Here are some columns that have struck a chord with some readers – well, enough for them to email to say how pleased, annoyed or touched they were. The Unfriendliest Gym attracted equal numbers of people saying “Right on! We must be going to the same gym!” and others saying their gyms were really quite friendly. A Christchurch gym offered me a week’s free membership to what they say is the friendliest gym on the planet. I’d have taken them up on it if a 3000 mile flight hadn’t been involved.

Several people said they were moved to tears over the boy who had the motorbike crash in Tasmania. Fortunately, the story had a happy ending.

Some people say they enjoy travel pieces the most. I’ll include a couple of those. And something about Cleo the cat, specially for Sarah Heinekin in the US who discovered a Cleo column on the web one day and has been a regular reader of the column ever since.

• Ghost Story
• Too Fat To Travel
• Rome Taxi
• Italy Arriving
• Caftan
• Unfriendliest Gym in the World
• Wet Day at the Beach
• Motorbike crash
• Cat
• The differences between men and women
• Van Gogh
• Koh Samui
• Yachting