An interesting news story in the ACT last week and one of interest to families the country over, with the local Police alerting the community to take care leaving young children unattended in cars as the weather warms up.
Reporting on an incident in which a 3-year-old child was seen to be left in a car for more than 20 minutes, but luckily for the family, had been found in time and was rescued.
“A member of the public was able to remove the distressed and over-heated three-year-old from the unlocked car via the window,” the local Police Patrol Sergeant informed the media, adding that the outcome could have been much worse.
PS-sssst! makes no claim to know anything about policing and we have never rescued a young child from a car in the sun but we do have one question for the heroes of the day.
If the car was unlocked, why was the child removed through the window?
Licence to confuse
As a begrudging fan of US lexicographer Noah Webster’s streamlining of English into a North American language after the war of independence, PS-sssst! laments its failure to enjoy international acceptance despite the US culture taking over the world.
The result is a tempest of turbulence and turmoil as certain English words retain their multi-spelling habits whereas the US has dumped them long ago.
The work ‘Licence’ is among those embarrassed with its ‘ce’ ending indicating it’s a noun and an ‘se’ ending telling us it’s a verb.
Whatever the dictionary tells us, the Victorian Building Authority, has its own view.
Announcing last week that plumbers and other building practitioners could expect to save money as a number of registration fees were to be lifted during the pandemic.
The Authority made it clear: “The relief scheme is directed at the fees most relevant to building practitioners and plumbers obtaining or maintaining their licence or registration,” the Authority wrote, respecting the noun-hood of the licence.
But in the sentence immediately following it placed a bet the other way.
“The amount building practitioners and plumbers can save will depend on their type of registration or license they have.”
Thank you Mr Webster.
Totally tortious
As far as plays on words go there’s the humorous, the hilarious and the humbling.
For the Queensland Department of Environment and Science however, the latest play can best be acknowledged as ‘heroic’!
Announcing to the world that the Department’s highly popular Mon Repos Conservation Park is to re-open its doors for public ‘Turtle Tours’ this summer, the PR gurus in the sunshine State took punnism and witticy almost to breaking point by assigning one little word the task of a Hercules.
As they put it: “Mon Repos, will open its doors once again this summer and invite visitors to dive into a turtle-y amazing experience.”
‘Turtle-y amazing?’ A valiant try but a crushing load for a loveable little turtle.
PS-sssst! just wonders where ‘totally’ was when it was needed.
Prime giveaway
Giveaway time at PS-sssst! now and who better to do the giving than our resident Giveaway Guru Rama Gaind who does it weekly anyway.
This week Rama has two DVDs of series 5 to 7 of the hit TV detective show Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren on offer to the first competition entrants who successfully name the top award won by the multi-award-winning series in 1993.
The answer to Rama’s Quiz Question was the Edgar Allan Poe Award and the first correct entrants to skip out of PS News’s infamous Barrel of Booty belonged to Denise F of the South Australian Department of Environment and Waters and Lyn B from the national Services Australia.
Congratulations to Denise and Lyn and thanks to all who took part in the fun. The prize DVDs will be on their way very soon.
For another chance to give Giveaway Rama the chance to enlist a few more fun-loving winners, simply join in her current competition for a copy of the DVD Waiting For The Barbarians at this PS News link and for her latest DVD giveaway Ray at this link.
Good luck to everyone who does.
Pun corner
And finally, many pats on the head for Henri L of the national Department of Home Affairs for picking up on PS-sssst’s oft open doors for contributions of bigger, better and more shareable puns, pranks and plays on words for use to ease the serious business of public service with a small, but mentally-healthish, walk down the fun side.
According to Henri, he discovered a very seriously serious story about the health of wild fish in Government-managed fisheries that were not over-fished but were healthy, sustainable, thriving and happy, and that the story lent itself to the art of the pun.
“I thoroughly enjoy reading PS News and have recommended it to a number of my colleagues,” Henri complemented sincerely.
“I have however spotted a pun in your most recent publication: “Fisheries find management on line”
“Yes, ‘Reely” Henri wrote.
“I found this on the ‘net’.”
“Here is the ‘hook’, no sorry, the link …..”
Enough!
He has made his point.
And a fin point it is. From any angle. On any scale!
And not surprisingly, a fabulous PS-sssst! Prize Pack of a book/a light-up pen/and a T-shirt is on its way to Henri.
Till next week…..
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