Dusty Plains

I recall being thrown out of bed in our cabin as we entered Bass Strait and into a 6-8 metre swell. Every time the ship crested a wave it would roll and then pitch into the furrow. As it crashed into the next wave there was an enormous boom which would set off car alarms in the lower decks. We left our cabin and caught the lift to the upper decks ( now that 's an experience being in a moving lift as the ship tilts and dives) and watched the ship move through the swell. In our greater travels, that was far more exciting than driving down the Stuart Highway in the NT and counting the dead roos on the side of the road.

I can think of one thing you will be doing later.

A Happy New Year to you as well. Enjoy.

I agree to a certain extent, but its good to see the various community individuals, who quietly improve the lives of others, get some recognition. You will rarely see those recipients wearing a medal or using post nominals after their names , such as Fred Bloggs AO for instance.

The Honours list in Australia is a twice yearly thing. Firstly there is the New Years Honours List ( presented on Australia Day 26 January each year) and then in June there is the Queens Birthday Honours List. Those awarded honours, are from right across the spectrum, namely military, public service, community service, individual recognition such as bravery etc much like the British New Years honours. No OBE or CBE but Awards such as the various divisions Order of Australia and the Star of Courage etc.

If you are looking for a different form of possible bias for the home team, then look no further than the US Baseball League. They also "host" the Baseball World Series, and they win every time. The trouble is that they only play the World Series of Baseball among themselves. Apparently last WS saw the US reclaim the trophy from ...........the US vs =

I like the five-day tests. Its a cricket campaign with all the twists and turns that can occur over five days, to a far greater extent when compared to the shorter version of the game. Having said that, the BBL is pretty exciting at the moment as well. There is bias in all international sports commentary, from all countries participating. In cricket at least we have had mixed commentary teams for years.

If you are looking for positions within NSW health, or for any NSW government job, you can also visit the "I Work for NSW" Website: Here is a list that may interest you: https://iworkfor.nsw.gov.au/jobs/all-keywords/all-agencies/all-organisations--entities/clinical-psychologist-jobs/all-locations/all-worktypes?jobcategoryid=16648 Its a start at least.

There certainly is. I have immediate family in three states, old and young and they are all just fine. I do not know anyone who has Covid-19 even though we are in the so-called hot spot. I have survived bushfires in January, and major heart surgery in April. I am about to become a grandfather again. La Nina has greened everything, and filled the dams and streams. There are now Trout, Bass and Perch galore in the streams and lakes, many of which were mere mud holes back in January 2020. The farmers and primary producers are back on deck as well. Mrs Dusty and I have noticed the huge increase in the numbers and varieties of bird life. We, along with our neighbours no longer need to put out dishes of water for the birds to drink. Looking at the Sydney news sites, you would think that the place is sliding into a Covid catastrophe even though there have been no deaths associated with the current outbreak. I often wonder what news there would be if Covid did not exist. If anything we will look back on 2020 and be able to say not only did we survive, but we thrived.

I think you have won the lottery of life over there in WA.

His reputation currently, and for the last two years or so, has been especially solid. Only this week the ICC named Steve Smith as the Greatest Test Player (male) of the decade. His batting average is 63. Presumably you think otherwise?

Rebuild his reputation? With whom?

Very strange that as soon as Kholi departs the Indian Team seems to have had a very obvious form reversal. India is another team entirely, compared to the team that played the first test.

It feels weird, I know. We forget that as much as we have bushfires, at Christmas, we also have floods and storms in every other year. Probably, where I live at least, every Christmas Day is either hot and dangerous, or wet and cool .