George Orwell’s book, ‘1984‘, a dystopian science fiction novel published in 1949, has often been cited when discussing issues such as privacy in our twenty-first century society. In the latest move towards Orwellian reality, we have the Communications Legislation Amendment … Continued
Just for something completely different, as a change from going overseas, we decided to have a short couple of days in our own backyard, so to speak. In all the years we’ve lived here, we hadn’t been down the Mary … Continued
The second Ashes test played at Lord’s has been and gone. It was a great contest, played down to the wire, with Australia winning. But the game will always be remembered for Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal, out stumped when he wandered … Continued
I’ve been sorting through some of the many photos we’ve accumulated over the years. Since about 2002 those pictures are stored on a computer so it’s very easy to have a look at what we did back then. The fading … Continued
The news that the submersible Titan imploded as it descended towards the remains of the Titanic came as a macabre relief. Instant death as opposed to ninety-six hours of sitting in a cramped can waiting to die. While the search … Continued
The news in Australia is full of two things: the Brittany Higgins rape allegations and who in the parliament knew what when, and the latest outpourings on the up-coming Voice referendum. For my non-Australian readers, Brittany Higgins accused fellow ministerial … Continued
It’s June, according to the calendar the beginning of Winter in Australia. For us it’s a time of cool-cold nights (by our standards) and warm days, low humidity and light winds. It’s our favourite time of year here on the … Continued
Peter and I have just returned from a five-night stay in Fiji. We were offered a great deal covering accommodation, most meals and drinks, and a few side perks like cocktails and coral reef viewing. I’ve never been to any … Continued
I saw in the news that Johnny Depp is resurrecting his acting career, playing the role of Louis XV in a French film about one of the king’s many, many mistresses (Jeanne du Barry). There he was, astride a white … Continued
The current Government has delivered its budget and is crowing with delight that it has managed to come up with a surplus, which is great. It comes on the back of full employment (because we drastically reduced the migrant intake … Continued