The end is near!
Oh dear. The world really is conspiring against me. I woke this morning to the news that Boris Johnson has hired Tony Abbott as a Brexit trade advisor. This is … Continue reading The end is near!
A New Zealander living in Scotland who loves cargo bikes
Oh dear. The world really is conspiring against me. I woke this morning to the news that Boris Johnson has hired Tony Abbott as a Brexit trade advisor. This is … Continue reading The end is near!
Climate change is like borrowing money and getting into debt. Consider this: you borrow a large sum of money and the interest rate goes up every year. You do not … Continue reading Climate change is like getting into debt
These graphs from the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology show how hot and dry Australia has become. Ironically, they were reported by an American newspaper – The New York … Continue reading 2019 Australia’s hottest and driest year
Australia is the hottest place on Earth right now. Bushfires are raging across the country destroying homes and habitats, smothering cities in smoke, and taking lives – two volunteer firefighters … Continue reading When leadership fails
Australia recorded its hottest day EVER on Wednesday with a national average temperature of 40.9C. Paradoxically, the front page of The Australian newspaper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, ran … Continue reading Hottest day ever for Australia
I saw this great Tweet from Pedal Me a few days ago: Those who say it cannotbe done should not interrupt those who are doing it. 300kg of whisky being … Continue reading Those who say it can’t be done should not interrupt those who are doing it
An Australian football player lost his job with Rugby Australia recently because of comments he made on Instagram. Before I disclose what these comments were, it’s worth pointing out that … Continue reading Why isn’t Israel Folau selling his possessions to give to the poor?
Gigabit fibre is currently being rolled out onto our street. I’ve been impressed with the speed and efficiency with which it has been installed. They did the pavement outside our … Continue reading Fibre to my door and another doggy
I just watched an interesting program on Australia’s tardiness in addressing the climate emergency. It was published in April this year along with an article outlining Australia’s efforts. There’s positive … Continue reading Australia worst country for electric car charging points
I was going to write a post about faith-based leadership when I came across this article – Faith without works: Why the Prime Minister’s call to pray for rain is … Continue reading Faith-based leadership and a climate emergency
January 2019 was Australia’s hottest January on record. March was its hottest March on record. February was its 5th hottest February. 2018 was its third hottest year on record. The … Continue reading Australia needs a new gig
I’m delving into the depths of the gossip columnists by writing this but it’s too dreadfully hypocritical not to share. Who needs fiction when there’s real life? You may have … Continue reading Anti-gay-marriage campaigner has affair and leaves wife and kids
A couple of months ago Elizabeth started watching Zumbo’s Just Desserts which is an Australian reality TV cooking show. She loved it. I was amused by all the questions I … Continue reading Australianisms
One of my talents, it seems, is picking locks. I must have inherited this from my convict great, great, great, great grandfather, Michael Burns, who was sent to Australia on … Continue reading How to pick a lock
It’s not often that I read news coming out of Australia and feel proud to be Australian. Mostly, I cringe. But not this week. The results of the same-sex marriage … Continue reading Congratulations to Australia on same-sex marriage vote!
Suppose there’s a planet called Dog’s Bollocks and the aliens on Dog’s Bollocks have been using something called pumpkin for all their energy needs. But pumpkin has several problems. One: it’s running out. There’s … Continue reading Pumpkin and the Dog’s Bollocks
We watched another 1980s classic film today, The Man From Snowy River. This is an Australian film made in 1982 and based on a poem by Banjo Paterson. It’s an … Continue reading The Man from Snowy River: a film, a poem, and piano music
Newsflash: I watched the rugby! Well, some of it anyway. I don’t usually take any notice of these high-profile sporting events but my mum and step-father (Doug) arrived yesterday and … Continue reading Rugby
Inspired by AndThen’s recent post about his family history, I thought I’d write a bit about my own. My family history is quite colourful. My great-great-great-great-grandfather was some kind of … Continue reading An Australian family history
My aunt sent me this funny letter which was apparently sent to the Australian DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) office about a passport application. I have since discovered … Continue reading A funny letter to DFAT