Newcastle comedian Rhys Nicholson is not a happy chappy.
He’s had a gutful of the so-called millennial generation being labelled as slackers.
“Honestly, I think millennials have had a tough year – especially in the media,” Rhys said.
“Apparently, we’re spending too much on avo on toast and that’s why we can’t afford to buy a house. Do the math and we still wouldn’t be able to afford anything.”
Rhys is taking a stand for his fellow 18- to 30-year-olds.
“Other generations think we’re living this insane, self-obsessed, phone-coddling life, but really we’re not,” he said.
“It really gets to me when we’re painted as this self-obsessed, lazy bunch. We work hard and we like to be rewarded for it.”
Speaking of rewards, it’s about now that we should disclose that Rhys is acting as somewhat of a spokesman for Mastercard Debit Rewards.
Topics should say that we’re not endorsing Mastercard. Personally we use another brand. That’s no slight on Mastercard. We have no idea if they’re good or not.
But we do recommend debit cards generally, as long as they have no fees. (Check that, people. Some banks and financial institutions charge fees for debit card transactions and some don’t).
We definitely recommend against credit cards. We’re not into all that interest they charge. But hey, that’s just us.
Rhys participated in Mastercard’s “Millennials Demystified experiment”, which even had academic involvement.
The University of New South Wales – which disclosed that it does not endorse or support Mastercard or any of its products – used neuroscience to “highlight the gap” between society’s perception of the millennials and the reality.
Rhys and some other millennials wore headsets that monitored their brainwaves, while they were asked a series of questions.
The idea, it seems, was to bust myths about millennials and prove they aren’t selfish and self-centred after all.
If you think about it, they have been a tad maligned – just like other generations before them.
“I think throughout history older generations have always had some crazy idea about the younger generation being out of control,” Rhys said.
“I bet there were single cell organisms telling slightly more evolved single cell organisms to slow down.
“In saying that, fast forward a hundred years and I’ll be telling my kids they don’t understand what it was like back in the day.”
Harold Holt in Newcastle
Harold Holt played by actor Normie Rowe.
Merewether’s Elaine Street said the 50th anniversary of former prime minister Harold Holt’s death last Sunday brought back memories of seeing him walk down the steps at Civic Park fountain.
“I think the occasion was the opening of the Mattara Festival in August or September 1966 or 1967,” she said.
“On that evening, I’m not sure if the [Civic Park] fountain was finished and working, but the stairs were definitely completed.”
She always thought of Holt’s visit to Newcastle as something special, particularly given he was only in office for two years before he died.
Bonjour Ray
Ray Dinneen with wife Cheryl in Nice.
Former NBN news anchor Ray Dinneen is learning French.
We learnt about this while having an email chat to Ray about the intricacies of the English language.
“I have been learning French with the U3A [University of the Third Age], but next year will be looking more to the Alliance Francaise for tuition,” Ray said.
“Anything to keep the old brain alive.”
Ray, you’re an inspiration.
