Yours Magazine Australia — January 04, 2018

48

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MEETING PLACE

Elephant

ales

With my

80th birthday looming,

I decided to go away

because I didn’t want the

fuss of a party. I’ve always

loved elephants, as does my

friend Doreen, who has as

many elephant ornaments

and pictures as I have! We

have been friends since

school days, and s

loves to travel.

We decided

to go to a safari

lodge two hours

north of Ubud in

Bali. We arrived at a late hour, but

when we went down for breakfast the

next morning we were thrilled to see

hants

ywhere

me were

ng and

king around,

the deep,

mbling noises

e so thrilling

hear. There

re 32

alaysian

phants and

ur babies,

dwewere

rrounded

way to spend a very

special birthday.

IreneWhight,

Taree,NSW

y

eleph

every

–som

eatin

walk

and

rum

wer

toh

wer

Ma

ele

fou

an

sur

ythemforfourdays.

Oh dearie me

While Helen Brown disliked being called

“Dear” (The Coffee Mug, Issue 99, page 87),

one reader says don’t be so sensitive:

+I think that young man sounds like a breath

of fresh air! So many do not have the time for

anything other than themselves. What would

you like him to call you, other than your name?

I tried to remember customers’ names over

the years but with so many coming in every day,

I found it impossible. I think we’re all becoming

a little too precious. There’s an old saying, “It’s

as bad to take offence as it is to give offence.”

Barbara,viaemail

+...I agree with Helen Brown about not

wanting to be addressed as “dear”. Only

in my case (I am in my seventies), it’s usually

“darling”. It really sets my teeth on edge!

Even worse is “young lady”. The trouble

is, there is no word in English that’s equivalent

to, for example, señora or madam. Some of the

younger shop assistants do use “ma’am” now,

which I find quite acceptable.

I guess people think they’re being

terribly kind when they address an older

person by these endearments, but it’s

socondescending!

PatriciaDavis,byemail

erfulf

since

she

tlth bt

w

b

TRUNK

CALL

Irene (left)

and Doreen

share a love of

pachyderms

Preheat oven to 180°C. Put dry

ingredients in a bowl and add

dates. Melt margarine and pour

into mixture. Press into tray lined

with baking paper. Bake for

20 minutes. Cool, cut into slices.

DaphneFraser,HerveyBay,NSW

bouncedI usedtooffsmile at him dancing onthewallsand hurt my ears.his

grasshoppermachine,until our olderlegsbehind thedaughter,coffee

attention-seekingthepsychologist,pointed out it wasbehaviour.

homeWhen he toldwith hisparents,me about still living atJosh rolled his

eyes, but he was clearlyfamily.The tattoos onhisfromneck anda loving

forearmsbe noticed,advertisedif onlyasa determinationa walking artwork.to

in me about failedA couple of times, Josh confidedromanticoutings.

I respondedthought was wisdom andwithwhat Ihopedconcern.he

A depressingwereimmune tonumber ofhischarms, ityoung womenseemed.

exaggeration, but ITosay wewerefriends would be anwould’veat least

classified us asafterhe’dsaid theequals. The morning,I waited

ion thelogise,or

he fixedgaze.

strodevedfrom

aginechine.

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HELENBROWN’s barista upsets with aformof address

T

slidinghereyou go,the cappuccinodear,”he said,across

wordthe tabletoplandedwith ain frontthudunderof me. Themy

ribs.must’ve been when I was nine or 10, orLasttime anyonecalled me dear

a teenageback when nurses didn’tmum in a maternity hospitalknow better.

I wouldn’tIt has such a patronising ringdreamof using it on

anyone, notWhoever’sdishing out the “dear” isevenmy granddaughters.

takingpower. Beingona mantle of superiority anda “dear”is just a shuffle

away from beingmust be closetoanan illegal“old dear”,termwhichby

from Josh, the manboy who works inIt was particularly hurtful comingnow.

started there,ourneighbourhoodI’d gonecafe.out of my wayWhenhe

toknows it’slearn andhard enoughrememberhisbeingname.a GenLord

earning nhospitalit Y

an invisihim thin

caffeineJoshwh

efficientThere wa

his ganglendearin

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me, too.He’dw

I thoughtEvery m

cappuccionto my

questionsI though

my namehe’dforgo

JoshI liked bwho

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COLUMN

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elderstoomuf

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At,.

nornic ed

askedhe kn

tten.be

big,turnedgawky

• 1 cup self-raising
  flour


• ½ cup sugar


• 1 cup desiccated

coconut

• 1 cup chopped
  dates


• 250g margarine

PICTURES: GETTY IMAGES

Here’s my quick

Date Slice recipe

RECIPE

Reader

E

ta

+

80th birthday l