NSW TrainLink could do with adjusting its station announcements, a travelling correspondent tells Topical this week. While waiting to board a train to Narrabri at Central Station, the correspondent overheard an interesting pronunciation of Bellata. Rather than Bellata – sounding similar to the ‘ter’ in chatter – it was pronounced in the automated message as ‘Bell-arta’. Only a little detail in the scheme of things, we know. The correspondent, however, was glowing about the service on board. “How lucky are we to be easily connected to our capital by rail,” the correspondent said. “It’s a great service – I love the downtime on the train and being able to read my newspapers (The Courier included, of course).”

The Oxford Dictionary has introduced some new additions in the form of Aussie slang. Among the latest inclusions are ‘avo’ – an avocado, ‘goon’ – as in cask wine, ‘slab’ – as in a case of beer, and ‘spew’ – as in feeling devastated or angry.

Winter solstice was marked on June 21, the shortest day of the year (in terms of daylight). “Surely that means warmer weather is just around the corner,” a correspondent quipped to Topical.