Winds up to 300 kph, one of the largest and most potentially destructive cyclones ever seen in Australia.
No pictures today, just prayers and good wishes for all those Queenslanders who live in its path; I sincerely hope there are no fatalities, but with a weather event on this scale I fear some are inevitable.
The effect on Australia’s economic future pales into insignificance when compared with the ruin that will be made of many people’s lives and livelihoods.
Cyclone Yasi, described by a local Bureau of Meteorology spokesman on breakfast TV this morning as “One of the biggest buggers ever“, is going to hit Queensland late Wednesday night, or early Thursday morning (GMT + 10).
Current aiming for North Queensland, it’s so large that it could have some effect on all coastal areas of the State. Cyclones can change direction without warning, so it’s quite possible it could actually hit 22 kms north of Brisbane, in South East Queensland.
A category 4 cyclone will destroy everything in its path until it gets sufficiently inland, where it dissipates.
If we had a bunker, we’d be in it; as it is, we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
The Australian press is quite complimentary about the wee chap, and definitely supportive of his second attempt at an Australian Grand Slam title. I’m sure the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena will be barracking for him tomorrow.
John Mackie has added a poll to his Creative Writing Competition. Good on ya’, JM, looks like fun.
John’s poll appears in a separate PollDaddy page when you click on the link, but polls can just as easily appear within a post.
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My post about the stealthy advance of Islam in Australia is not about “xenophobia” – or even “xemophobia” to use your spelling. Australia welcomes its immigrants, but it does not expect to give them special dispensations that the rest of the country does not receive; it expects them to integrate. I have therefore removed your comment from that post, but here it is again, and you are welcome to debate it here, if that’s your desire.
Chris and everyone, that is absolutley true – “some of the reasons why they might wish to emigrate are likely to be found in the country in which they wish to be immigrants”. Some people come here expecting the much-vaunted liberal attitudes to race and religion and are soon disillusioned. In fact Denmark, “the happiest country in the world”, suffers from as much xemophobia as the next.
Before you start, let me remind you that –
Australians are neither xenophobic, nor racist. Our way of expressing ourselves may sometimes give foreigners the impression that we are, but it’s no more than a linguistic misinterpretation – by the foreigner. There you go, a special post for you to expand upon your accusation.
Boadicea needed her signature witnessed on a UK document, and I needed a ‘proof of identity’ copy of my drivers licence notarised, so we toddled off to the local court house to see the volunteer JP.
We have a different system in Australia – well, we do for many things, of course – if documents are to be formalised, it’s a JP who does the deed. He/She is a notary public, authorised to do such things. You find them in shopping malls usually, or if you’re at work one of your mates will probably be a JP, or failing that someone in HR is sure to be. It’s all free, but it’s also very legal – they have a little stamp, and everything. Nothing, but nothing is legal in Australia unless a JP has seen it, signed it and stamped it.
They are almost invariably very nice people – after all, they’re giving their 3 or 4 hours attendance free – and today’s chap was no exception. Continue reading “A Day of Disillusionment”
Australia Day is fun.
Yes, it’s a day when we celebrate being Australians, living in the best country in the world, but it’s not a day for being aggressively nationalistic or bombastic; no weapons parades like the Chinese, no marches or saluting the flag; it’s a day for being laid-back, inclusive and having a country-wide party.
Our local council, like others all across Australia, will be laying on sausage sizzle breakfasts, and lunchtime and evening barbies – free, naturally – musical events, competitions for kids, face painting, sport and so on, culminating in fireworks. One display early, for the littlies, and another later in the evening for the grown-ups.
Everyone will have a great time, and if some have a bit too much to drink, the blue heelers will do their best to be tolerant and try to get them home in one piece; you’ll only get booked if you’re behaving like a cast-iron drongo.
We’re a young country, so at times like this we’re inclined to act like kids; pollies, big end of town, Defence Force and all – we see no harm in that.
Even the most militant of the ‘original owners’ (‘aboriginals’ to you) have in the main given up holding protests about Captain Cook and the invasion; they join in and enjoy themselves with everyone else, then go back to being militant after Australia Day’s finished.
Everybody smiles, the sun shines, the surf’s up – who would live anywhere else?
Although as an Aussie I am delighted at the results, it cannot be said that Australia won these three matches. Rather, they just about rescued them from defeat.
Shane Watson rescued the first; Shaun Marsh rescued the second with delightfully eccentric help from Douggie Bollinger, who temporarily forgot that he cannot bat. Dave Hussey rescued the latest, on a moderate foundation set by Brad Haddin, and with solid support from John Hastings, the new boy. The rest of the team, with one exception, might as well have been on holiday.
There have only been two constants on which one can rely – firstly the exemplary bowling from that ghostly hero from a bygone age, Brett Lee, who was the only bowler from either side who achieved a consistently good line and length, and secondly the abysmal performance of the passenger Pup (aka Michael Clarke and as ‘the metrosexual wanker’ in Strine, or ‘a tosser’ in Brit, and as ‘captain’, whatever that means, by CA).
Thank goodness Ricky Ponting wasn’t playing, or Australia would have lost all three matches.
England, on the other hand were remarkably consistent – bad in every respect on all three days. Is this the team that breached the walls of Ilium? Sorry, … that retained the Ashes? Many of them look the same, but they must be poorly cloned copies, for their performance was naff, to say the least.
Surely the Australia Day match on Wednesday can’t be as bad as these three, can it? I guess I know the answer – sigh!
I couldn’t resist this one, which accompanied an article in which a resident of Goodna swore that he’d seen two sharks swimming down the High Street. I don’t believe a word of it! Goodna must be around 40kms from the sea, by road or by river; shorter by air, but even our sharks don’t fly. 😆
Boadicea's Chariot 
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