I'm just watching a doctor being interviewed on the ABC and being asked whether Medicare should be means-tested. Her answer was a doozie: 'I think it's a bit of the camel's nose under the tent.' Wow! Sounds great, but what does it mean?

It reminds me of the old routine, Rinse the Blood Off My Toga, when the characters, supposedly, heard phrases like 'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day' and 'All Roads Lead to Rome' for the first time. I can still quote great chunks of the script: Mrs Caesar saying, "I told him, Julie don't go. It's the Ides of March already' and the brilliant exchange with the bartender.

Bartender: What would you like to drink?
Customer: I'll have a martinus.
Bartender: Don't you mean martini?
Customer: If I want two, I'll ask for them.

Yesterday was the meeting of PROBUS where we were confirmed as members. It was a Christmas in July do and all the old-timers had a great time. One fellow brought along his accordion and another played the spoons so it was great fun. We think of ourselves as so modern and yet the old pleasures still make us smile.