Friday 30 December 2011

To Manly by pushmepullyou ferry

Australian craftsmen, having accidentally built a boat with two pointy ends, could think of nothing better to do with it than send it shuttling back and forth to Manly all day. (Scattering the yling-yling world championship fleet along the way).

Manly is also where skilled mountain bike riders can show their sons a clean pair of heels and leave them gasping for breath trying to ride round the dam. Something like that anyway.

Sunday 25 December 2011

Christmas in Australia; traditions which they don't seem to have:

  • Salvation Army busking Christmas Carols
  • Parsnips, bread sauce, brussel sprouts
  • Getting new scarves, hats and gloves for Christmas and going out for a walk in them

Ludicrously they favour turkey and ham with salad (salad in December - it's madness), think it perfectly normal to drink Pimms, and insist on going in the pool and playing Croquet.  No wonder sensible placental mammals avoided the place for a few million years?

Saturday 17 December 2011

National gallery Victoria

Who'd have thought it? Turns out that around the same time old van gogh and sisley and Monet etc were daubing away, there was a whole bunch if Aussies going large with old Windsor and newton. If you don't believe it Google Arthur Screeton....

Sunday 11 December 2011