Category: Australiana

Election Blues

I know that those in the UK will be aware that Australia held an election on the 7th of September this year. I was in the UK at the time, having already done my civic (and compulsory) duty and voted before I left. I was quite surprised how much coverage the election got on UK news.

I’ve always thought that the system here is preferable to the ‘first-past-the-post’ system of the UK, with some reservations, Continue reading “Election Blues”

How Things Change …

Bangers and Mash

When I arrived in Australia, some 23 years ago, one of the first things I learnt was that sausages were never called bangers.   Their colloquial name, all over the Lucky Country, was snags.   Never mind why, or what that word means to you in other contexts, in Orstrayia, saussies are snags.   Full stop, end of discussion.

Continue reading “How Things Change …”

We won, we won!

The Beeb has obligingly promised rain and more rain for Manchester today, which means that England will draw the match with the Aussies and retain the Ashes, even if the last two tests go the wrong way.

Monday's weather forecast at Old Trafford

Forecast Summary

  • Today

    Cloudy with rain persisting for much of the day, very heavy at times with a risk of thundery bursts and localised flooding. Towards evening the rain will ease and slowly clear eastwards, perhaps allowing some late brightness in the west.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/7281603

Huge smiley thing.

Letter from Australia

As some members here might know I quite like cricket. I support Australia – until the ‘Ashes’. Bearsy changed his allegiance to Australia a few years ago – I didn’t, I support England. So it really doesn’t matter who wins – one person in this household will be happy!

A few days ago, one of the News Channels posed the question of what does Australia Cricket do when it faces its Ancient Rival – it sacks the coach!

Yesterday, the ruling Labor Party, about to face an election, sacked the PM. The situations were pretty similar. The Australian Cricket Team seemed set for defeat – the Labor Party appeared to be destined for annihilation. The Polls indicated that the Labor Party could retain more seats if Kevin Rudd, deposed by Julia Gillard and Union factions three years (and three days) ago led the Labor Party. Continue reading “Letter from Australia”

Front of House

One of the really nice things about the area we moved to last July is that there are many more restaurants nearby than there were where we lived before.

Yesterday evening, I decided that we’d try the local Thai Eatery. My daughter told me that the Food was good – but the Personality was pretty poor. ‘What on earth are you on about?’, I asked. ‘You’ll see’ she replied.

We were greeted by a tall, thin man with a long face who told us to sit wherever we wanted – and then wandered off. Continue reading “Front of House”

Aussie rules

When last did you see one of these when out shopping?

It’s a wooden standard metric ruler just like the one that I would have used back in the day and yes, for some reason mine was also “made in Australia”  (even way back then, BP¹ perhaps!)

So why this nostalgic reminder of our un-PC, non-green, tree murdering past?

Well, I bought a hundred of them last month!

That’s right, a hundred.

I happened to be at a local wholesaler and as luck would have it he was in the process of relocating to larger premises, he’d been in the existing building for as long as I can remember. At the counter were 4 bundles of 25 rulers priced at R10 each (that’s less than £1 per bundle) I bought the lot.

The staff had found these collectors items (and tons of other dated products) and were either going to scrap them or give them away.

What did I do with them?

Why I gave them away of course, 50 to Quest school for their stationery cupboard and the balance to a nearby local primary school.

¹ Before Plastic

Sandy’s Antipodean Connection

HMS Bounty, a replica of Breadfruit Bligh’s ship was abandoned powerless and sinking off the Carolina coast early today.  The ship had been in Chestertown,  Maryland over the weekend for our annual Downrigging Weekend, cut short this year by Sandy.  The crew were heading South to Florida and probably thought themselves fairly safe as Sandy was already well North of their course.  The ship was built for the Brando film “Mutiny on the Bounty” but has appeared in several of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.

Story is here:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14775512-helicopter-sent-to-rescue-17-people-who-abandoned-hms-bounty-off-nc-coast?lite
Here’s a shot of the Bounty in better days passing by the head of the creek that I took this July just after the 1812 celebrations in Baltimore.

She was a fine and happy ship, unlike the original,  and the crew always welcoming and pleasant, I wish them all safe.

The House

Disrepair: MPs and peers would be evacuated from the Palace of Westminster for the first time since World War Two

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trouble is, it’s falling down – I was wondering about a play on ‘house of cards’ but while the inmates get regularly shuffled, they are nothing to laff at. This is serious stuff; they’re even talking about moving Parliament and all its works out of town! Which got me thinking. What an opportunity to get something right – a first for them and a welcome successor to the Jubilee and London 2012!

Pugh on Parliament's refurbishment

Continue reading “The House”