Mount Hutton's John Ure had to cancel a trip to China because of ... well ... obvious reasons.
"We should have been in China now," John said.
He and his wife instead decided to spend a few days somewhere nearby.
They chose to focus on areas affected by drought and/or bushfires.
"We had one night in one of the cabins adjacent to the Wollombi Tavern," he said.
They even received a small complimentary bottle of Dr Jurd's Jungle Juice. [Readers might recall we mentioned this drink last month].
They made their way via Broke, Singleton, Gresford and Dungog to Gloucester for two nights in a cabin at the caravan park.
"We didn't take any food with us and bought everything locally. We have been to Gloucester many times before, so on our second day there - when it was raining - we took a drive up to Wingham and spent a couple of hours in the local museum, which is truly amazing," he said.
"We have visited many museums, small and large in Australia and overseas, but this is without doubt one of the best and most interesting regional museums we have visited."
The museum, he said, is in a large building - Wingham's first general store.
"It covers the history - mainly the white history - of the region with meticulously presented exhibits dealing with its pastoral, mining, maritime and social history. As I said, we spent almost two hours there, it was so interesting, informative and entertaining."
John added that it was a "very relaxing three days in our local region".
Long Hair In Singapore
As we mentioned on Thursday, "spotless Singapore" is considered to be the cleanest city in the world.
Some partly attribute this to the Asian tiger's low infection rate of the coronavirus.
We also mentioned that Singapore is famous for its anti-litter and spitting fines. And, of course, its import ban on chewing gum.
John Ure said we missed the "most important feature of Singapore society".
"In the 1970s through to the early 1990s - long hair was banned," said John, who may well be a short, back and sides man.
"This was in response to the development of the hippie culture. The Singapore government, particularly its prime minister/dictator Lee Kuan Yew, believed that allowing long hair would corrupt young people."
Those found with long hair were fined or forced to cut it - or both.
"It generally only applied to males, however some schoolgirls had their long hair forcibly cut after being warned several times," he said.
"Thousands of public servants lost their jobs for having long hair. Cliff Richard, Led Zeppelin and the Bee Gees cancelled tours to Singapore at different times because of the ban. It was finally abolished in 1993."
Non-Viral Jokes
What happened to the guy who sued over his missing luggage? He lost his case.
What weighs more, a litre of water or a litre of butane? The water. Butane is lighter fluid.
Therapist: I've concluded that you are incapable of describing your feelings. Patient: I can't say that I am surprised.
Marriage counsellor: So, what brings you here today? Wife: He takes everything literally. I can't stand it. Husband: My truck.
- topics@newcastleherald.com.au
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