Pollyana

They are still showing it on ABC over here; I think the woman you are talking about has been shown quite a lot (the format here is different, they jump around between families).
The Bloke and I did wonder how come she arrived with £3500, but seemed to spend like there was no tomorrow! And it wasn't mentioned here that she had come on a spouse visa, that was another source of conjecture, how did she get over her without any apparent means of support......!
We now curl up laughing during our "Whinging Pom Half-Hour! the sad thing is, as someone already said, all those visas wasted on people who haven't a clue.
Not that the programme makers are much better - classic quote from last night was "its the MONSOON season on the Gold Coast....." !

tiredwithtwins

my twopenneth worth!

thought it highly amusing, in a warped sort of way, to push the image of how cheap and wonderful the housing was at the start - 'look what you get for $240 a week', then at the end they showed the HUGE housing development at the back, and the fact that the estates security was oppresive!!! oppressive? they had cctv and huge iron fences round the place!! where were they? the bronx?? (no offence meant to any bronx residents!!)
she was quite gutsy though...willing to give it a bash...
glad the boy got his hair cut

sue

Grayling

Perhaps one of the most useful aspects of tonight's programme was that it demonstrated the shallowness of the 'sunshine, barbies and beaches' approach to migration.
There is more to 'quality of life' than being pissed and sunburnt.
You can do that in Spain and the booze is cheaper

G

dotty

Dont forget the UK show is not the same as the OZ version, the families are the same but the footage is marketed in a very different way :scared:

jarv

The ozzies get the programme around the same time as us, my aunt in melbourne watches it.

Dave

WBB

will set the sky ready for that cheers !!

lets hope next weeks family show us welshys in a good light.

Pollyana

On the Oz version the Welsh family do the nation proud. They get stuck in to Oz and actually (shock horror) seem to be enjoying themselves!!!
Make sure you don't miss it Billy......

NickyC

We watch it religously every evening with increasing incredulity. It's wonderful to pick holes in the crap they talk. We liked the Gold Coast monsoon comment - didn't they say 'early spring is the Monsoon season on the Gold Coast!'. Whaat? They probably wanted to make out that the rain that was pouring down was a bit more exotic than boring old UK rain.

We've also only just seen the Sydney couple (who went back) and the debacle over the wife's resume. She was good for a few laughs. She was all sniffy - 'You're not allowed to make mistakes in Australia' - having turned up at an interview for office work with a stuffed up resume.

Feel sorry for the poor bloke on the Gold Coast (with the cars), who's marriage is collapsing around him.

And has anyone else noticed how many of the kids in the families on the show are HER kids and not his?

Pollyana

It does get madder night by night doesn't it!
That resume debacle was amazing; she didn't have it printed out, just took a disc with her and then it wouldn't format properly, had no idea about how to try and sell herself, just didn't have a clue - and then tried to blame it all on the Aussies!
That one was just priceless!!

And like you nickyc, I feel sorry for the poor guy with the cars - his partner just isn't interested is she - he can't do a thing right. And as for her daughter - needs a good slap (sorry people, but she does.)

NickyC

Yes, Esme's manners leave a bit to be desired. Her step-dad (if that's what he is) is a paragon of self-restraint where she's concerned!

Funny thing is, the Skeggs of Perth are not half as bad now the kids are liking it in Perth. I liked the way the daughter's UK boyfriend was dumped quick-smart when she found someone local to go out with!

One thing that sticks out a mile with most of the families (though not the welsh family) is that all the husbands seem to be easy-going, settle down easily and are quite happy to be here. The kids take a bit longer but sort themselves out next - and then you get the wives anguishing about everything they've left behind....

Amazulu

A few things from last nights programme:

I was impressed with the way that she gave it a go, despite the handicaps.
How crap did that pub look!.
She seriously needs to look at her taste in cars.
There was a scene with the son & his school mates sitting next to a wall - they were all stoned.
Rumours that the mullet is popular in QLD are true.

Barbara 2003

I admired her guts!
With all her problems she's made it look easy for the rest of us!
Her son will probably return when he gets sick of Blackpool again.
Hopefully she'll get her own visa and a bit more control over her life.

the Wombats

These programmes are pure CRAP! Typical Australian crap made to make Poms look and sound whingers and wasters. Channel 4 only bought the shows because it is all the rage tv at the moment, people wanting to escape UK for better lives.

I would love to know where they got that info about Oz schools ranking higher, would seriously doubt it, also about UK bieng bigger drinkers than in OZ!!!! Again would doubt that too. Did you also see how they described an Oz pub as a leisure hall!!! They are Gambling holes and very cold, bleak and uninviting. As someone also pointed out there is no real points to be made in these programmes and there is never any real negativity towards Australia fora migrants point of view, there is a lot but we never see it. Now that would make good tv real points from real people. There are people who enter Oz who make a good go of it and stick it with minimal fuss, everyone at some time will get home sick for something, Oz is not the answer for lifes problems.

If anyone has ever visited an employment agency in Oz will realise that is how they operate, "get the yellow pages and go through it" they are untrained kids working in them and they just can not be bothered to give real help. It is no wonder people seem to go in and out and never seem to achieve anything from them.

I do however think the woman, despite everything thrown at her tried to make a go of it for her daughters sake. Imagine having to live with some "ass hole" just so you could stay somewhere.

Crossroads with Benny and Meg Richardson was more real than that bucket of Oz made rubbish.

Barbara 2003

I agree ---The pub was awfull!!!!!!
Also, no offence to those living on the Gold Coast, but it wouldn't be my first choice destination in Oz. I've been there and found it's just not my style.
That could have been her son's problem too.
The prog did show how if you put your mind to it, you can settle fairly quickly. ie: car, house, job, kids to school etc...
The makers of the programme are not prepared to show people going over and having an easy time of it.
They're all into the personal angle. I spend my time watching it trying to get glimpses of Oz and any decent advice that's banded about.
My fella says it makes him grumpy watching it as he just wants to be there!

NickyC

Think you'll find that that 'Australian crap' was made by Granada and commisioned by Channel 4 - so it's well and truly British crap.