The following was submitted to Topical by a community member who wanted to send a big thumbs up to those considerate and committed Narrabri Shire citizens who give their valuable time to provide the wide range of rescue services if required without remuneration. Incidents can occur at any moment and of any nature and the VRA squad members sacrifice time and effort which could be well spent doing other things like family, work or sport to be prepared and is therefore much appreciated. They also demonstrate their commitment to the community by participating in community events such as Anzac Day, the Christmas carnival and show among many others. We as a community, need to show support and encourage this service provided to us for it is comforting to know that the squad is ready to help should we need them. The squad could be encouraged by making a visit to the base station on Thursday evenings to see the huge range of equipment they have and see them training in a variety of simulated incidents. Thank you to the employers who support the squad with the service they give.

Just when we think we have reached peak ridiculousness, we can still be surprised. Nowadays it is evidently important to warn readers of books and audiences at plays that they may be shocked or traumatised by the content they are about to see. This has meant, among other things that London’s Globe Theatre had to warn the audience that Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ ‘contains depictions of suicide and violence’ before a recent production. The Australian newspaper reports that ‘ The Melbourne Theatre Company warned audiences about a fake moth: “A dead moth is tangled on the clothes of one of the characters … this is a fake moth. No animals are harmed during the making of the production.” Warnings about content are called ‘trigger content.’’ The Melbourne company presenting a musical adaptation of the Australian classic ‘My Brilliant Career’ warns that ‘would-be lover Hal tells protagonist Sybylla she is ‘well shaped and grabs her by the hand and asks for a kiss.” Perth’s Black Swan theatre company warns that in the coming ‘The Seed’ ‘the death of a crayfish and other sea creatures is mentioned…’

There is a new weapon being used by phone scam criminals – voice cloning. People may receive a phone call from a voice which sounds like a son, daughter, mother, business associate or friend – but it won’t be one of those, it will be a voice which has been ‘cloned’ from their voice with AI.