Vaccination queues are long and busy, but in our country towns we are being offered a great service and lots of people have had at least one AstraZeneca injection.

It is really important for all of us to keep in regular contact with our five closest friends, the ones that we discuss politics, religion and finances with.

While we mention good friends, I must send a cheerio call to BMA president Warwick Larnach, who is going well after a health problem.

FOR those who enjoy a book with a real Australian background, I think Kate Kelly is close to the top of a bucket list.

This is the well-researched and nicely written tale of the famous bushranger Ned Kelly's little sister, and details their early life, the siege of Glenrowan, the battle to save her brother's life, and her sad end in a lake in Forbes.

This is an easy book to read; take your time and enjoy some Australian history.

You should find a copy at Books Plus in Bathurst.

Father's Day is less than four weeks away.

AN article in a Melbourne newspaper outlines a 15-year struggle that has ended with 11 wind turbines being installed on a Skipton farm.

The farm's owner and his family run 5000 Merinos on 2000 hectares of owned and leased country and receive $220,000 per year in lease payments for the turbines.

The elderly farmer says he and his family felt ostracised and he has been quite depressed, but he feels that the towers look quite elegant and the turbines remind him of the sound of a jet plane in the distance.

The nearest tower to his house is 500 metres away.