Friday, January 26, 2007
I just called in to wish you all a very happy Australia Day. Sorry I failed to greet you all yesterday on Burns Night but you were, of course, in my thoughts as I addressed the haggis.
There are lots of things to love about Australia Day. The best being that it's a day off, of course. I love a lie-in. Jim was off at dawn to the beach with our guests. I just rolled over and took another nap. Visitors from UK are always delighted by the enthusiasm of Aussies for the beach especially on occasions such as Oz day or Xmas. The locals lie around toasting and toasting (sunbathing and drinking bubbly) while their kids dig holes or build castles with Aussie flags on the top. The surf guards are out and about looking cool and efficient. Even the dog walkers -who usually ignore dogless types like me - are friendly on 26th Jan.
It sure was hot today. 38 degrees when I checked but I'm sure it got hotter after that. The Fremantle Doctor (the local name for the welcome afternoon sea breeze) came in this arvo as usual but it was like standing under a hairdryer. Hot, hot hot.
All the shops are shut and I only had vanilla ice-cream on the premises but I cheered it up by crumbling a Tim Tam on the top. Recommended as an emergency fix for dull desserts.
When it got dark at 9.00 we strolled up the hill with other like-minded folk and watched the fireworks display. Nice atmosphere and lots of Ooohs and Aahs. "Why don't they do this in UK on St George's Day?" queried my friend. Good question. I imagine that it's for the same reason they don't feel the need to put their country's name on the stamps (unlike every other place on earth) because the believe they are the centre of the universe and so they don't need to advertise. Perhaps they are right, who am I to say? On Australia Dayit feels good to be an Aussie. On 1st March (Saint David's Day) it will feel good to be Welsh but let's not get too nationalistic for we Trekkies 'terran' is specific enough.
Current weight: 79.9 kg
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There are lots of things to love about Australia Day. The best being that it's a day off, of course. I love a lie-in. Jim was off at dawn to the beach with our guests. I just rolled over and took another nap. Visitors from UK are always delighted by the enthusiasm of Aussies for the beach especially on occasions such as Oz day or Xmas. The locals lie around toasting and toasting (sunbathing and drinking bubbly) while their kids dig holes or build castles with Aussie flags on the top. The surf guards are out and about looking cool and efficient. Even the dog walkers -who usually ignore dogless types like me - are friendly on 26th Jan.
It sure was hot today. 38 degrees when I checked but I'm sure it got hotter after that. The Fremantle Doctor (the local name for the welcome afternoon sea breeze) came in this arvo as usual but it was like standing under a hairdryer. Hot, hot hot.
All the shops are shut and I only had vanilla ice-cream on the premises but I cheered it up by crumbling a Tim Tam on the top. Recommended as an emergency fix for dull desserts.
When it got dark at 9.00 we strolled up the hill with other like-minded folk and watched the fireworks display. Nice atmosphere and lots of Ooohs and Aahs. "Why don't they do this in UK on St George's Day?" queried my friend. Good question. I imagine that it's for the same reason they don't feel the need to put their country's name on the stamps (unlike every other place on earth) because the believe they are the centre of the universe and so they don't need to advertise. Perhaps they are right, who am I to say? On Australia Dayit feels good to be an Aussie. On 1st March (Saint David's Day) it will feel good to be Welsh but let's not get too nationalistic for we Trekkies 'terran' is specific enough.
Current weight: 79.9 kg
Labels: Australia Day
