Kate Emery

A new WA study claims to be the first to measure the immediate impact of junk food and anti-junk food ads screened during major sporting events.

Picking WA's best brunch spots is a bit like being asked to choose a favourite child. Actually it's harder because parents picking a favourite kid aren't asking strangers to adopt them.

Those who think the cultural pendulum has swung too far towards the progressive left may be pleased by the prospect of a swing back towards more conservative values.

Breakfast and brunch is big business in Perth.

Picking WA's best brunch spots is a bit like being asked to choose a favourite child. Actually it's harder because parents picking a favourite kid aren't asking strangers to adopt them.

Grab your flux capacitor and fire up the DeLorean because we're going back in time.

I was newly pregnant with my fourth child the summer that the chicken pox was running rampant in my neighborhood. August is one of the windiest months on the island of Oahu in Hawaii with persistent trade winds blowing from the northeast. The trade winds came to a “dead halt” the week that my two youngest children got the rash. We lived on Pearl Harbor and our windows were louvered, perfect to catch the island breezes, not an air conditioner in sight. It was a tortuous few days without sleep, in the unrelenting heat, monitoring the scratching of hundreds of blisters. My daughter, Jenny got the rash first, then my son, Stuart. Jenny's case was mild and she was the perfect patient at six years old. Stuie's rash was everywhere on his little four year old body, except his eyes. I would slather him in Calamine lotion after an oatmeal bath but the itchiness was unbearable for him. He would even scratch when he was asleep. In a desperate phone call for help, my mom remembered an “old wives tale” that recommended covering a child's hands with white cotton socks to make it difficult to scratch, avoiding infection, of course he hated that and pulled them off. The looming fear was that too much scratching would lead to impetigo. Impetigo was very common in children living in Hawaii due to its contagiousness, it required the dreaded antibiotic ointment, lots of band aids, and extended quarantine time. Other Moms in the neighborhood would send their children over to “visit” for a few minutes, exposing them to the chicken pox, just to “get it over with.” Somehow, my eldest didn't catch the chicken pox that summer, he continued to “live his best life,” swimming, riding his bike, and playing with his many friends.

The nice thing about taking a staycation in your home town is that it lets you see it with fresh eyes.

The nice thing about taking a staycation in your home town is that it lets you see it with fresh eyes.