This is Sole (sorry girl but I haven’t quite worked out how to insert the grave over the “e” so that your name is spelt properly!). Sole is one of our many dogs and one of my absolute favourites. She is, true to her name, a dog who keeps her own counsel – she can [...]
READ MORESeptember, 2008
Australia is so…boring
“Australia is so…boring!!” So said the Professor from the University of KwaZulu Natal when I was in South Africa recently. “How so?”, I asked, taking a mild and curious offense to his statement. He proceeded to explain that he’d been to Australia a few times over the years and that his views had been confirmed [...]
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800 guardian angels killed by a sacred banyan tree
This report from the Wildlife Trust of India tells of the tragic deaths of more than 800 Asian Openbill Storks, Anastomus oscitans. The birds, mostly nestlings and juveniles, died when the banyan tree they were nesting in collapsed last week. “Most of the admitted birds are chicks and fledglings. Many are severely injured, with fractures [...]
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Mad Mal Brough – goodbye and good riddance
I gave up on hate as a waste of time many years ago and it is a very rare moment now that I can be bothered to even strongly dislike someone. Contempt and pity rise a little more easily but are still occasional pleasures. And I don’t like seeing small furry animals in pain and [...]
READ MOREBuenos Aires – mugging and pick-pocket capital of the world?
Our local guide then really grabbed our attention with her stories about the local pick-pockets and street muggers that prey upon unwitting tourists in this most European of South American cities. “It is okay, they don’t use guns or knives” she said, a great relief to me “Just be careful, they are very quick” says the guide, “Give them your money and they won’t hurt you.”
READ MOREThe Northern Myth – a short introduction
B R Davidson’s book “The Northern Myth” was first published in 1965 and set out to dispel the then popular belief that tropical Australia could be transformed into a magical land of milk and honey from which boundless agricultural wealth would flow. Davidson’s book should be mandatory reading for any contemporary politician who puts “the [...]
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