General Chat Aust Day with Bobi

Over to Bobi, with thanks:

Gidday,

I was going to chat about good Australian movies/TV shows as a balance against all things Geordie Shore but my mind went to those hideous Ned Kelly movies. Why are we obsessed with an uninteresting thief-slash-murder, and who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to cast Mick Jagger in the lead role. Hindsight, I know.

I do remember Priscilla and Bran Nue Dae being fairly wonderful movies but, generally, I have gone blank. I am a fan of Australia (I am sure it was written tongue in cheek) but I am still perplexed as to why it was called Australia. It could have been set anywhere.

Instead, I thought I would move into new territory for a brief and fleeting moment.

Let’s chat about moving the date for Australia Day. Is that a collective sharp intake of breathe I hear? Wait, wait. Hear me out.

I have it on good authority that about 75% of people don’t want the date moved. However, they are becoming increasingly sympathetic to the views of First Nations People, and so I don’t think this topic should create controversy, just general chat-chat.

Truly, I’m not going replay the views of people who were here thousands of years before me and mine. And besides, there are a lot of excellent articles, and interviews, out there doing a much better job than I ever could or should.

I don’t have any skin in this game. My feelings on the actual day are almost non-existent which would explain why I am firmly in the move-the-date camp. Surprise! I bet you did not see that coming.

In the interests of being patronising as hell, here’s some history – which may or may not be absolutely accurate – so that I can develop my argument. Well, not so much develop as plonk on the table in front of you.

Technically, Captain Cook laid claim to the eastern seaboard of Australia in August. The 26th of November was the day he sailed into Sydney Harbour and raised a flag. Very Sydney-centric, don’t you think? Now surely that’s got all of Melbourne on board.

Australia Day was supposed to celebrate emancipated convicts. I think we can all agree that we have moved way beyond that, unless of course you work in a Greek restaurant.

And then Jubilee, Victoria, public holiday, blahdy-blah and then it became complicated.

Right. Now back to me because this is my point of view (just call me Charlotte). The significance of Australia Day to me has always been a day that marks the end of school holidays with a long weekend and a BBQ.

Here’s the controversy (you knew there would be some): I don’t think we should just move Australia Day, I think we should move the entire summer 6 week long school holiday.

Given climate change, don’t you think we should revisit the concept of sending our precious little bundles of joy into the tinder-dry, wilderness during the hottest months of the year? Let’s move it to Easter. There’s a long break there just waiting to be exploited.
And it seems crazy to send everyone outside to light fires for that bbq in the middle of summer and in the blazing midday sun.

A wonderful by-product of moving everything might be that we can recalibrate our view of Australia in a coherent, multicultural and nice way. Wishful thinking, I know.

And momentarily revisiting my low-care factor, there are a bunch of people out there who would really like the day moved … a lot. If they care and I don’t, why not?

I have kept my most convincing point for last. I went to an American school for a while. OMG. Talk about so much brainwashing and indoctrination. I was almost convinced that Americans were the greatest people living in the greatest country in the world. Please, let us not become like them and get hung up on a date.

I knew that one would win you over.

DD thinks that it doesn’t matter whether the day is moved or not because someone will always be unhappy. It’s a bit like, cancelling Mondays will merely transfer the angst to Tuesday.

I, on the other hand, think that where there’s a will, there‘s a way. We Australians are mostly kind, compassionate people. I do think that it’s inevitable that the date will be changed at sometime. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do it without conflict? You know, calmly, respectfully and with consultation?

And kind thoughts to you all on the day but that salad is not going to cut it without the bbq lamb. I am hoping that if I don’t think about it too much then I won’t miss it.

– Bobi



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77 Comments

  1. “Unless you work in a Greek restaurant”. Lol. Good one, Bobi. Yep, change it. And let’s shorten the summer hols a bit and have a longer mid-year or Sept break, say three weeks. By Sept the kids are all tired and the weather not too hot, not cold. I like being able to go outside in the natural light with my eyeballs burning in their sockets.
    The royal family is imploding so bring on the Republic and let’s pick a date for all Australians.

  2. Australia Day should celebrate how great it is to live in our country (and not be America!). If the current date offends the original owners of our land then we should move it to another date. Simple! We have only have celebrated on the 26th January since early 90s I think (I haven’t done my research).
    I would prefer a date that is not in the school holidays (I have no kids) so my annual Aust Day BBQ does not have to get moved to a more convenient date because my friends are away with their kids on school holidays.

  3. Australia Day yes. Move it if it brings peace of heart and mind.
    Summer holidays, no way. Kids don’t want to be going to school when it’s hot, although they do in February. Maybe extend them. Let’s have summer holidays go from Christmas to the end of February. 😄
    I always like the holidays to start a couple of days before Christmas so kids can use their pressies over the holidays.

    • In our town, I think they are also a waste of money when they desperately need better and more parks and gardens. And rangers to bust the people who smoke near the playgrounds.

    • Speaking of dogs, will you be watching Pooch Perfect with Rebel Wilson? No air date yet but her Twitter says February.

      • I’m not a fan of Rebel Wilson, but I am a fan of dogs. The first promos made me think I would watch, but the later promos make it look as though it’s a grooming and beauty pageant for dogs. I’ll wait and see.

  4. I’m going childhood traditional and taking lamb chops, roast potatoes, sausage rolls and lamingtons with cream. I tried sticking to olden days style by not using marinating or spices, but I caved by buying thickened cream not whipping cream for the lamingtons.
    I could hold off until a more culturally sensitive date but it:s family dinner night. I promise I won’t wear my Australian flag undies. 🤭

  5. I had lamb shanks. It’s the closest I could come to the real thing.
    And I saw that they were advertising Ned Kelly on tv tonight. Not the worst one but the one with Heath Ledger, so a close second. Thank the lord for SBS streaming.

    • We have one more ep left of Years and Years. Shockingly good. Once I see the finale I will be googling what the English public thought of it but seems scarily accurate in its predictions

    • I think it’s sad. He was a fabulous athlete.
      I don’t think it’s opening headline news, given that there are hundreds of people dying from a virus, Australian children trapped in the infectious zone, and the fallout from all of that, and let’s not forget that the country is burning. But still sad nevertheless.
      I just think it’s odd what some news channels open on. Too soon?

      • No, I think that’s a fair comment, Bobi. I was sleepless and reading newspapers on my phone before dawn, which is when I found out. I have the radio going all day, and Kobe’s death didn’t lead the news reports until afternoon. I just needed to take a few minutes to grieve for him.

      • I know.
        It’s all that lost potential, both he and his daughter, that I am sad for – the things that he was in the middle of giving back. And some of his kids are babies.
        I suppose it’s always like that when someone young dies.

    • I have a library card but for the life of me, I can’t remember the password.
      Passwords are the bane of my existence. I can’t imagine how things are going to go as I get older.

      • Bobi, I’m a member of two libraries. I use the postcode of the suburb the library is in as a password. That is easily accessed if I forget. I only visit the library’s site to renew books or check if a book I want to read is available, so I think that’s safe enough. Usually I’m very careful about passwords and who can get to my info. but if someone hacks me and finds out what books I’ve checked out, I’m not too worried.

        Unfortunately, I don’t think my antique tv nor my antique desktop pc will work for streaming.

  6. Brexit Day. Finally they are out and the transition period starts. Let’s see if BoJo can keep his promises. None of my British friends (all Remainers) think it will end well. But hey, they all get blue passports now and can pretend they are a sovereign country again.

    And in other news, my Oma just died a couple of hours ago. She was my guiding light in so many situations and I had no other feeling than love for her. But it was time, she was diagnosed with a severe Osteoporosis, fluid in the lungs as they found also a tumor and worst of all, she had extreme dementia. I saw her on Christmas and… she was just an empty shell by now that kind of, very vaguely still resembled her. But she wasn’t in there anymore and left a long time ago. For all I know, my Opa was waiting for her and she is finally with him again. <3
    I just hope nothing comes inbetween me and the funeral, except for SNCF strikes again or Paris hets put under quarantine. Who knows. This year sucks so far. Badly.

    • Sorry to hear about your Oma. My grandmother is in a nursing home, at the moment, she’s a tough old girl but she doesn’t even know who I am, anymore (and when she rings the house, to talk to my mother, but gets me instead, she just hangs up, because she thinks she has the wrong number). Nobody deserves the indignity of getting old, you know? Still. Hugs from me.

      “None of my British friends (all Remainers) think it will end well.”

      No, I don’t have any friends who think it’ll end well, either. I knew an Irish fellow who was telling me that one of the EU’s biggest concerns is that the relationship between Ireland and England is going to go all kinds of belly-up, if Brexit comes through. I guess now it’s just wait-and-see.

      • Thanks everyone. <3

        No, I learnt that on my own. The other Oma I had (my dad's mum) was the baker who inspired me to do all of this. The one who died was just a wonderful person overall.

        Windsong, my Oma was in a nursing home too for well over a year now. She was always a tough lady, but with a big heart, selfless and always there for others. All that has happened, she didn't deserve. 🙁 This is what gets me the most about that whole situation. Bad things should always happen to shitty people (and yes, I am THAT naive :P).
        I hope your Oma won't suffer though. I know mine did until her last breath. -.-

  7. We went to the movies to try and escape the heat. We saw Blonde Bombshell.
    Incredibly engrossing. Well worth seeing.
    And the acting was fabulous. Its tough when you see a movie and you can’t stop seeing the actor, like Tom Cruise is just always Tom Cruise, but these actors disappeared into their parts – yes, even Nichole Kidman. I even had to ask who was playing the main protagonist.
    Good stuff.
    And just in case you are wondering, it’s after 7pm and still 41 degrees. Poor puppers are very unhappy.

    • I’m sure you know this, but a wet towel over hot dogs is supposed to help them feel cooler. It’s meant to be on the tummy/groin/pulse points, but my old boy doesn’t like that, so I wet a hand towel with water from the fridge, wring it out, and put it over his head and neck. He’ll accept that and lie quite calmly with it there. It may be the placebo effect, but I’ll try anything to help stop that somewhat stressed panting in an old dog. It’s scary when they won’t settle, isn’t it.

      • And thanks. I kind of knew but forgot.
        Normally the evaporative cooling is sufficient but this year it’s not coping, along with the rest of us.

          • The smoke is not too bad. The wind must be blowing the other way. I am on the other side of town from the fires so I imagine that helps.
            It’s the heat at the moment that is a worry. It’s 6 am and 27 degrees already but luckily it’s only predicted to go to 33.
            Usually I am a huge fan of evap cooling but once the house is hot, it doesn’t cope. I am going to have to rethink next year.
            Long doggo and I are about to go for a walk – it’s compulsory. Good luck to us.

        • You’re welcome, glad it helped. I have a similar picture of my boyo looking dorky, but cute, with a wet towel on his head. Whatever works.

  8. I was quite happily watching Big Fat Quiz of The Decade on SBS last night. At the end, a special guest came out to ask the final question or something. As soon as Jimmy Carr said “Charlotte Crosby”, I ran to change the channel. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to avoid hearing her freaking screechy voice again. It gives me shivers up my spine just thinking about it.

    I’ll be on guard now while watching any show from England.

  9. Hi all: Very late to the party, but if you’re looking for a good Oz movie, Lion was on SBS recently. I’m sure it’s still on their streaming site. I read the book when it came out and I think the producers did a good job. I’m also happy they stood against other pressures to re-set the story in India and America (FFS).

    • Hey Big H! I watched Lion on a plane and had to quickly wipe away my tears when the hostie came by. And last night I cried watching the finale of the last ever episode of The Good Place, even though I’d guessed how it was going to end.

  10. Since I don’t watch MAFS or Survivor, thank goodness for re-runs of Midsomer Murders and Law & Order SVU.

    I’ll have a short watch of MKR tonight. Short because as soon as any of the contestants annoys me, I’ll turn it off. I figure 10 minutes?

    • I am a keen Law and Order fan. I will have to stream it later. MAFS is such garbage but I will scan and review it.

    • I ended up tuning in for Survivor. I’m still annoyed by the last season, but — out of everything airing tonight? — Survivor is the franchise I’m *least* annoyed with. I’m not even bothering with MKR, this year.

      I’m tempted to watch the first episode of MAFS, just so see what kind of train-wreck it’s likely to be.

      • I’m watching…maybe half watch MAFS. I will review one show and see how it goes. The lips so far are like rubber dinghies.
        I can’t get into Survivor because these people all had a turn. I don’t want to watch them again, and the introductory blustering is annoying.
        I will watch Law and Order with Von. Those are repeats also.

      • I watched Law & Order for many years – the original, then SVU, then criminal intent. I dropped out a while after Olivia became the boss. Fun fact: Taylor Swift has a cat named Olivia Benson

      • Yeah, Luke, maybe. Poppy? Eh. She chose to be on the show, I think, “Oh noes my kids!” was just an excuse to hide her insecurities.

        But gosh, she went on about it at length.

        • All she went on about during dress-up was the pimple on her nose. Then she gets to fhe altar and remembers who two mangle hair-do kids. If she wants to have regrets it should be for making her boys into baldy bogans.

  11. Geez, it’s 730 here and still 36 degrees. I do prefer summer to winter, but this is a bit much. My good dog is comfortable because I’ve had the air con going since 10 this morning. My electricity bill will be horrendous, but we have to be comfortable.

    • A monsoonal trough has swept over Queensland, today, and it’s actually been quite cool today. It rained most of the afternoon, as well, and hopefully we’ll get a lot more of that later on in the week. I went out for dinner tonight and the wind destroyed an umbrella, but it was a nice dinner. And it’s so lovely that it’s quite cool, and it’s not stinking hot.

  12. Ooooo. I watched the Mr Markle (not Harry) interview. Forget the Royal part and just look at family dynamic. Very sad when families fall apart. I know, sometimes people have to separate. Does Meaghan have a pattern?

  13. “not Harry” *snort*. Markle has always come across as a dickhead in bits I’ve seen or read of what he says. Did he seem more sympathetic in this show?

    • No. But Mr Markle senior didn’t talk about Mr Markle junior much. It’s worth a watch. He didn’t say it so I will; slap in the face from an ungrateful daughteUes, he has always been made out to be a monster so I think it’s not unreasonable for him to want to defend himself. And given how long H&M have been together, he’s been quite restrained only speaking up now.
      She tossed her dad aside as if he’s…..Britain.

    • I, too, think she has a pattern, plus she has an entire PR firm working for her.
      I am in the less sympathetic to Meaghan camp.
      It doesn’t help that the sister is less than stable but I am assuming she is also protective of her dad so it amps up the nutteriness ( I am sure that’s a word).
      There’s a brother as well, who rarely speaks, but he too has had a falling out with Meaghan.
      I am assuming that Meaghan is embarrassed by her family and that Dad is extremely hurt. Not a good combo.
      I think I have mentioned before that my ex was a sociopath. No one believed the stories I told until he got to the 4th wife, and even then it was the wives sanity that was questioned.
      And, of course, the press is rabid. There are no winners here except journalists.

    • So what’s new? The “pants on backwards” has been in the last couple Bach seasons and in Love Island. No one should be surprised that you can see breakfast, lunch and dinner.

  14. Jeez, not much worth watching on tv tonight. It looks as though I’ll be watching Marley and Me for the 1000th time. The dogs are the best actors in that movie.

    Looking forward to Fargo at 1110, but it may be difficult to stay awake until then to see a decent movie.

  15. I was just given 2 free $100 tickets for “Darryl Waithwaite on the beach”. Hmmm. I like the beach. 🤔

    I have never been a DB fan, but Woolif is keen to attend the geriatric jambooree.

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