Property point

One of the things I noticed about my father when I was a kid was that he would tuck his shirt into his underpants.
The idea was to keep the shirt tight and tidy and never untucked. But it was one of those “daggy” things your father did, so in the interests of being young and “cool” you would never do it yourself.
He would always carry a handkerchief as well, as did most people in those days, although they were more commonly known as a hankie.
I didn’t have much choice about the hankie because my mother would make sure I had one before heading off to school. But I reckon I stopped using hankies when I was about 17, when mum wasn’t as involved in such matters.
Two incidents, involving a couple of friends, reminded me of these old practices the other day.
I’ve got a Pommy mate who starts the working day looking okay but as it goes on he looks scruffier and scruffier, usually with his shirt partially untucked.
He’s not very good at keeping secrets and is known as a bit of a “canary”. So for some reason he told a colleague the other day that he had tucked his shirt into his underpants to keep himself looking tidy during the day. So everyone knew about the shirt-tuck. Too much information.
But it was a case of Back to the Future for me as I recalled my dad’s shirt-tucking practice.
Later in the day it was a case of Back to the Future II. I saw a gentleman from a very nice, established Mt Pleasant address take a sip of a beverage, proffer a comment on young people or something like that, and reach for his handkerchief.
The Mt Pleasant gent is a mate of mine and I have written about him previously, in particular his opposition to the practice of people wearing fishing shirts into places he deems unacceptable, like dining establishments.
I know what you are thinking: Please spare us from the affectations of this Mt P dandy with his leafy neighbourhood, pretentious kerchiefs and tut-tutting about fishing shirts and the like. Fair enough.
But the truth is my Mt Pleasant mate grew up in the tough streets of South Mackay in the 1960s and ’70s and, while he has worked his way up to a nice life, he hasn’t forgotten his roots.
For him, it’s not a handkerchief but a hankie. And, while seeing him bring out a hankie was a blast from the past for me, I reckon he had never stopped carrying one.
Some things in real estate might also seem like a blast from the past but, in fact, never went away and are now very popular.
Witness low-set brick veneer houses built in the 1970s and 1980s with their archways and sunken lounges … they are being snapped up for prices much higher than just a couple of years ago.
Not long ago people looked down their noses at the old brick veneer houses with archways, lino and shaggy old carpet. They seemed so “dated”.
But the truth is they are well-built, on decent-sized blocks with good vehicle access, all on one convenient level for people of all ages.
And they are in very central locations such as Mt Pleasant, South Mackay, Glenella, Beaconsfield and Andergrove. Investors love them because they know tenants will be lining up with rental applications.
Before the new owners or tenants move in, the orange carpet is usually replaced with more neutral-coloured carpet and the lino is replaced with vinyl planking.
The archways are left as they are because, just like tucking your shirt into your undies and carrying a hankie, they are back baby.

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