Words used carelessly, as if they did not matter in any serious way, often allowed otherwise well-guarded truths to seep through.

As a result of all this hardship, dirt, thirst, and wombats, you would expect Australians to be a dour lot. Instead, they are genial, jolly, cheerful, and always willing to share a kind word with a stranger, unless they are an American.

Would you like me to go and stick my head in a bucket of water?

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler's mind.

So what do we do if we get bitten by something deadly?' I asked. He looked at me as if I were stupid. 'You die, of course. That's what deadly means.

The more I think about our species the more I think we just do stuff and make up explanations later when asked. But it's not true that I would rather write than read. I would rather read than write. To be honest I would rather hang upside down in a bucket than write.