I like my rose-coloured glasses. They let me see the world as better than it probably is - and some days that can be a very good thing.

On a day when the city skyline was filled with smoke haze from distant bushfires, they helped to block out the reality of the hardship and tough conditions that so many bushfire-affected communities are experiencing.

Rose-coloured glasses don’t block out empathy, support or understanding - they just help me to focus on other things in the world that make it good. Things like the Vegemite story (I’ll get to that bit).

Taking a cruise today on Melbourne’s Yarra River was unexpectedly interesting. En route to the historic portside beach town of Williamstown at the mouth of the Yarra, the boat passes city landmarks, massive bridges, luxury apartments, industry and Australia’s busiest port for containerised and general cargo. It is a river that supports a whole lot of action.

It also goes past the Vegemite factory ......... which brings me to the story. I learned today that In 1928, the iconic Australian brand name was changed from ‘Vegemite’ to ‘Parwill’. Who in their right mind would name a yeast extract ‘Parwill’? Not surprisingly, the new name failed to gain momentum but it took 14 long years before ‘Vegemite’ once again reigned supreme.

If you didn’t think like the Vegemite story, I’ll lend you my glasses.