In London's art gallery six or seven men, mostly in their 30s, are busy painting the walls with new designs in colorful lettering and clever tricks. Tins of spray paint and beer stand on the ground. The atmosphere is not unlike that of a golf course: a mix of concentration and relaxation.

    Graffiti(涂鸦) painting is traditionally a daring hobby. Teenagers avoid security guards to put their names on trains and buses. But over the past decade that has almost disappeared from Britain's cities. Between 2007 and 2017 the number of incidents of graffiti recorded by the British Transport Police fell by 63%. A survey by the environment ministry shows that fewer places are damaged by tags(绘名) than ever. Graffiti are increasingly limited to only a few walls. In time the practice may die out entirely.

    The most obvious reason for the decline in tagging and train-painting is better policing, says Keegan Webb, who runs The London Vandal, a graffiti blog (博客). Numerous cameras mean it is harder to get away with painting illegally. And punishments are more severe. A generational change is apparent, too. Now teenagers prefer to play with iPads and video games. Those who do get involved tend to prefer street art to graffiti. And the internet helps painters win far more attention by posting pictures online than they can by breaking into a railway yard.

    Taggers and graffiti artists mostly grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. Those men are now older and less willing to take risks. "We can't run away from the police any more," says Ben Eine, who turned from tagging to street art. The hip-hop culture that inspired graffiti in the first place has faded. Video games and comic books provide more inspiration than music.

    Graffiti may eventually disappear. But for now the hobby is almost respectable. Mr Eine says he has lots of friends who used to paint trains. Now with wives and children, they paint abandoned houses at the weekend. It has become something to do on a Sunday afternoon—a slightly healthier alternative to sitting watching the football.

    Eco-Cruises

    It covers the areas from Lakes Entrance through to Lake King.

    Wild native animals are protected by law

    We may see dolphins and seals in the Gippsland Lakes system during the summer/autumn months, but more so during the winter/spring seasons: during these times we exercise great care not to disturb them.

    However, these are intelligent creatures and on many occasions they will interact with us. During this time, we show them respect they deserve and appreciate the opportunity to see these wonderful animals at play.

As a bonus, the amazing bird life is always there and changes through the seasons.

    We will do our best during the cruise to locate the animals for you to experience, but, of course, they don't always co-operate and are sometimes beyond our view. Therefore, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee sightings.

    How to book

    Phone 0413 666 638 for prices and bookings.

    Don't forget to ask about our family ticket special.

    Seniors and group discounts also available.

    Friendship Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in the month of August. People give their loved ones or friends friendship bracelets (手镯) and other gifts to celebrate their friendship. The culture of friendship bracelets is as old as even thousands of years.

    After the World War II, the paracord (伞绳) bracelets became very popular. These were also known as survival bracelets. One of the main reasons is that it was often used for a rescue purpose. Paracord, used in the parachute, does not wear away easily and is strong and durable. Because of its light weight, people could carry it along easily. If required, it could be made a very long rope and be used as a rescue rope. Hunters used it to find their way that they could return without getting lost.

    Today there are all kinds of paracord bracelets, made of coloured strings. Girls like thinner and colourful bracelets. Many choose to make the bracelets by themselves for their dear friends. This not only appeals more to the feelings of people but also makes them know how much their friends mean to them. People keep the bracelets given by their friends long. Many people choose coloured strings keeping the depth of their friendship in mind. White, yellow, orange and red show the different levels of friendship. Pure friendship is shown in white; the red colour means love. An orange friendship bracelet is given to show strong friendship and yellow as simple friendship. Today, not only do the young people show these friendship bracelets, but even the old do.

    Does friendship have an age? Yes. Friendship is like the wine, and the older you get, the older and stronger your friendship is.

    For a long time being happy was considered natural, and there was nothing special to do about it. Now we know that we can work at getting along well with other people. It is possible to act in such a way that other people will like us better.

    One way is being unselfish, not wanting everything your own way or asking for the best share of everything, including the attention of your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people.

    You don't have to be spineless(无骨气的)in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected(尊重)if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights(权利). But do it politely and pleasantly. One way to develop a good character is being friendly and polite to your own group, to older people, to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.

    You cannot expect to be perfect, so you must learn not to be too unhappy when you make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is to be blamed unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged(泄气的) when they know their unpleasant qualities—selfishness, laziness, etc. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.

    When something is wrong, it is best to try to make it right. Perhaps you don't like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too. Make sure that you are not doing something to make others dislike you. In time, things may turn out all right, then you simply have to learn to get along the best you can with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can't change.

    You can use your smartphone to get pretty much anything delivered directly to your door almost immediately. The hardest part is the process of trying to work out if you should tip and if so, doing the quick math before you get to the door. And, you know well that you should tip about 15-20% at restaurants, but do the same rules apply to delivery drivers?

    The co-founder of Grubhub, Matt Maloney, pretty much set the standard for tipping delivery people in a Facebook post. He's a strong supporter of tipping, and Grubhub's website suggests a $5 or a 20% tip. Maloney also said this number should go up if you order during, say, a snowstorm.

    However, most other delivery services say on their websites that tipping is not required. Some services, like Door Dash, do suggest no tip on their checkout window. Many, like Amazon Prime Now, allow customers to change their tip amount after their delivery has been received to reflect the quality of service. These companies help customers save money but delivery drivers are upset. They deal with bad weather, heavy traffic, extreme tiredness, and more, all for a $1 tip. Many feel that if you'd tip your pizza boy or girl, you should tip your delivery driver.

    The Emily Post Institute (EPI)'s official suggestion falls in line with Maloney's: “10-15% of the bill, or $2-5 for pizza delivery depending on the size of the order and difficulty of delivery.”

    Just like servers in a restaurant, delivery drivers almost always rely on your tips for their income. Tipping is a long-standing cultural tradition in America. So, until drones (无人机) can deliver hot dogs straight to your door, it's best to tip the people riding through the city at all hours to bring you hot fresh food.

    Schoolgirl Lorna O'Brien was in her kitchen when she looked out of the window and was terrified (惊恐的) at what she saw. "Help!" she shouted. "There's smoke and fire coming out of the kitchen window opposite."

    Her father, John, ran across to the house while her 15­year­old brother Paul called the fire service. Lorna, 16, rushed across and caught up with her dad, who had just kicked open the front door. They looked upstairs where they saw smoke coming out of the top flat. Lorna followed her father into the flat, where they found a pan (平底锅) on fire in the kitchen and the young mother, Mane Linn, who had been asleep, passed out (失去意识) in the smoke­blackened sitting room. Lorna's dad threw a wet cloth over the pan and then turned off the stove (炉子) before starting to help Mane through the smoke down the stairs to safety.

    Suddenly Mane started crying, "My baby, my baby!" "Where's the baby?" asked Lorna. "In the bedroom," Mane shouted back. While John pulled the crying mother from the house, Lorna, without a thought for her own safety, turned back to search for the baby. She found the little girl, 14­month­old Ann, lying with her eyes closed.

    Lorna quickly took the baby, rushed downstairs through the fire and smoke. "It didn't cross my mind at the time that I was near to dying when I rushed through the smoke，" said Lorna. "I was just thinking of the baby. Even after I came out of the house, I wasn't frightened."

    When help arrived, baby Ann and her mum were taken to hospital for treatment. It was only when Lorna got back into the safety of her own house that she realised the danger she had faced. "I started shaking all over and thought of what could have happened to me，" she said.