Month: April 2003

Growing up in Australia

I got this on email recently – it’s a nostalgia fest for an Australian childhood. I grew up in the UK & US and it all sounds warm and familar to me….what do you think !?

I'm talking about hide and seek in the park. The corner milk bar, hopscotch, Billy carts, cricket in front of the garbage bin, skipping, handstands, footy on the best lawn in the street, British bulldog 1-2-3, go home stay home, slip'n'slide, the trampoline with water on it, hula hoops, pogo sticks, stepping in enormous puddles, mud pies and building dams in the gutter. The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.

Big bubbles no troubles' with Hubba Bubba bubble gum. A choc-top Mr Whippy cone on a warm summer night after you've chased him round the block. When 20 cents worth of mixed lollies was a meal and smoking fags was really cool.

Wait....... Watching Saturday morning cartoons...short commercials, The Thunderbirds (if you got up reeeeeally early), the Smurfs, AstroBoy, He-Man, Captain Caveman, Archie, Jem (truly outrageous!!) and heeeey heeeeey heeeeeeey it's faaaaaaat albert. Or staying up late and sneaking a look at the "AO" on the second telly.

When around the corner seemed far away, and going into town seemed like going somewhere. A million mozzie bites, wasp and bee stings. Sticky fingers. Cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, riding bikes and catching tadpoles. Marco polo in the neighbours' pool ("fish outta water?!" "NOOOO"), drawing all over the road with chalk. Climbing trees and building cubbies out of every sheet your mum had in the cupboard. Walking to school, no matter what the weather.

Running till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for the giggles. Being tired from playing... Remember that?????? The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

Cricket cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle... eating raw jelly, making homemade lemonade and sucking on a Funny Face or red Freeza. Remember when... There were only two types of sneakers - girls and boys. Dunlop volleys with the green 'n' gold or blue and the only time you wore them at school was for "sports day." You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents! It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve.

When nobody owned a pure-bred dog. When 50c was decent pocket money. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for 10c. When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there from school. It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at the local Chinese restaurant with your parents.

When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed her or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! Some of us are still afraid of them!!! Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, yeah, I remember that!

Remember when... Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" or scissors, paper, rock. "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly". The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was boy/girl germs, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot.

Nobody was prettier than your Mum. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better. Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamin C's. Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Going to the beach and catching a wave was a dream come true. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare". Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!!! Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life....

Indian Adventures

While travelling in India, I took a jeep up the Rohtang Pass in the Himalayas. It was a spectacular ride along the 3rd highest motorable road in the world. The road snakes up the steep mountainside with sheer drops and hair-pin bends a plenty. Apparently, people are killed every year on this road, mainly men driving too fast I was told !

So the Indians have come up with a series of suggestive road signs to warn of the perils of speed.

This was my favourite:

Darling I want you but not so fast

……
In Goa we took to the back roads on motorbikes and I couldn’t resist this photo.

The roadside shack lists the following digital service:

Graphics, Audio\Video Editin, Video Streaming, CD ROM Designing, 2D\3D Animation, Web Development, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence

web shack…

Anecdotes

Couple of classic anecodes:

During a royal visit to South Africa in 1947 an old Boer approached Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and boldly stated –

“I don’t think much of royalty. I think South Africa ought to be a republic.”

To which Queen Elizabeth is alleged to have replied,

“That’s how we feel in Scotland too, but the English won’t allow it”.

His response is not recorded.

Here’s one from the legendary Kenneth Williams:


A friend of his visited the house of two old spinsters to examine a Ming vase that they had for sale.

On entering their large living room he spotted a condom sitting on top of their piano. He turned to one of the spinsters and asked her what it was doing there.


She replied: “Edith and I found it while walking in the park the other day and it said on the packet, ‘put on organ to avoid infection’.

We don’t have an organ so we put it on the piano.

Do you know we haven’t had a cold since !”.

Pop-ups !

Don’t you just hate pop-ups….grrrrr ! Quietly surfing aound online and these flipping new windows keep popping up with all kinds of adverts and crap you don’t want on them.

Maybe time to install a pop-up killer…..

Remember Blue Nun ?

70s naffness makes a comeback ! Remember Blue Nun, Liebfraumilch, Parker Knoll furniture and, gasp, even hostess trolleys….well apparently they are all coming back with a vengance ! We just can’t shake that decade from our hearts !