I’m a cranky old bat whom most of you would probably regard as being past her use by date. When I read comments on social media complaining about their rights being infringed, I think back to the stories told me as a child by my English relatives about living in the south of England and London during the war. Hiding under the kitchen table because there wasn’t enough warning to get to a shelter. Night after night spent with the kids sleeping in the underground. No idea where your male family members were or even if they were still alive because they were off to the war. Rationing of food and clothing.

I simply cannot close this article without commenting. I know much more about adoption than the author and I’m amazed and bewildered in equal measure. The reader may think I’m arrogant because of the statement I’ve just made, but I’m perfectly justified in making it.

I find Ciarran to be the most revolting example of the male that I’ve struck in a very long time. I didn’t like him from the minute he walked onto The Bachelorette, as I could see he was a poser with a very high opinion of himself.

Seriously Laura! Why would you let this bother you? It’s your life, your family and nobody else’s business. You’re doing yourself and your gorgeous bub a disservice by allowing others, strangers, to control your emotions. You just do you and ignore those who have nothing else to do but trawl social media looking for something/someone to criticise to make them feel better about themselves.

How dare the president of the United States expect that people will behave in a respectful, responsible manner? When did it become okay to loot and burn other people’s property for any reason? What’s it to them if there are soldiers on every corner? Protesters need to be reminded that if they want the benefits of living in a civilised democracy, they behave like civilised humans with consideration for others.

I’m a mother of a son much older than yours. I know this would be a very difficult thing to do, but for his own sake, you need to report him to the police. This would get him help. This can’t go on. Your younger children are suffering and you need to protect them.

@sara78, I’m so sorry. I relate completely. I was married at 22, we started trying straight away and after multiple miscarriages, I had to have a hysterectomy at 28. We adopted our only child, a son, four years later. The country’s crying out for foster parents, would you consider that? If you’re worried you wouldn’t be able to love a child that isn’t yours, don’t. I took one look at my son and instantly loved him. A lot of children are needing long term care. It’s just a suggestion.

Look, I’m sorry but there seems to be a whole lot of negativity here. Every ‘meltdown’ is affecting your baby. I’m in a horrible position vis a vis my health at the moment and there isn’t going to be a happy ending like you can expect. You are so lucky to be bringing a baby into your life and that of your husband. Regardless of the circumstances, rejoice in it. Be happy. It sounds as though you have a pretty charmed life. Think of the future when the madness is over and this is just a bad dream. Your disappointment will have disappeared and you will have a child to love and enjoy for years. This is just a blip.

Surely there has to be a limit on what the government must pay for. People forget that governments have no money. The money belongs to the workers paying tax and the taxpayer expects, often in vain, that the government will spend it wisely. Every day we’re being bombarded with one or another group demanding that the government fork out more and more. The pool is finite unless the government begins to print money and that way madness lies.

The article deals with Anglo/Celtic/European majority countries. In countries where this is not the case, white people and other ethnic groups are discriminated against. I know this to be true. The fact is that racism exists in every country in the world to a greater or lesser extent. The only reason it’s been brought to the fore now, is that white majority countries have realised the inequities and are making genuine efforts to redress the situation.

This is a terrible situation but I believe the authorities are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. There is a huge difference between living in large blocks of apartments and living in a suburban street. The stair railings, lift buttons, door handles, laundry facilities etc are used by dozens of people every day. Doctors have said that the virus can survive in the air for four minutes. If you leave your apartment for something as simple as going to the foyer to check your mailbox, you could be inhaling the virus on the way there, in the foyer and on your way back.

I grew up in the 50s and if my mother and her friends were ‘drunk on Shandi (whatever the hell that is) or high on Valium’ (which wasn’t released in America until 1963, so it would have been later in Australia), they did a bloody good job of hiding it!

I have a friend who tells a very similar story, with a daughter. Every possible thing was done for her, including boarding school at one of the most prestigious girl’s’ schools in NSW. She wanted to go there and so she went. She was expelled after several incidents. She disappeared at the age of 16 and didn’t make contact again until she called home asking her parents to organise a lavish wedding. In another state. They complied. She’s now in her early 30s has been married twice and has a preschool son, whose father she’s unsure of. It’s tragic but my friend and her husband are still happily married.

My parents had this book in the bookcase and, being a somewhat precocious child, I read it about 65 years ago when I was still in primary school. I loved it then and still do. The original movie starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy is very close to the book and very funny. It’s worth a watch.

Do you seriously believe that a book written by a bitter woman is 100% accurate and will have an impact on arguably the most powerful government in the world? Like most people who write these books, she has an agenda and it’s nothing more than a ‘he said, she said’.

I married 52 years ago in a beautiful wedding venue overlooking the Georges River in Gymea Bay. It was quite expensive, with beautiful antique furniture and gorgeous drapes. The problem was that my husband to be was uncle to two boys, aged two and three. They were absolutely feral kids because my husband’s sister stated that she would never say ‘no’ to her children and wouldn’t permit anyone else to say it either, including their father. 

I’ve suffered from severe eczema my entire life and there were no steroid creams available until I was 17 years old. One of the things that I’m allergic to is my own perspiration which makes life difficult in summer. Prior to steroid creams, eczema was treated with coal tar ointment. I know! I went to school every day smelling like a roadworks plant. Needless to say, I never won a popularity contest.

While I think your sister is totally ott still going on after six months, there’s a truth you can’t ignore that I know to be true. Your sister is your sister cradle to grave. Friendships are fleeting. 

I saw a minister interviewed on last night’s news. I’m not sure whether or not he belonged to St John’s Church, but I assumed he did because he made the statement that Donald Trump is not welcome at the church. I don’t like Donald Trump as a person; I find him to be too brash and opinionated. However, I’m able to distinguish between my feelings and what’s right. I’m also not a Christian, nor do I have any other religious affiliation.

I’ve experienced racism myself, so I know how it feels. When we lived in a country town on the mid north coast of NSW, I knew what was going to happen to me when I was walking into one of the shopping malls from my car.