Jirrupin

Has anyone seen this programme on ABC this week. It seems to be the same series as the one discussed that was screened in the Uk but this version has shorter clips of lots of different families settling in OZ in each episode?

jopaulss

Yeah watched it tonite , the single mum and 2 kids ( well she left hubby behind for a better life ) the dad and 2 kids here in perth whos wife had died a couple of years earlier and the family here in perth , seem very loud and running down people who work in cash converters , Oh boy that will go down well !!!!!
Joanne

Jirrupin

I know the 'cash coverters comment' that family will have to leave Perth now. Yesterdays programme showed the family that everyone in the Uk had seen, the one with the son going back, unfortunately we seem to be getting shown lots of families in piece meal. There was another family on yesterday who have moved to the Gold Coast, I think.

Anyway it will give those of us overhere some idea what they are watching in the UK, but with a slightly different format.

I do think Mrs. Skegg will get a lot of criticism because they only seem to show her criticising things.

jopaulss

Mrs skegg criticise lol she did just a bit , what about the poor daughters friend coming down the path " she can stay out she is skinny " or something like that , oh dear nice lady .
I felt sorry for the mum and son dropping that wide screen telly on the floor , whoops
Joanne

MrsDagboy

Funny, 3 guesses what Dagboy called her after we watched last nights program! LOL

Jirrupin

I thought Mrs. Skegg was very funny when she was sat there with a deep sun tan and said it was her husband who was likely to get skin cancer because he was working outdoors

But I have to say that when I was sat in perth at the traffic lights today I did say "you could knit a jumper waiting at these traffic lights"

She was very critical of OZ being so different but I think what she was saying out loud are all the differences that we do notice and that we have to get used to.

Jirrupin

I can't see how the woman and her two kids are going to manage financially, they only came over with £3500 and they spent £2500 on furniture, so I expect there will be a hunt for jobs on soon, unless the hubby in Blackpool sends over some dosh.

I thought the lad going into the woods to look for spiders and scaring himself and the production team was hilarious

MrsDagboy

Yeah the skin cancer bit got me too & the traffic lights. Dagboy was really put off by the whinging about the hubbies job tho, the "its put him back 10 years" comment.

Jirrupin

The difficulty for Mr. Skegg is that he was a site supervisor in UK and obviously earning a lot of money, but he has to take a course over here to further his career, and earn less in the meantime.

The trouble with programmes like this is that it can give misleading impressions. Mr. S. seemed okay with getting out of the house and earning a bit, and his wage seemed quite good to me.

But when the site manager said out of 10 Brit workers you would only get one good one, it seemed really negative. I don't know what is or is not true in the perception of poms on the workforce but I thought that his comments may ruffle a few feathers, unless everyone else thinks they are the one in 10 also.

MrsDagboy

Yeah the guy didnt elaborate on why he thought only 1 in 10 were any good. The bit that annoyed Dagboy was the obvious social thing with her, the hubby was obviously as happy as a pig in the proverbial, but the wife was very upset that hes now "only a brickie".

Jirrupin

Again, thats the problem with these programmes, there is little detail into why people think what they do. Mrs. Skegg might have been the driving force behind the move and feels guilty that he has to take a lower status job. That may be about social standing or it may not. We can only speculate.

I think a lot of us do work hard to gain promotion of one kind or another, and I think if he had worked his way up in UK, there is a loss when you take a step backwards, unless it is by choice.

In my career I chose to take a step down from management where I had been for six years because I wanted to gain experience in a slightly different specialism. I took a drop in work conditions and salary but I was gaining a great deal of experience, and now I have the potential for management in the new specialism combining all my experience and training together.

Sadly I can't even get an interview in Perth. But I am hopeful if we find a place we do want to settle in OZ that I can find a job. I personally accept that there re such things as the Oz laws that will be slightly diffferent, particularly the court process and I lack detailed knowledge about the intricacies of micro/macro problems sustained by aboriginal children and again I would need to develop this and the best place to do this is at the shop floor & college.

I think those people who are able to maintain their career position or get a company transfer to OZ may not fully comprehend the changes for those of us who do not.

Carol in Oz

Have been watching this too. Think it was (Mrs S)? complaining that she couldnt get any decent knickers here! Wonder how she is getting on with her neighbours now!

The lady and the 2 children coming here on their own I was wondering how they would have got the ok to migrate here. After reading a lot of everyones postings about the probs of getting here and the rules etc. Maybe I missed something in the beginning of the programme, but she didnt have much money or a place to stay, 50 and with 2 children to support. Plucky lady! Good luck to her!

Jirrupin

The programme was on the previous night too, thats when they said how much money she had brought with her. Its on again in ten minutes (WA time).

So I best make a cuppa and get off the computer.

invictia

Um..........After watching it all week, I can only say.........Mrs Skeggs really oughta get back on a plane and go back! She does nothing but whinge about everything. The single mother with 2 kids needs her bumps reading if she thinks she will survive with only a few dollars out here!
Basically it is a case of rose tinted glasses all round! The grass is NOT greener, just a different shade, we all have bills to pay, the the groceries to buy.
I'll shut up now!!!!!!!!!!! B ut.............I wish them all luck, I'm happy, been here 4 years and love it!

jodiiiiiiii

Hi,

I unfortunately do not have access to see this programme at all. as I live in the US. Mandy Skeggs is one of my best friends, I have known her for years and watched her and Mick work their fingers to the bone and make the painstaking decision whether or not to emigrate to Austalia. They finally made the decision to do this as they wanted a better life for themselves and their children. They have literally had to start over again, Yes, this was their decision but it is still hard. Mick was a very good foreman and owned his own construction company and yes, it is a lttle disappointing when you have done the job for 20 years and suddenly you get shoved back to stage 1.

I have spoken to Mandy since the show aired in Oz and apparently they have edited alot of this to make her look like a whinging pom....she has had threatening phone calls from ozzies that would prefer her not to be there (they didnt exactly say those words). Shes had reporters hounding her constantly to which she has actually did an interview to give her side of the story. But then again will the reporter twist it all around and make her look stupid or will they print the truth?

I hope that everyone lucky enough to watch this will take all of what is said by these people, placed in a goldfish bowl, with a pinch of salt. These are really good people and I am a very lucky person to know them. Mandy is one of the kindest people I know, so please be kind and put yourselves in their shoes.

By the way Mandy does tan very well doesnt she!!!!

Jodi