After two weeks of going deep undercover and then appearing on Broadway (or simply being on holiday), editor Andy Parkes is back from his travels with his latest 5 Thoughts.

1. Who would have thought it? We all know people are living longer. Better healthcare, decent food and improved working conditions are just some of the reasons. I was asked what year I thought the first person to live to the age of 150 would be born. I am reliably informed experts in the know believe that person is already among us. Incredible.

2. I’ve started getting emails asking me about my plans for the next royal baby. Surely I can’t be the only one who’s entirely uninterested in the second ‘insurance’ baby? I know it’ll be a back-up to George, if he ever gets his chance, but surely even staunch royalists can’t really care? Then again, it does push interloper Harry one further step down the line.

3. I was introduced to Australian comic Jim Jefferies in Atlanta at the weekend. Now here’s a performer who truly deserves the tag “outrageous”. This man would make Roy Chubby Brown look tame. But there’s a difference, Jefferies is an excellent entertainer. Look him up on YouTube if you dare, but be warned there is no subject off limits and he’s so far over the line of what is acceptable, it’s disappeared from view altogether.

Read Andy's previous 5 Thoughts:

4. Those more observant souls who avidly read my 5 Thoughts will know I’ve been on holiday for a couple of weeks and Jim Palmer has been guesting for me, cheers Jim. While away I visited not just one, but two of the world’s most incredible bars. And before dismissing this as a preposterous claim, as your local is obviously a world beater, look up the Pelican Bar and Rick’s Bar – both are, I promise, out of this world.

5. Americans are interesting people aren’t they? Can you believe I visited a Hooters bar and was refused a drink because I couldn’t prove I was aged over 21? Now, flattering as this might be, these same law-abiding, caring, gun-toting people allow youngsters to drive on the road from age 14.

Send in your 5THOUGHTS by email to aparkes@london.newsquest.co.uk, on Twitter to @parkestheeditor or through Facebook to facebook.com/newsshopper