The PR Blog

By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) 

The Prime Minister has officially hit Platinum-Plus on the Ratty Airways Frequent Flyer Club, logging more miles than a croc turbo-charged on WDPT boosters. His latest diplomatic detour: a lightning sprint to the UN, accompanied by Toto, whose primary task seemed to be preventing lamingtons from making a daring escape from his carry-on..... and to set up the selfie that the PM wanted so desperately.  

So, exclusive to Ratty News, here is how it went down and how Trump first learned of Dusty Gulch.... and how our PM got a selfie of global significance.

It all started when Ratty Airlines was taken over by Duck HQ to provide a flight for a Very Important Pruck, none other than the Air Bus himself. Our lead bi plane, powered by Whiskers Dynamic Propulsion, could get him to New York faster than UberRoo delivering a McFookit Burger from Dusty McFookit's burger joint to the Dusty Dingo. In other words, fast. 

But why the hurry? That was where I came in, your rodent with a nose for a story. Buckle up folks, you are in for one ducker of a ride,

Those who are not familiar with this title may be excused for thinking that it is the name of a circus troupe. After all, in WW1 the Red Baron’s squadron was popularly referred to as The Flying Circus so such an assumption is reasonable.

Those who are familiar with it will know that it was a name given to a group of American airmen fighting with the Chinese forces against the Japanese during and before WW2.

In Australia most knowledgement of this group is pretty thin and the full impact of their efforts on the outcome of the Pacific war is largely unknown. Their persistence in the face of impossible odds had a significant impact on the Pacific war in that they kept China fighting and by that means tied up somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000 Japanese troops that would have been otherwise available to fight the allies elsewhere.

It was back in the early 80's that Redhead and her late husband bought their small plot of Australia. Just 604 sq m of the greatest land in the world. There were no aboriginal artifacts, no unexploded bombs ( as was the case in so many places along the Sunshine Coast of Australia at that time.) No, it was just a home built on a block of land a sparrows fart from the beach.  

They had moved from another country: migrants in truth. They started a new life in a new country and found a home that suited them very nicely. Ineligible for a pension in those days, they worked selling products at a market place on Saturday mornings and embraced the Australian life that they had decided to accept with gratitude. 

Over the years, their home has become one of warmth, welcome and love. 

During the early years of World War II, the British Army faced many obstacles. Chief among them were bridges. The irony was stark: the very structures designed to connect and enable movement became the obstacles that had to be overcome to win the war.

As the British advanced across Europe, retreating German forces left destruction in their wake, blowing up bridges to slow the pursuit. Existing military bridge designs were too heavy, too slow, or too resource-hungry to keep pace with tanks and supply lines. Progress stalled wherever rivers ran.

Enter Sir Donald Bailey, a civil engineer with a practical streak and a knack for simplicity. His answer was lightweight, modular, and portable- a bridge that could ride in pieces on trucks, be bolted together by ordinary soldiers with simple tools, and still bear the weight of a 30-ton tank.

The Bailey Bridge was born.