I was at a prime minister’s funeral on my birthday. I watched the sun set over Uluru with a prince and princess and was thrown sideways in a ute next to a sheep sheering display. I’ve climbed masts, thrown axes, driven fast cars, had a police escort, been chased by a dingo, waded through flood water, been patronised by a (living) prime minister and have been ordered to leave a squatters camp. I’ve argued and laughed and charmed and pissed off and mumbled and pushed…and spent many hours sitting, staring at my computer screen, in a grey-on-grey office. But what are some of my favourite products of my working life of late?

Here are my fondest recentish stories, in no particular order:

Why Australia’s free barbecues are a national treasure

Lunch with Maha Krayem Abdo head of Muslim Women’s Association and NSW Human Rights Ambassador

Lunch with Adam Spencer: revenge of the nerds

Lunch with hand surgeon W Bruce Conolly preserves the formalities

Ashley Johnston hailed as Kurds’ hero in Sydney funeral

Good Food on Sunday: The Bondi Hipsters love Faheem’s Fast Food

For the feel of the drive alone, I’m going to include our She says, he says, BMW i3 review

Violent flash flood leaves Dungog residents in shock after friends perish

Ebola’s enduring legacy of trauma

Gough Whitlam memorial: a fitting end to a great, and chequered, career

And, finally, for the video, this ditty: I try my hand at axe throwing