RichS

Just back from a month long trip to England to tour the rellys. Haven't been back for a few years and noticed the following:

1. Isn't there much more choice in the suprmarkets
2. Aren't there a lot more shops for clothes and things
3. Isn't autumn spectacular
4. spent a lot of time in the car listening to the radio. Between Radio 1,2 3,4,5 there's everything you could want.
5. telly - again a lot more choice when compared
6. Pubs - aaaaahhh pubs, and all with aussie bar staff built in.
7. I wasn't racially abused for being English in a whole month!

Of course on holiday you don't get the joys of commuting and day to day existence, but I thought I'd highlight things I used to take for granted when living over there that now are more noticable.

janeyray

How true!! its only when we're here (OZ) that you realise how 'spoilt' we were back in the UK

dazuk

couldnt agree more especially the supermarkets, you sould also mention decent cuury houses and chip shops.

Also pubs and off licenses that sell decent euro lager and fine british real ales!!!

Also no f)(*kin flies everywhere !!!!

dotty

Wondered how the hols went.

Can I add no more 38 degree days

3 weeks till we leave now, that excited, total panic setting in tho, its awful trying to organise everything to go away, I have a seven page list of stuff to organise, thats not packing, just stuff to sort out what happens while we are gone.

Then theres my nagging worry, bushfires, stress stress I shall need a holiday after this.

nicky s

Why the hell are you here then? Why don`t you just go back to the U.K if it`s so much better there and oh so hard here!?
I`m so sick of reading negative views about Australia on this forum. For those that continue to live here and post negative crap constantly, why bother to stay? For those that aren`t here yet but are thinking of coming here...don`t be put off, this country has alot to offer and many people who make the move (including myself) don`t have any regrets and are very happy here..no wonder they call us wingeing pomms!

Jirrupin

Well that nastiness didn't take long to rear its ugly head.

I didn't think Rich was being negative about OZ, I don't think you should have to justify what you enjoy or miss about the UK on a trip to your homeland.

Are you a troll or just very touchy?

RichS

I really did appreciate England as never before, but I was glad to get back 'home' nonetheless.
In our absence nature has overrun the place. I remember that every time I was in england and they showed a rugby World Cup game from sydney it was lashing down, and thinking that's going to add an extra foot to the lawn/weeds/whatever else is lurking there.

Whilst I'm here, other things I liked and didn't mention:

1. Central heating - oh how we realised we missed that last night when once more the wife got the trusty blanket out to watch telly after sundown.
2. Completely mad relatives who insist on a street by street description of the route by which you arrived at their front door, and then discuss at length the merits of the A41 or whatever as you lapse into a coma. (I'm sure most people wouldn't miss this but it became a sort of standing joke with the wife some years back)
3. The unswerving commitment to poor customer service
4. Pubs with beer gardens/indoor areas the kids could play in (a gripe against Sydney here I think as other cities fare better).
5. Driving really quite quickly
6. It was nice to see that house prices in the Uk have gone crackers too and are now totally unaffordable to the average family.
7. IDS - at first I thought it a derived sister disease to SARS, but once I understood I realised it was altogether a more frightening prospect. Thankfully a cure was found during my time over there, though there are murmerings that the 'cure' may prove to have even more sinister side effects.

RichS

My word you do seem to have put your grumpy hat on your head this morning don't you.

I don't actually feel that I have to justify why I'm here to you at all, nor indeed do I need to list the reasons I like to live here. furthermore I really don't think that making observation about my perceptions after an absence from England of x years is necessarily being negative about Australia.
However you obviously see things a different way. Can you then please tell me which of my initial listing you would quibble with and we'll talk it through.

Please also point out at which point I say this country doesn't have a lot to offer, and at which point I say that I'm not very happy here.

As for the whingeing poms part - and here I'm sure you will blow a gasket. My experience is that no-one whinges louder than Aussies. If they get put out of the rugby world cup just watch them go. We of course are much more practiced in the art of losing gracefully.

To sum up - please don't confuse observation with opinion.

Ceri

so people are not allowed to post reality posts are they?? Look if someone said to me (about any country in the world) that it's wonderful...no problems, I'd think "eh up... they are either on drugs or off their faces)... all countries have problems.

Also this Ugly thing of "why don't you back there??" this always crops up by certain people who obviously can not understand the concept of some people are here on business... employing Australians in the process too.. People are out in Australia for all different kinds of reasons. I can't speak for Dotty (but her Australia Husband may have something to do with it). our reasons (myself and Hubby) are purely business related.

cheers

P.s and if you are sick of the whinging.. you'll probably find in this forum there are more people putting down the UK than Aus... or is that ok in your books?ooh must not say anything about Australia must we..

dotty

I thought he was just saying what he enjoyed about his holiday.

Instead of posting like that why not just say what you enjoy about living here, surely that would be much more useful. Start your own thread about all the stuff you enjoy, easy enough isnt it.
Why does every post have to turn into a battle.

Andiii

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip in England. However, it is unfair to compare a relatively new, isolated country with a sparse population on a continent that is as big as the U.S. without Alaska.

The U.K in total, slightly smaller than Oregan with a population of 60 million (3X Australia's) and only 35 km from France, has a few more benefits than little ol' Australia.

But props to you. I think your post illuminates the incessant sprawl that is urbanization and does a good job of highlighting just how unnecessary such items are. That is, if you can manage without the "extra" clothes and food stores in Australia, why have them? A wider selection, but at what cost?

I prefer a view of a park, or a creek than a few unnecessary, gaudy shops. I also prefer a walk, or to play a sport than watch a few more television channels. But each to their own, eh?

Over the next 100 years or more, when both you and I are dead, when trees are a rarity and shopping centres a burden, our grand children will read history books on Australia and reflect on just how beautiful Australia was in 2003. I hope in time you will be able to.

Good day to you.

dotty

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ceri
Also this Ugly thing of "why don't you back there??" this always crops up by certain people who obviously can not understand the concept of some people are here on business... employing Australians in the process too.. People are out in Australia for all different kinds of reasons. I can't speak for Dotty (but her Australia Husband may have something to do with it). our reasons (myself and Hubby) are purely business related.

cheers



The fact is many people unless they are a backpacker with no ties often cannot just move off on a whim.

Several reasons I have seen people encounter are

Money, falling exchange rates.
Housing prices.
Kids at various stages of education.
Business, you dont build one up then just chuck it away (MY reason).
Reality, People with a couple of kids have hundreds of resons why they just cant zip up and go.
Jobs, do you have one here, one there, one to go back to.
Costs, of zipping round the world.
Kids may now have settled in.
One spouse loves it one hates it.

Shall I go on. Unfortunately, once over the backpacker days most of us have more real issues like feeding kids and building equity, lots of people arrive and find they cant just Zap back. Ceri's right plenty of real reasons, when the dollar was buying 33p for example I bet not many went back at all!

Rich was not saying he wanted to go back anyway, just a holiday report.

RichS

Obviosuly I'm a little jet lagged today and therefore relishing a bit of senseless banter.

1. Please explain how you quantify that Australia is new or old. Is it in terms of how long English people ahve lived there?

2. Only a total maniac would think that being 35km from France is any sort of advantage

3. I bow to your 'Chairman Mao school of fashion' approach, but hey it was an observation. Again I express no opinion on the content or quality, you just assume it.

4. Given your previous point about the sheer expanse of the country and also the 'thou shalt say not a word against the hallowed land on this web site' approach, surely we can have gaudy shops AND creeks and parks.

5. I bow to your point in respect of the media, particularly radio and written. Yes I have an opinion and yes it is that the quality of the 5 BBC radio stations and the array of quality daily written media available in the UK is probably as good as any country in the world can output.

6. Not entirely sure where my reflections on a simple holiday have led you to compose a rant describing the collapse of the civilised world. I think you inhabit a very strange land indeed. Andiiiii land, population 1, somewhere in Melbourne.

you have a nice day there now and keep drinking the water.

dotty

Rich

Posting that you enjoyed your holiday in the UK is not allowed on here. I tried it last year, cause I really did enjoy myself. However it started a several million post debate on how I could not possibly have enjoyed myself there and wait for it how I was a LIAR that I had even been there.

Funny how that little stamp in my passport got there then.

Just laugh, I intend to post how much I enjoyed my holiday again this year, (unless I am bundeled off by some pommie teen gang wearing balaclavas, masks, spiking me cup of tea, get raped on the tube, have 6 grannys knock me down while I shop and get buried by litter in Oxford street.


:scared: :scared: :scared:

Lets hope Bondi Pom survives his holiday update next week

Its murder on here sometimes

Ceri

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dotty
I keep my mouth shut half the time.. it's quite funny.

Do you know I could get my mate on here, Aussie born Aussie bred.. been nowhere and he would laugh at these comments from some people.... he'd say in his words "shit.. are they into an*l or something? " (the bloke is a nutter... straight out with his words)

I know what your saying Dotty

I'm just fed up of "attacks". It's so naive to say 'why don't you go home" .. lol. as you are probably aware of.

I'm waffling


anyway, I do not understand either ... the bloke is just posting his view. Some people don't like views, or real posts on this forum