this theory, continue reading the Diary, and see if you can remember Brad’s name by the time you reach the end…)
The square deal
THE shape of things to come. Visiting his local south side hostelry, Gareth Smallwood got chatting to a pal who felt his life was sadly going in reverse.
Or as he described it: “After all these years, I’m back to square one.”
This got Gareth thinking, and he says to us: “Has anyone ever reached square two, or the near-mythical square three?”
A stirring conversation
IN a recent column we mentioned a rather boring fellow. Which reminds Philipa Barker of a friend who once described a mutual acquaintance thus: “She has the personality of a cake whisk – and not even the electric kind.”
Intermission
OKAY, we’re about halfway through today’s Diary. Can you still remember that bloke’s name from The Magnificent Seven? Hint: It rhymes with Shmad Shmexter.
Novel ideal
THIS Friday is reader Donna Blain’s birthday. Her son asked what sort of gift she’d like.
Being a crime fiction fan, she told him to buy her a thrilling novel with a twist.
Hopefully in jest, he replied: “How about that book by Dickens about the scrappy wee street urchin?”
Planetary puzzle
GEOGRAPHY corner. Intrigued reader Chris Robertson asks: “Do Australians call the rest of the world ‘up over’?”
Games people play
A SORDID scenario. “My wife found letters I’d been hiding, proving that I was cheating on her,” says shamefaced Don Guttridge. “Now she refuses to play Scrabble with me.”
Number’s up
AND finally. That bloke from the famous cowboy flick. Still remember his name?
Oi – no cheating! Stop glancing at the top of the page.
Okay: Top marks if you remembered it was Brad Dexter. Zero out of Ten if you recalled the flick we mentioned being Toy Story 3.
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