But this week I've done my fair share of catching up on the news. Or, to be honest, a few news stories have caught my eye, and I've read those, because they've intrigued me, frustrated me, and on one occasion, made me downright angry.

It's almost impossible, these days, sounding very much like my grandmother, to edit your own news stream. We receive our news in all sorts of forms. Online, in print, television and radio. (Although I can't remember the last time I watched a 6pm bulletin.) Our curated social media feeds feed us what we (think) we want. Limited characters tease us, or catchy headlines, short spurts of information. At the other end of the spectrum is long-form journalism. Something I crave to do. Everybody knows everything instantly now. The real key to being informed is finding out the story behind the story.

But there are days when no one has the time to do that. And this week was one of those times.

But here are the headlines that made me think this week.

The Royal Life Saving Society released its annual report this week. Nearly 1000 people drowned or were hospitalised from near drownings last year. Thirteen people died between Christmas and New Year alone. Men accounted for three of every four deaths. Just this week 32-year-old Victorian man Shaun Oliver died while attempting to save a 12-year-old boy who was stuck in a rip on an unpatrolled beach that had actually been closed because of dangerous conditions.

People. Teach your children how to swim. Only one in seven ACT children can swim 50 metres by the time they leave primary school. This is hopeless. Yes, swimming lessons are expensive. What price your child's life? But swimming lessons will not save everyone. Teach your children respect for the water. Tell them to never swim at a closed beach. Or swim alone. Teach them how to read a rip and how to get out of one. Watch them when they're in the pool. Be within an arm's length. Watch them in the bloody bath tub.

This won't save everyone. But it could save lives. It's pretty simple.

Sunrise presenters Natalie Barr and Mel McLaughlin went head to toe over which sport is more popular among youngsters: cricket or basketball? The two were responding to comments from National Basketball League boss Larry Kestelman, who was spruiking his own sport ahead of the summer season. I love these conversations. My sport is better than your sport. Nah nah. I was with McLaughlin on this one, as she wished him good luck with that. Barr quickly shot back: "I agree with him," she said. "With the new generation coming up, basketball is absolutely more popular [than cricket] with kids."

Ah no, basketball is absolutely more popular with parents who don't really want to spend half their weekend on the boundary in the sun. Basketball is more popular, dare I say it, with the increasing number of children who don't have particularly good hand-eye coordination. Most kids can lob a basketball at a teammate, or make a half-arsed shot, but it actually takes some skill to bowl an off-cutter and hit a cut shot.

I might even dare to suggest that basketball is the equivalent of soccer – and to justify myself there are many exceptional athletes in both these sports at the highest level, but I'm talking about 10-year-old kids here, kids, where at least one in four of your teammates are obese. Much easier to stick a foot on a big round ball and half kick it in the right direction, than it is to make a tackle or take a speccy mark.

Okay, this isn't really a news story but I've been feeling so much sisterly love for Angelina Jolie lately, I have been consuming news about her like she needs to consume some potatoes or something. We're both crying in the shower (and I'm crying in the kitchen too), she's not enjoying being single (who is), that she's finding it all "hard" (me too), she's telling us she's a mess and hasn't got it together at all. (Mess, with a capital M.)

But the news this week which made me feel even closer, indeed if that is possible, is that she's "officially going grey".

We are like twins.

There are a couple of reasons I am officially going grey. One is that dye jobs are bloody expensive. I'd rather spend my money on wine. (But may well take up the gracious offer of the best neighbour in the world to share a wine and a box of supermarket hair dye one night.) The other is I'm just plain lazy and couldn't really be bothered.

But the main reason is I'm actually liking my grey. A friend pointed out the other day, as we caught some late afternoon sunshine, that they actually liked my "highlights", but then did notice, on closer inspection it was my grey hair. I like my highlights too. And I like the fact, too, that my greys seem thicker than the rest of the mousy brown hair on my head. (Don't you love an age where the thickest hairs on your head are the ones sprouting under your chin?)