A series of reader contributions to the Sydney Morning Herald's Column 8 have linked strangers through common experiences, ranging from National Service to primary school classmates.
Graham Lum of North Rocks recalled doing National Service with an Edmund Loong from Parramatta in 1959, whom he assumes is the Edward Loong of Herald fame. Maureen Lysaght of Terrey Hills wrote asking whether the same Edward Loong is the younger brother of Nancy Loong, who attended Parramatta Public Primary School with her in the early 1950s.
Further connections emerged from Ian Rewell of Longueville, who noted that four contributors to Column 8 were all in the same year at the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine, final year 1977: Tim Ingall, James Wall, Malcolm Robilliard and himself.
In lighter fare, Jo Rainbow of Orange lamented misunderstanding an advertisement for "Brazilian blowout nanoplasty", which she had initially thought was about a bikini wax. Richard Hale of Paddington suggested that a reader's "Mothpocalypse Now" party should be followed by "MothBusters".
George Manojlovic of Mangerton contributed a poetic moth song referencing place names such as Gulgong, Wollongong and Dandenong. Paul Taylor of Winston Hills responded to a previous item about a rugby league player's alleged assault on a calf with a series of puns on udders and steak, concluding that "repeat offenders being banned for heifer and heifer" would be appropriate.