Shalom

australia day 2007

A beautiful day today. Pleasantly warm and we had the sea breeze in the afternoon. Clear blue sky.

It was Australia Day today and a public holiday. This day and Anzac Day are the two holidays celebrated here on the date they fall, rather than making a monday long wekend. If Christmas etc is on a weekend, we have other days as holidays.

We did nothing special here but I've had a fairly relaxed day after a week of springcleaning my study. It felt like January...cricket and tennis to watch, pleasant weather. School returns next week after the summer holidays and college goes back in about three weeks. I must check the dateor I'll get it wrong.

In the past, I've written patriotic essays on Australia Day, have taken potshots at some of our dreadful attitudes, particularly of this government, and have described my joy at being so blessed as to live here. I did have someting along those lines planned, but my brain would not co-operate.

I repeat that I am very thankful to live here. There are many things I would change, but I consider this one of the most beautiful places to live.

I'll close with a link to the ferrython race on Sydney harbour today. There's nothing quite like seeing some of our more elderly ferries all tarted up and going Posted at 09:04 PM in Current Affairs, Sports, fun, life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

England loses yet again!

This time the England cricketers were beaten by New Zealand in a one day game yesterday. Yes, New Zealand. The margin was 90 runs. Not just one run on the last ball of the match. 90 runs.

These poor blokes must be wishing the earth would open up and swallow them. They haven't won a match in their tour down here. They've been away from home for just about forever, in an Aussie summer. They've suffered a 5-nil defeat in the Ashes series of Tests and haven't won a game at all while down here. That includes all matches, Tests downwards. Even the Prime Minister's chosen XI beat them.

Now, even NZ gives them a thrashing. The shame and ignominy of it all.

Who's booking the return flights home? Oh, that's him over there in the corner, speaking quietly into his mobile.

I watched the Games opening ceremony last night as I was home by myself.  I quite enjoyed it but I became lost in the reverie somewhere.  Delta Goodrem is an Australian favourite, but I would have preferred to hear more of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa than a few bars of  Happy Birthday  sung by her to the Queen. 

Scenes down theYarra River were good and innovative, although to a Sydney sider, there were too many AFL captains for my liking.  I wondered how many surfboat crews rowed on such a glassy surface.

I've always enjoyed fireworks, even though it's really just money up in smoke.  The fireworks shooting from the backpacks was well done and I thought the outside shots of Melbourne's tall buildings erupting in a blaze of coloured fireworks was great.

Australia Day, 26th January, is  one day we celebrate on the actual day in Australia.  We like our long weekends here and many public holidays are tacked on to the end of a weekend to give three days break.  Australia Day and Anzac Day, another well received holiday are celebrated on their actual date.  It helps, of course, that Australia Day falls in January, a month where the holiday atmosphere prevails.  In Sydney,  celebrations fit in with our summer festival.

We've had a quiet day at home.  I'm not one for huge crowds and gatherings.  We  had our Aussie barbecue for lunch, although thin pork steaks marinaded in some hoisin sauce were the meat du jour, rather than the heavily advertised lamb.  Multiculturalism has certainly widened our cuisine and my family appreciates food from many countries.  I served a huge salad with not a single bit of Kraft plastic cheese or tinned beetroot or tinned pineapple to be seen.  My grandmother would not have recognised most of the salad ingredients and without those items mentioned above,  she probably would not have considered it  a salad at all.  She also probably would not have recognised the aubergine, zucchini and capsicum which were cooked on skewers on the BBQ.

We'll probably take a picnic down to the river at Abbotsford tonight to watch the  decorated small boats return from a day  on the harbour, starting with the great ferry boat race which finishes under the Harbour Bridge.  This is a lot of fun with both old and more modern ferries doing everything possible to win this race.  Lots of great pictures and some more info  here .

There is much I would change if I could wave a magic wand over life here.  Our treatment of indigenous peoples and refugees is a scandal.  Single parent families and those on pensions do it hard. We have just had unpleasant race riots on some of our Sydney beaches.  The environment is exploited.  Education and  more serious pursuits are downgraded by those who are sports mad.

However, while I would prefer not to live in the city, I would not swap this country for another as a permanent residence.  I appreciate our climate, our relative freedom, our wonderful scenery,the opportunities which are here for those who take them.

I appreciate our history too, even if my ancestors were officers granted large areas of land rather than convicts.  There have been moves to change the flag to reflect current society.  While I am not a monarchist and would prefer us to be a republic,  I think the Union Jack is a powerful reminder of where we originally started .  This is not "kowtowing" to England, just a recognition of the past.  The stars are the Southern Cross and represent our states.  I feel more of an affinity with bloggers of a similar background eg Canada, South Africa, New Zealand,  than wiht others.

Now I must resume my channel surfing between the Australian Open tennis and the one day cricket match betweeen Australia and Sri Lanka.!

Perhaps being housebound for two weeks with this nasty virus is accentuating my cynicism.  However, I've now seen this ad in two separate magazines and can imagine some copywriter going around with tongue firmly stuck in cheek.

The ad shows Mark Philippoussis, the Australian tennis player, stripped to the waist, glaring moodily at the camera from under  his big dark, Greek eyebrows.  This is the same man who dropped delta Goodrem for Paris Hilton and is now involved with some other girl again.

The ad says,"Rich and thick."  Definitely.

Actually it's for Ardmona tinned tomatoes.

Intel has introduced a surfboard  capable of wireless internet surfing.  It is to be introduced at a Gold Coast surfing carnival  in a couple of weeks.  A sneak preview was given today at Manly where there was a good swell.  It was suggested that waterproof speakers would enhance the board and the Intel engineer thought that could be done.

To me, it is about as useful as the refrigerator with internet access.  I remarked when this was announced that iris recognition technology on the fridge lock would have been much more useful than net access when I had three teenage boys who were perpetually hungry.  At least designated leftovers would have stood some chance of still being there when I wanted them.

woe is us!

England loses yet again!

This time the England cricketers were beaten by New Zealand in a one day game yesterday. Yes, New Zealand. The margin was 90 runs. Not just one run on the last ball of the match. 90 runs.

These poor blokes must be wishing the earth would open up and swallow them. They haven't won a match in their tour down here. They've been away from home for just about forever, in an Aussie summer. They've suffered a 5-nil defeat in the Ashes series of Tests and haven't won a game at all while down here. That includes all matches, Tests downwards. Even the Prime Minister's chosen XI beat them.

Now, even NZ gives them a thrashing. The shame and ignominy of it all.

Who's booking the return flights home? Oh, that's him over there in the corner, speaking quietly into his mobile.

commonwealth games

I watched the Games opening ceremony last night as I was home by myself.  I quite enjoyed it but I became lost in the reverie somewhere.  Delta Goodrem is an Australian favourite, but I would have preferred to hear more of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa than a few bars of  Happy Birthday  sung by her to the Queen. 

Scenes down theYarra River were good and innovative, although to a Sydney sider, there were too many AFL captains for my liking.  I wondered how many surfboat crews rowed on such a glassy surface.

I've always enjoyed fireworks, even though it's really just money up in smoke.  The fireworks shooting from the backpacks was well done and I thought the outside shots of Melbourne's tall buildings erupting in a blaze of coloured fireworks was great.

Australia Day, 2006

Australia Day, 26th January, is  one day we celebrate on the actual day in Australia.  We like our long weekends here and many public holidays are tacked on to the end of a weekend to give three days break.  Australia Day and Anzac Day, another well received holiday are celebrated on their actual date.  It helps, of course, that Australia Day falls in January, a month where the holiday atmosphere prevails.  In Sydney,  celebrations fit in with our summer festival.

We've had a quiet day at home.  I'm not one for huge crowds and gatherings.  We  had our Aussie barbecue for lunch, although thin pork steaks marinaded in some hoisin sauce were the meat du jour, rather than the heavily advertised lamb.  Multiculturalism has certainly widened our cuisine and my family appreciates food from many countries.  I served a huge salad with not a single bit of Kraft plastic cheese or tinned beetroot or tinned pineapple to be seen.  My grandmother would not have recognised most of the salad ingredients and without those items mentioned above,  she probably would not have considered it  a salad at all.  She also probably would not have recognised the aubergine, zucchini and capsicum which were cooked on skewers on the BBQ.

We'll probably take a picnic down to the river at Abbotsford tonight to watch the  decorated small boats return from a day  on the harbour, starting with the great ferry boat race which finishes under the Harbour Bridge.  This is a lot of fun with both old and more modern ferries doing everything possible to win this race.  Lots of great pictures and some more info  here .

There is much I would change if I could wave a magic wand over life here.  Our treatment of indigenous peoples and refugees is a scandal.  Single parent families and those on pensions do it hard. We have just had unpleasant race riots on some of our Sydney beaches.  The environment is exploited.  Education and  more serious pursuits are downgraded by those who are sports mad.

However, while I would prefer not to live in the city, I would not swap this country for another as a permanent residence.  I appreciate our climate, our relative freedom, our wonderful scenery,the opportunities which are here for those who take them.

I appreciate our history too, even if my ancestors were officers granted large areas of land rather than convicts.  There have been moves to change the flag to reflect current society.  While I am not a monarchist and would prefer us to be a republic,  I think the Union Jack is a powerful reminder of where we originally started .  This is not "kowtowing" to England, just a recognition of the past.  The stars are the Southern Cross and represent our states.  I feel more of an affinity with bloggers of a similar background eg Canada, South Africa, New Zealand,  than wiht others.

Now I must resume my channel surfing between the Australian Open tennis and the one day cricket match betweeen Australia and Sri Lanka.!

tongue in cheek, perhaps?

Perhaps being housebound for two weeks with this nasty virus is accentuating my cynicism.  However, I've now seen this ad in two separate magazines and can imagine some copywriter going around with tongue firmly stuck in cheek.

The ad shows Mark Philippoussis, the Australian tennis player, stripped to the waist, glaring moodily at the camera from under  his big dark, Greek eyebrows.  This is the same man who dropped delta Goodrem for Paris Hilton and is now involved with some other girl again.

The ad says,"Rich and thick."  Definitely.

Actually it's for Ardmona tinned tomatoes.

surf's up

Intel has introduced a surfboard  capable of wireless internet surfing.  It is to be introduced at a Gold Coast surfing carnival  in a couple of weeks.  A sneak preview was given today at Manly where there was a good swell.  It was suggested that waterproof speakers would enhance the board and the Intel engineer thought that could be done.

To me, it is about as useful as the refrigerator with internet access.  I remarked when this was announced that iris recognition technology on the fridge lock would have been much more useful than net access when I had three teenage boys who were perpetually hungry.  At least designated leftovers would have stood some chance of still being there when I wanted them.