Parade now associates pre-roadworks Kelso with the distant past, back in the days when Australia kept its prime minister for more than two years and when Jarryd Hayne was still working on his first sporting dream, not his fifth.

Parade mentions all this because he took a drive out that way earlier in the week for the first time in a while and two things were very obvious.

The first was that much had been done, including the work on the Boyd Creek bridge, since Parade was last there.

The second was that there is still much to be done in the $85 million project, which is due to be completed next year.

Parade knows there have been plenty of grumbles about the highway work – and Parade might have even indulged in some grumbling himself when he has been stuck in traffic out that way – but he does think Bathurst is lucky to have this sort of money spent on an infrastructure upgrade.

It will all be worth it in the end, Parade is certain.

In the meantime, though, the highway work goes on … and on.

AN interesting press release crossed Parade’s desk this week, claiming to reveal the "most trusted brands in Australia".

Reader's Digest commissioned the survey involving a cross-section of 2400 Australians and conducted by Catalyst Research to find which organisations, products and services "enjoy a truly special bond with the public".

And the results were quite surprising.

While long-established brands like Dettol and Johnson & Johnson made the top 10, the top spot went to vacuum (and other small appliances) manufacturer Dyson, a relative newcomer in the Australian market.

For the record, the other spots in the top 10 went to Energizer, Duracell, Dulux, Lipton, Twinings, Samsung and John West.

So there you go.