Column 8

"I just heard my first Christmas carol today on Friday while shopping in Church Street Mall, Parramatta," reports an irritated Sue Norris, of Springwood. "Can anyone beat this? If so, you have my deepest sympathy. It was Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and you can all sing it in your heads now €“ I don't see why I should suffer alone!" In a similar vein, Jan Ritchie, of Balgowlah Heights, writes: "Tonight we heard the first cicada chorus of this spring. We always expect to hear them about now, but are puzzled that invariably their first singing is at exactly at 10 to eight, to the extent that my father christened them the '10-to-eighters'." Can readers throw more light on this?