My son has been having a tough time with a few kids at school. This morning we discussed the concept of “Haters”.

My wife suggested that Taylor Swift - Shake it off is a good song for guidance. I suggested DMX - X Gon' Give It To Ya.

I think she may be a better parent than me.

I can do without companies sending me “friendly reminders” - it just feels like passive aggressive corporate speak.

I have a childhood memory of watching morning Christmas cartoons when on holidays. It was always a buffet of Scooby-Doo, Rankin/Bass and whatever mad-cap Christmas special they could come up with (looking at you He-Man). It was the best and due to streaming hard for kids to replicate.

Occasionally getting older is a gut punch at a time. The Queensland Reds announced the 2025 jersey as a throwback to a classic design from 2001 (my first year of uni). Great design then they had to point out that was 24 years ago. Ough - cool jersey though.

We have been living in Tonga for the last few months and my favourite thing so far has been the use of the word “bye” as a happy greeting. It’s always said with a happy tone and a huge smile. It roughly means that they are happy to see you but know that you are not staying still long enough to talk.

It’s rare when someone writes an niche piece about something I hold passionately. Substitute a hot Australian Christmas for Thanksgiving (weirdly we always have roast turkey and ham) and add to the mix cold beer and Boxing Day cricket and we have the perfect meal for a summer day.