A lesson in Anzac yarn
"Those members of the RSA who object to a reading of a prayer from the Koran reflect the them and us attitudes that cause wars in the first place," writes Liz Willis. "In our local knitting yarn shops is an Anzac brand of wool. A joint production of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. The flags of all three countries are on the label. A percentage of the sales of this yarn are donated to the RSA. Inside the label is a message from Turkey ... "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are at peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." Words attributed to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic 1934.
Scaring off hate speech
A reader writes: "On a family sailing holiday — close confines, two families, many teens — you get the picture. One parent got concerned about the excessive use of the word "hate" — given a chance the teens will "hate" pretty much everything. So it was it was suggested we all substitute "hate" for "scared of". Everyone adopted it — it became second nature. However, it did have some quirky results. For example how can anyone be scared of Ed Sheeran?"
