HAWKEYE: Ways to identify your bins as yours No. 28

Hawkeye was buying a roll ast week at Bakers Delight in Richmond Mall when a young bloke walked up with his girlfriend wearing neoprene swimming shoes. I couldn’t help accosting him. “Are those swimming shoes?” I asked him. “Yes!” he said with a smile, saying they were really comfortable and were enough coverage for normal footpaths etc, but I imagine they wouldn’t cut it on stony paths etc. Are they the new thongs?

Hawkeye was complimenting Leanne at Hairstudio 6 in Orange Grove Mall on her lovely Christmas tree in the centre of her salon, with red baubles swirling up in a spiral. She said she had to clean the baubles though, as they get covered in hairspray! 

Richmond Marketplace Prouds had a spruiker out the front last week. To my amazement he was soothing and polite and a reasonable volume and so found I was actually listening to him. Usually spruikers are so loud and obnoxious and insistent I have to scuttle away. I went up and thanked him for being soothing and reasonable. He was delighted.

In Richmond Mall there’s a sign for the new Rockmans in the middle of the walkway. The funny thing is, the model in the picture looks uncannily like Richmond Marketplace’s marketing manager Tracey Thomas. I saw Tracey helping at the Santa stand at Marketplace last week so I told her there’s a picture of her in the WRONG SHOPPING CENTRE, and explained. She had a laugh.

I love silly headlines. The US health newsletter I get on my email had this: ‘Six maligned vegetables you should reconsider”. They were beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale and turnips. But not parsnips. Growing up we never once had parsnips. I only knew they existed because we had them at Nanna and Pop’s. As a teenager I asked mum why. “Because I don’t like them,” mum said. “Cook’s privilege.”