Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots totally blows from a grammatical point of view, as far as Lorraine Phillips of Wollongong is concerned: “Really? ‘Destucts our communities’? Perhaps this is the party for illiterates.” Kevin Hunt of Kenthurst says that “something that has always had me curious, but more so recently since its price went into orbit, is why is gold a ‘safe haven’? It has almost no intrinsic value apart from wedding rings, dental fillings and the bathroom fittings on oligarchs’ yachts, and therefore surely it is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Why is not like any other hyped-up investment bubble, that could burst tomorrow if a whole bunch of people started thinking ‘yeah, nah’?” “I would like to add skunks to the comprehensive list of animals that don’t do well when chancing their lives crossing the road (C8),” writes Tim Ingall of Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. “I know they aren’t Australian, but the unique, pungent odour experienced as you drive by a dead skunk is memorable for all the wrong reasons. A final thought; for all the jokes about chickens crossing the road, I cannot remember a single instance of seeing a dead chicken on the side of the road when driving on rural roads in either Australia or the US.” “Andrew Brown missed one animal in his Stupid Animal Road Ratings,” says Judy Jones of Thornleigh. “Our stupidest was outside Broken Hill, the second of a pair of emus, who – despite us bearing down on it – determinedly followed the first emu. Our choice was a road train coming towards us, a deep ditch off the road or the emu. The emu drew the short straw. Sorry, Emu but it was all about self-preservation.” Janice Creenaune of Austinmer agrees and thinks that “all those feathers make such a sad display on the tarmac.” “The ants in our backyard have suddenly started to dig,” reports Ian Nicholls of Baulkham Hills. “Does that mean a lot of rain is coming?”