Night Visitor

Found in our back garden one evening....they make a very loud noise when they start croaking in a drain pipe.

Dear Pom

In a victory for common sense, the Advertising Standards Board has ruled that the word “Pom” is not offensive and is more an affectionate term, on a par with “Kiwi” and “Aussie” (see earlier post). Unless, of course, it’s combined with words like “whingeing” or “b**tard.” Then they might think again.

British People Against Discrimination, who brought the complaint are reportedly disappointed, though you would have thought that England losing the Ashes in three straight Tests would have disappointed them more. Those car ads enjoining Aussies to “tonk a Pom” will have to be updated because that’s exactly what’s happened.

Now, by all the rules of blogging, I should include a link to the Sydney Morning Herald story, but I’m not. For one thing, you don’t really need to know any more. For another, obsessively peppering posts with links just says to me that you see your post as a signpost or a gateway, rather than a worthwhile destination. If everything on the web is just pointing the way to something else, then where’s the substance?

Relax.....

It's always interesting to see what Australian news items make it in the international media and to see how others view the country. BBC News Online had this today and it's about a piece of research that shows that more people in the UK are more likely than in Australia to have heart attacks when watching sport.

No surprise, really. I recall hearing a Kiwi comedienne talking about watching the Socceroos exit the World Cup with a bunch of Aussies. After weeks of hysteria, their demise was greeted with a shrug and "Oh well, there you go." Everything is more relaxed here and it's probably due to a combination of sunshine, space (there's only 20 million of us), and the knowledge that there's always another beer, barbecue or beach just round the corner.

Of course, that doesn't apply to those actually competing, as the England cricket team knows to its cost. I'm grateful to The Guardian for reminding them that "it ain't over til the fat boy spins." Of course, the writer was referring to Shane Warne.

Shelter From The Storm

Carl found this young lorikeet with its tail feathers missing and he and Anne and Darius are looking after it until it can fly again. He (or she) is rather nervous of everyone except Carl and likes having his neck scratched. He spends most of his time in a big cage in a tree in the garden, which is just as well, because Took the Terrier and one of the local currawongs (they're a bit like magpies) don't seem to have his best interests at heart. We heard the other day that there used to be a far greater variety of bids, particularly small ones, in Sandy Beach until the currawongs moved in and started killing them. Still, this small bird seems to have struck lucky.