I should have gotten a photo of her pearly whites while I had a chance, to illustrate better the results of Thailand's dental tourism industry. But her smile said it all. Go overseas for a month-long holiday, fly business, stay in a nice hotel, and have all your teeth fixed. And it still cost less than her local dentist. I was checking in this week at Bangkok airport to return home, four ... read more>

Like a fair number of Australians, judging by the queues leaving Sydney airport, I have taken to the skies to return to Europe after a four-year break. And the good news is that all things to do with COVID seem to have been cast into the past. And pleasure is back on the agenda (that’s me pictured with a couple of former school chums in Dorset). On planes, trains, and buses, masks have be... read more>

Even when you are allegedly a grown-up, losing our pet reduced me to an over-emotional jelly, and I cried ''like a child''. It's not like we didn't know our dog was on his last legs.  Sprocket, the spaniel, was given three months to live more than 18 months ago after the vet found an aggressive tumour at his rear end. But being the dog he was, Sprocket defied our orders, he defied larg... read more>

Source: 9News The phrase more fun than a barrel full of monkeys has some irony in the latest “snouts in the trough” saga to paralyse the NSW parliament. The surname Barilaro in Italian refers to the proud tradition and occupational name for a cooper or maker of barrels and, funnily enough, wooden troughs. But the besieged former deputy premier John Barilaro cannot be having much fun be... read more>

I always believe in holding onto any good news when you find it, especially given the blight of the present cost of living crisis. The media is full of bad news, and fair enough, but there are always a few straws in the wind. Here’s a handful of my optimistic takes. Even if they seem a tad crazy, these shafts of sunlight bring some relief. They might not apply to you. If you have your own... read more>