Grumpy mature aged men

Controversial Sydney talkback host Alan Jones also has a nightly news programme on Sky News, Jones & Co. When I had a cable subscription, I never bothered to watch it, so I thought I'd give it a try. Almost half of its 45 minute running time was taken up with editorials from Jones, with some contributions from co-host, Peta Credlin. There was also an interview with a member of Australia's Commonwealth Games swimming team. Again, Jones did most of the talking. I won't bother with this show again. Jones is too overbearing and opinionated for my tastes.

Stealing Allan Pease's thunder

The latest political non-story of the last few days has been the false allegations that former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, had an affair. The claims were made in newspaper journalist Niki Savva's latest book, The Road to Ruin. Credlin was a control freak, and this contributed to Abbott losing the prime ministership, but she has refuted the affair rumours.

I'm inclined to believe her. Looking at photos of the pair, their body language suggests a platonic working relationship, and nothing more. I think back to 1997, when Cheryl Kernot unexpectedly defected from the Australian Democrats to join the Labor Party. Her move was facilitated byVictorian Labor Senator Gareth Evans.

I remember seeing pictures of them together after the announcement, standing beside each other and smiling. It seemed like there was a lot of warmth between them.

I like to think that I know at least some things about body language and nonverbal communication, so it wasn't that much of a surprise when some years later it was revealed that Evans and Kernot had an affair.