As Geelong lovebirds prepare for Valentine’s Day next week, maybe they’d like to consider the latest suggestion for marking the occasion.
Fine dining for two? A romantic daytrip? A movie and a cuddle, perhaps?
Err, not quite – try a donation of underpants to the homeless.
That’s right, a Sydney charity has suggested knickers for the needy as an ideal replacement for the traditional choccies and flowers.
Maybe Melbourne Mayor Robert Doyle could regain brownie points by incorporating the idea with his action against rough-sleepers.
After all, nothing says ‘I love you’ like giving a pair of jocks to a vagrant.
Following a recent state suggestion to make a decommissioned sewer pipe the centrepiece of a new Geelong park, City Hall has unveiled a somewhat more appealing, if smaller-scale, attraction of its own.
The “eye-catching” timber sculpture on Redgum Island, at the junction of the Barwon and Moorabool rivers, would encourage visitors “to pause, to watch and to listen”, City Hall’s William Tieppo said.
The sculpture was incorporated with some minor landscaping treatments “to enhance the area’s appeal”, he explained.
Modest maybe, but a reasonably tasteful addition to Geelong’s public art collection nonetheless.
To break with tradition somewhat, Double Take says, ‘Well done, City Hall’.
You are caught… on camera
The spread of CCTV has failed to deter them but maybe the increasing image quality will finally get through the bus-thick heads of local shoplifters.
The Indy’s reported previously on the proliferation of local store thefts caught on camera but the sharpness of recent images should really be enough to convince the culprits to keep their naughty little fingers to themselves.
Geelong police recently posted on social media some fine examples (pictured), clearly showing the facial features to people “wanted for questioning”.
Accompanying posts by followers remarked on the clarity, with at least one offering to identify a suspect.
Surely now they’ll learn – but don’t hold your breath!
Teabag test on climate change
They’ve tried taxes, trading schemes and subsidies but campaigners might soon have a powerful new weapon in their battle against climate change.
Teabags.
Yes, according to latest Deakin University research, burying tea bags in wetlands could provide vital information on their ability to store carbon dioxide.
Apparently the bags’ rate of deterioration will indicate the wetland’s carbon-sink capacity, with slower equalling better.
“Scientists like us are on a quest to identify and map the world’s most important wetlands for carbon sequestration,” explains study leader Dr Peter Macreadie, “but the challenge is finding a standard method that is cost-effective and easy to implement.
“We hope the teabag test will provide a simple solution.”
Maybe, good doctor, but tell us what we really want to know.
Jiggler or dangler?
