NOW that an Australian is coaching the England cricket team, I can look forward to the Ashes series starting in July in the UK. As a Pom Down Under for more than a quarter of a century, I have always supported English sporting teams against the rampant Aussies. It’s cost me a few bob as…
WE’VE had a number of dogs and cats sharing our married life but currently ruling the household is a cat named Jasper. We rescued Jasper as an orphan kitten from a cat shelter and you would think he would be grateful for the rest of his life. Not a bit of it. At the time…
HAVING grown up in the imperial world, I am quite satisfied with the way in which I now understand metric measurements. With one exception: height. I am happy to drive 70 kilometres from A to B and know that if I drive at an average of 70km an hour, it will take one hour to…
TWO budgets in one week. Too much excitement for a man of my advanced years, particularly when senior citizens take a hit in both. Baby boomers fared relatively lightly in the Australian federal budget compared with the Western Australian state budget two days later. Australia’s largest state — which only a couple of years ago…
AUSTRALIAN Treasurer Joe Hockey has called for Australians to “give it a go”. I thought at first that it was a follow-up call to former Treasurer Peter Costello who 10 years ago said: “One for Dad, one for Mum and one for the country.” Costello was referring to babies and indeed Australia duly responded with a…
THEY said we only needed two Arabic words – La shukran, meaning No thank you. But the Egyptian street traders paid no attention, so we tried No in English, repeated a million times. Beseiged by street traders at every tourist spot, we soon learned the ropes. ‘It is a present’ means it’s free but the giver…
THERE’S little in the colour of the water to justify the title of Blue Danube immortalised by Johann Strauss, but music is an ever-present accompaniment to trips into the cities which adorn the mighty river through the heart of Europe. The majestic state opera houses of Budapest and Vienna are the magnet for tourists seeking…
“A great day for all Australians,” said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. No, he wasn’t referring to yet another Ashes cricket victory over England. Nor to his election victory nearly two years ago. Nor even to the day when his government might produce a budget surplus. He was referring to the birth of Princess Whatshername,…
Like many people around the world I donated money the other day to one of the aid agencies bringing relief to the earthquake survivors in Nepal. I just hope my money is effective. You do wonder. The whole business of charity donation is coloured with doubt. How much is actually getting through to where it…
Our granddaughter celebrates her 9th birthday today, which is another reminder of how quickly time flies by. It seems like only yesterday when I held her in my arms and purred over the arrival of our first grandchild. My daughter and her husband had held the name secret and now announced her as Summer. I…
Booming Marvellous 