Crime fiction is one of the old stand-bys for me, when I’m looking for something to read that’s interesting, and a bit brain challenging. The old whodunnit. I enjoyed Agatha Christie’s work and I’ve read a number of others, mainly British. I suppose they must resonate with me. One writer who has become a ‘must…
I watched a documentary on TV last night. It was about the last few years of the 1930s and Hitler’s move toward the war he wanted. The makers interviewed a number of historians who were experts on the events and illustrated their remarks with (mainly) black and white news reel footage. The focus was on…
Much has been said about electric cars of late. If you believe the main argument, they’re going to save the world by stopping all those nasty exhaust fumes going into the atmosphere. And, you know, we Australians are a slack mob. Take-up of electric cars here is only about 2%, as compared to places like…
This week’s news has been dominated by two and a half subjects. The first was that four-year-old Cleo Smith, abducted from a tent at a remote campsite in Western Australia eighteen days ago, was found alive and well in nearby Carnarvon. I think the unexpected sigh of relief circled the globe. I don’t think anybody…
It’s a muggy, windy, not very nice day today. We woke up early, before the clock had made it as far as 5. It’s all too much like summer and it isn’t even November. I suppose if we were so inclined we could look forward to Halloween tomorrow evening but it was never a thing…
Some books are without a doubt aimed only at children. They’re short, the printing is often larger, the language is simple, and they’re not full of sex and violence. But even books like the immortal Winnie the Pooh can be enjoyed by adults. Winnie the Pooh is full of humour that would zip over a…
It seems Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has finally bitten the bullet and agreed to open Fortress Queensland in time for Christmas on 17th December (for double vaccinated people, at least). But it’s all a bit of coming and going with her. Not so long ago she said opening wasn’t going to happen until 80% of…
I was a science fiction reader before I dipped my toe into the vast ocean of romance. More than that, I like space opera. Yes, I’m a Star Wars fan, despite the rather ordinary science. What attracts me is the aliens and the space ships and the amazing different worlds out there. And after all,…
In a week of what else is new, Australia is in another conflict with China. This time, it’s over Antarctica. Australia is one of twelve countries active in Antarctica which signed the Antarctic Treaty. It covers things like catches of krill and tooth fish, and mining. The Chinese simply ignore the agreement when it doesn’t…
You might recall that several weeks ago our three-week-old car was stolen from our locked garage. Tap this link to read the story. The incident threw a spanner into our relatively comfortable lives. We’d felt secure here, and that illusion was dealt a blow. But life goes on. We ordered a new car which will…