Launching a myth

July 30, 2026 — 9:00pm“When, as one does, fact checking Homer’s Odyssey, I find that 1196 ships sailed to Troy. Helen, the face that launched 1196 ships doesn’t have the same ring,” reckons Jane Stranger of Erskineville. “Clearly the PR gurus and brand managers of the time thought so, too.”Barry Lamb of Eastwood’s suggested names for the Australian Underwater Hockey team (C8) are so elite that they could utilise any of them. Take your pick from, The Scubaroos, The Flipperoos, The Scudding Neptunes or The Munned Stullets. Philip Cooney of Wentworth Falls suggests The Hockeyrays, though that could result in a complaint from the Australian women’s water polo team, The Stingers.“Your correspondent found the film Jedda traumatising as a young child,” notes Mary Julian of Glebe. “I was also at t