With 2018 more than halfway through, savvy retailers are already looking ahead to 2019. The good news is that, despite the doom and gloom that’s often predicted, the future is bright.

When you think about lunch, what food comes to mind? For most people, a sandwich would come close to the top of the list. Whether salad, chicken or something more exotic, the humble sambo is the midday meal of choice for everyone from hungry schoolchildren to office workers eating at their desks.

When Barber Shop Chronicles opens as part of Sydney Festival next month, it will do so without one very important person. Instead of seeing the accolades that will almost certainly be lavished on the play on its first outing outside the UK, writer Inua Ellams will be in London.

Brendan Cowell may have left the Inner West behind when he moved to London last year, but Sydney has not seen the last of the actor, writer and director. In fact, when Cowell appears as part of National Theatre Live’s broadcast of the London production of Yerma, there is likely to be quite a crowd at his beloved Dendy Newtown.

WITH long hair and sky-high stilettos, a woman in silhouette poses on all fours above a curved seat, her back dipped into a perfect arch. To the sound of Anthony And The Johnsons, she slides slinkily down and into a seamless high kick. “To be a Crazy Girl is to be a woman who is sure she is beautiful, who is sure that she can hold an audience, even if she is the only one on stage,” explains Svetlana Konstantinova, the former dancer turned show manager of the famous nude cabaret, Crazy Horse Paris.

IT might seem one of the easiest parts of the building process, but choosing the right colours for your interior can be one of the most demanding. As if selecting a colour that you’re not going to hate in six weeks isn’t hard enough, there are still dozens of shades, strengths and paint finishes to decide on before you leave the paint shop.

AS Sydneysiders we might be spared the worst of the winter weather but that’s not to say our skin doesn’t suffer when the cooler temperatures arrive. “People regularly come in with a concern that their skin is feeling dryer, which is generally caused by the change in seasons,” says Hayley Fahd, field trainer for Ella Bache.

IT’S been 50 years since Fred Ebb and John Kander’s tribute to the decadence and debauchery of 1930s Berlin hit the stage, but Cabaret is still as anarchic as it ever was. Anyone expecting a re-enactment of the Bob Fosse-choreographed razzle dazzle of the 1972 movie musical is in for a surprise however. With producer David M. Hawkins and director Nick Christo at the helm, this is a grittier, more sinister and more nuanced version — and infinitely better for it.

AT an age when most Australian teens are contemplating nothing more stressful than the HSC, Future D. Fidel escaped war-torn Congo into Tanzania and spent eight years in a refugee camp searching for his sister, before finally being accepted as a refugee in Australia. His story is nothing if not incredible, and riveting.

NATIONAL Skills Week kicks off on Monday, highlighting the many opportunities offered by vocational education and encouraging people to learn more about the career paths it provides. According to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, about 4.5 million people were enrolled in vocational education and training (VET) across Australia in 2015, of which about 278,600 of these were apprentices and trainees. “A lot of people don’t understand the diversity of careers that vocational education and training offers,” says Kirstin Casey, general manager of SkillsOne, which is driving the annual event in partnership with stakeholders.

ONCE upon a time, academic results were the best indication of the career you could expect after graduation. Ace every test and you could be assured that the right doors would open when it came to finding your first full-time job. Increasingly, however, top marks are no longer enough to get you into the job of your dreams. “Soft skills” – those nebulous abilities such as communication skills, collaboration and conflict resolution – are replacing technical knowledge as the go-to abilities for employers seeking the next generation of leaders.

DON'T hibernate for the holidays. Get set for your best winter yet with our ultimate activity guide.

BACKYARD pools have come a long way since the standard kidney-shaped pools of your childhood. Today’s generation of pools are as stylish as they are convenient, come in all shapes and sizes, are self-cleaning, self-maintaining and can be operated from your mobile phone. Thanks to developments in technology, they can even be used all year round – which means you could be enjoying your new outdoor space well before summer arrives.

ACTOR Sam O’Sullivan has been a fixture of Sydney stages for a while (next up he appears in Ensemble Theatre’s production of A History of Falling Things), but until now his writing talents have remained relatively under the radar. That’s about to change, I suspect. The Block Universe (or so it goes) is his first full-length play and it’s an impressive debut.

WHEN Annette English dropped her son, Hugo Morgan, off for his first day as a Year 7 boarder at Sydney’s Knox Grammar School, the 12-year-old wasn’t the only apprehensive one. The mother of three from regional NSW had already seen two daughters through boarding school but worried that Hugo didn’t conform to the sports-loving stereotype of country boarders.

AS any parent who has ever had to drag their child past a Frozen or Skylanders merchandise stand will understand, children’s obsessions can be all-consuming and often fleeting.

HEADING back for the new school year after a long break can be hard enough. But add in an important transition — the first day of kindergarten, going to high school or starting at a new school — and the stress and anxiety is suddenly amplified.

WHETHER you call it teleworking, telecommuting, anywhere working or simply working from home, there’s no doubt the idea of working outside the office is gaining momentum. “We’ve been talking about it for a very long time,” says Dr Yvette Blount, research coordinator of Macquarie University’s Australia Anywhere Working Research Network, which has been investigating the rise of teleworking since the network was established in 2012.

WHAT is it about Wicked? Ever since it debuted on Broadway a decade ago, the emerald-tinted tale of Glinda the good witch and Elphaba the ‘wicked’ witch of Oz, has entranced audiences the world over. Now back in Australia as part of its 10th anniversary tour, here are 10 things you probably never knew about the blockbuster show.

THINK you need a fistful of cash to make it through the school holidays? Here's 20 family activities that will give you change from $20.