This is the first time on this forum in my own name, as I have always gone on through my husbands username.
We too, are looking to emigrate to Oz and look forward to the positive/negative and balanced discussions on here, whether they are good or bad things about the country we are going to.
I have also read most of the things that PB puts on here, and at times find them hilarious, but what I do find offensive is the foul language and racist comments when he has been on his so called 'Happy hour'.
When I registered as a member of this forum, I agreed to abide by the rules, which included not to use foul language, abuse others and make racist remarks.
Should PB and others do the same, I am quite happy to read your comments, laugh at them, or take what you are saying as informative.
We also still need the moderators after the 'Happy hour', as we still need the police on our streets when the 'Happy hour' is over in our towns and cities.
It would be a shame if PB had to leave altogether, but would just like him to sit back and take note at what we are saying.
Why should people leave this forum because of the odd few, rather than giving a balanced view, go off on one almighty downer and make the whole discussion nasty and abusive.
Thanks for listening to an avid reader, and hope that we can all come to a compromise.

My lanuage can have colour never foul I hope , with the inter breeding in my family how could I be racist , be fair I even married a Scot not many Poms would risk that.
Now I love the locals here as much as they love us Poms if thats your racist point , infact even more so because I believe you should treat dumb animals well.
If I had to choose between giving a Abo house room or an Aussie , it makes sense to have the Abo its a better earner and they take up less room and no one gives a sod about their living conditions.
Happy hour is the only thing that keeps me going here its the only time the beers affordable .

What's wrong with Scots monkey boy??

:PARTY:

Graham

it all depends on balance

you have to live here for a while to understand that its not like england. people are not fair or reasoned in their opinions. the balanced view is not of interest. england has moved to a level of political correctness, tolerence and fairness which is really not apparent in many other countries in the world.

we live here in oz and day to day we navigate the anti-pom attitudes from people that have never met you and know nothing about our home country. if your a pom tall short fat thin white brown blue yellow racist balanced posh poor you are fair game for a wind up.

wind up involves basically trying to get a response out of you by saying something "nasty or unfair" usually starting at the bottom of the scale about the weather, queen, washing, poor cricket performance, poor football performance, poorer everything in uk compared to wonderful oz moving up to the other end of the scale with such wonderfully misinformed topics as englands abuse of poor aussie soldiers in the first world war, how england almost killed australia economically in the 50's by stopping buying aussie lamb and buying from europe instead, how england apparently still wishes it still had an empire, how english people are all so aloof etc etc.

The one common thread is its all very trivial, its mostly false or twisted to suit and it makes no difference if the argument is balanced or fair or reasoned its about getting the rise and the response. If you respond then they love it and they laugh and move on to the next little thing and you have just reinforced the whole process.

the only reason I say this is people like PB have lived here for a fair old while. you start to act the same way and basically all he is doing is spinning the wind up back onto australia. Brits dont get it until they live here for a while but its only fun and its best not to take offence. If you take offence now at such comments on a website wait till you get to oz and experience it day in day out and your the intended victim or benificiary depending on your view point.

I have to say my experience as a bloke is the more they abuse you the more they like you. Its pretty much the same in UK but we tend to spend longer getting to that level of familiarity whereas Oz will move far quicker to the banter and you sink or swim with it. helps to have a beer and give them some small digs back as that unsettles them a fair bit. I have to say thats its also best not to bend over and be the butt of the joke agreeing with them as you look slightly pathetic !

[QUOTE I even married a Scot not many Poms would risk that.]

No wonder there is a north/south divide
its people like u that keep it going
and psssssst u couldnt have married a better person!

Never more clearly stated.

The best face I can put on it is that familiarity (GB / Aus) allows Aussies to wind up Brits to a degree that would not be possible with other nationalities.

Winding up a Yank is more difficult because to them Aussies are less important than bananas, there is not the same reciprocal degree of familiarity. Also a wound up Yank is likely to pull out serious hardware, makes for a "polite society".

Lots of Aussies like to wind each other up for fun and games, especially at work.

Obviously, familiarity can breed contempt and nastiness.

But, using the good face again, funny Pom / Aussie Teasing is an opportunity to show your metal, hardness in the face of adversity, and to show you care.

Best to meet a blow with an equally powerful one. Too weak and you're pathetic. Too strong and you're frightened or putting down.

Yes, it is very surprising that a Scot would put up with you PB. As an English woman, I certainly would have come to blows with you years ago.
Happy hour - prey tell me, what is a Happy hour? People can't afford to drink for an hour to be happy. But saying that, there are many of us that don't need to drink to be happy.
May I ask? What was it you was looking for when you left this wonderful place and went to the other side of the world? What was it that made you think that the good old UK lacked for you to make that tremendous decision? Was it made whilst having one of your Happy hours?
You appear to spend many hours on the Ex pats. Is this done in your own time or your employers?
It seems so sad that you would spend so much time on here. Is it so bad? Shall we have a whip round and fly you back on a mercy mission.
PB, if this is all you have in life, do it, make the decision, come back here. You only get one go at it on this planet, and never know how long we have to do it in. Take the plunge, be happy again. There is more than enough room for you in any local pub, most of them are empty nowadays.

he is going back, he keeps telling us. see things are that bad in Perth that its taking him 7 or so years to leave the place. makes you wonder doesn`t it?

To be honest Denhim, it worries me greatly that he will be still there when we arrive in Perth.
Perhaps he has got the 'seven year itch'.


:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

Captaincook.
Let me tell you a little about myself.
I am English, Both my parents are English.
When I was 2 1/2 my parents seperated.
My Father re married and took his new wife and my 13 year old Brother to Australia to start a new life. I was 9 at the time. That was 35 years ago.
My Father and his new wife had a daughter who is an Australian Citizen.
My Brother married an Australian who is of Italian decent.
My Mother remarried to a Spaniard and now lives in Spain. My Spanish Stepfather was married before and had a daughter, so I have a Spanish Stepsister.
My Australian half sister still lives in Australia but married an Irishman.

I have spent a lot of time in Oz with those funny old Australians.
I have lived in Spain with those funny old Spaniards.
I have lived in England with those funny old Englishmen.

Your comment of 'It isn't like England' seems very odd unless you are Irish.

Why do people want to up sticks, leave England, and then find a place that is like England.
Only England is like England.
Only Spain is like Spain.
Only Oz is like Oz.
etc etc.

If you are leaving this land, to be somewhere else and want it to be like England, forget it.
To live in another country, we must accept their ways and their cultures and stop whinging about it or get back out on the next plane because they won't change things just because you don't like it.

He's got an 'ITCH' alright ...

Er, thanks for all the extra information but it unfortunately does'nt alter the fact that you missed my point.

My view is your approaching PB and other's "negative" posts with a very English sense of political correctness and fairness.

All I was trying to say was Australia day to day does'nt care so much for balance. People that live here for a while develop the same ways and people like PB are just spinning the wind up back on the Aussies.

I was not complaining about the negativity, but the foul language and racist comments.
YOU missed the point.

I have a friend in Leicester who knows someone in Perth that sounds just like PB.
Your not from Leicester are you PB?

By the way I agree that bad language and racist comments should be kept off this forum.
(above comments on Leicester are not in anyway racist)

Tony

You will hear foul language and racist comments on the TV everyday out here and that is during the day as well. I was quite shocked about it when I first came out here as it is something that wouldn't be allowed on TV back in the UK. This is Australia and this is how they are.