Another day in paradise

Spent today watching the old Australian diggers march through Sydney. Its a national holiday over here and custom suggests that you spend the day respectively reflecting over the fallen. And then go and get pissed and play “two up” in a bar.

So thats what I did.

Watched and listened to the bands, a great majority of pipe bands, in the rain as the soldiers marched past. The sense of pride and nationalism over this day was so moving. Australian flags, waltzing matilda, VB beer and old and young celebrating the values of being Australian. In the UK it would turn into a rally for the BNP. Or the nationalistic approach would be seen as discriminatory over other races. Here, you are seen to be Australian first, your home nation second. You came here through choice so celeberate what this fantastic country gives you.

Went over to Coogee beach in the afternoon to have lunch with friends and supped a few beers then went to the pub and played “two up”. A simple but effective way of winning $140 in 30 mins. You basically bet on the outcome of 3 tossed coins to whether 2 will be heads or tails. So simple, great fun and illegal except for Anzac day.

(It wasa a game played by the diggers in the trenches - so they let them play it once a  year in public places)

I didn’t go back to Brisbane today as it was too far to hop and off planes only to get back up at 4.30am to come back down the bext day, so I missed Josh and the twins marching in the Brisbane parade. (Josh is drum sergeant in the school pipe band while the twins are in the cubs)

However, when the pipe bands went passed playing, “I’m no awa to bide awa” it brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes, not only for the family in Brisbane but for Scotland as well.

I guess it just brings out the patriot in me. But maybe thats the real point of the day.

Sat in meetings from 8.30am until 6.00pm debating data quality and customer ownership. It was like some sort of bizarre professional torture….lets keep him up till midnight, get him pissed, get him to drag trees around the garden, fly him to an underground office 1200kms away from his family and make him sit and listen to CRM strategies. 

I’m bloody knackered.

However, I was thinking hard throughout the day but occasionally let my mind wander….. Do you know that crocodiles can run faster than humans on land and obviously can swim a hell of a lot faster than them as well?

Well that would mean that if you were going to beat one in a triathlon you’d really have to build up a hell of a lead on the cycling stage…..just a thought.

Anyway, to cheer myself up after such a bizarre couple of days I thought I would have another go at trying to load some family images onto my blog. And here’s the result….

Yup, 30 minutes of nothing. I’m a bloody Luddite - I just can’t seem to stop them taking up the whole site, or appearing on some new page and then disappearing completely….maybe tomorrow.

Thank goodness today is over. Now I can’t decide if it’s going to be beans on toast or eggs on toast…

Every Monday I get up at 4.30am and fly to Sydney to start another week. I feel like a lab rat. During the week, I get up, go to work, go back to the apartment, eat eggs on toast, go to bed, get up and go to work all over again.

Now most normal people would go to bed early on the Sunday, but as I only get to sit and blether to my good lady over a bottle of wine on the weekends, it would be a shame to cut short our time on the deck supping and chatting.

So last night we were still putting the world to rights at midnight when a massive storm raced over the hoose, ironic given my last post, and subsequently blew an old tree over and into our pool. So there I was, pissed, in ma jammys, and dragging a eucalyptus oot the pool at midnight in the pouring rain.

4.30am came around far too fast.

I fly back from Sydney every Friday evening into Brisbane after a week of the big smoke - Its like a arriving in a mini Las Vegas with it’s lights and the skyline of  modern hotels and offices, hence the BrisVegas title given to it by interstaters I suppose! Either that or it’s because you gamble with getting skin cancer every day. Its really quite beautiful though, with its mini Forth Bridge spanning the Brisbane river.  However, 2 years ago, I used to fly in just as the city was in the throws of its afternoon storms - massive clouds and fantastic electrical storms breaking over the city. Now - nothing. No storms - no rain.

Obviously being a sensitve, caring world citizen concerned on the issues relating to global warming I would like to add that the climate is being a real pain in the hip pocket in Queensland quite frankly!

Last year, I spent a bloody fortune putting down this amazing lawn and installing a 10 metre pool in the garden last year. This morning I got up and the grass is a gorgeous gold, all withered and dead, the pool is drying up, the fruit trees are cactus and the bloody house is built on millions of years of clay that is now contracting.

If it carries on like this, we’ll have a bungalow pretty shortly and all the wild animals will be fighting over the sludge at the bottom of a rather expensive watering hole!

We’re on Level5 water restrictions now, which means you can only have 4 minute showers, you have to turn your taps off when brushing your teeth and you can’t use more than 140 litres per day for household and garden use - or the council drag you into the street for a public flogging.

I’ve got 4 kids - try keeping a family of 6 Scots cool and clean when their idea of a hot summer previously was a fortnight in a pair of speedos by a pool in 22 degrees. Now we have to function in 40 degree heat, 90 percent humidity and wear work and school clothes! Thank god we’re moving to Sydney in June. 

And today, I read that all the fruit and vegies are going up cause the farmers can’t water this years crops.  Would hate to be a vegetarian.

Anyway, maybe it’s not just the pool thats being a bit shallow….

Following the example of the great Scottish wit and raconteur, a Mr Mark Gorman, http://markgorman.wordpress.com I have decided to try and delve into the world of cyber space with my musings on life as an expat, living in the civilised city of Brisbane, and the exciting metropolis of Sydney, Australia.

God knows how this will all work, especially, with photos and the like but we’ll have a wee go…