Sydney City Council has just passed new regulations requiring driver’s licenses for yum-cha cart operators. I had yum-cha for the first time a few months ago and was unimpressed. It’s basically “dim sum”, as I understand it, where they wheel around carts full of little stuffed pork buns and chicken wings and spring rolls. Apparently there have been a rash of yum-cha cart accidents so now wait staff will have to undergo training and carry “L plates” for the first six months. Hee!

Note for Non-Aussies: Here’s the process for getting a driver’s license in this country (as I understand it). First you have to pass a Learner’s Test, after which you get your “L plates” to put on the car. It’s just a little sign with a red L on it. You have to log a certain number of hours driving and then you get to take your Provisional Test, which is a driving test with an instructor. When you pass that, you get your “red P’s”. Then later you have to take a Hazard Perception Test, after which you get your “green P’s”. And after that, there’s one final test before you get your real license. Pretty insane, huh? The L and P plates mark you out as a new driver, which means you have to drive slower and you get higher penalties for being pulled over. It’s a pretty thorough system!

Addendum, many hours later: I started to tell Snookums about the story tonight at dinner when he mentioned he’d already seen it. “Pretty good,” he said. “I bet a lot of people fell for it.” Me: “Uh… D’oh!” Consider me April Fooled. I can’t believe I’m that dumb.