Thank you, HiddenPaw, I can't wait. I already banned my Australian colleague (who spent a long time in UK) from mentioning Waitrose, ever! When I think of London right after the rain (well, it does happen often, right?), the smell, the washed up streets... I am just dying. Anyway, if the house sale goes through without problems (and we've got no conditions on the sale, so that should be fine), I'll be flying on 22 May. Can't wait. No, I mean, just CAN'T WAIT.

it was raining here last night and i have to say i loved listening to it!

so alexander you fly on 22 may - i fly on 24th may - albeit i wont get home until june - going on a bit of tour!


and i think janeyray leaves around that time too! its gonna be a busy weekend!

Yes, leave our house on 21st but don't leave Perth until Wednesday 26th via the Indian Pacific to Adelaide! Can't wait!

I guess the residue, from Chernobly, and windesmere, has worn off then .............mm

oh well, no worse than walking under what little is left of the ozone layer over parts of Oz

Do a survey, and see what you what , you would prefer, ????,,.....MM

why don't you tell us first what impact you think Chernobyl and Windemere had on the UK environment, and how you think it is perceived in this part of Europe?

Chernobyl - 1986 was it? I don't think there is much cause for concern 18 years on with simply walking outdoors.

The ozone layer on the other hand .....

Nuclear tests Maralinga South Australia come to mind,

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1995/196/196p11.htm

Maralinga: nuclear testing in Australia

By Sujatha Fernandes

In all of the apparent outrage expressed by politicians over the French government's decision to resume testing in the Pacific, there has been little mention of the Australian government's own record of nuclear testing. In the 1950s the Australian government allowed the British government to develop a nuclear weapons program in Australia, and between 1952 and 1957 the Australian government permitted it to conduct 12 major nuclear tests.

The 12 British nuclear tests were conducted at the Monte Bello islands, off the north-west coast of Western Australia, and in central Australia, with the majority being conducted at Maralinga, a remote area in South Australia.

The Maralinga tests included many so-called “minor� tests, which continued until 1963. These “minor tests� consisted of about 500 experiments, including crashing aeroplanes with nuclear bombs on board, setting fire to atom bombs and placing them in conventional explosions. These tests actually left far more radiation than the major tests and resulted in large amounts of plutonium being spread over a wide area.

At the time, the Australian government displayed very little interest in the possible long-term effects of the tests. However, by the 1980s these effects started to become clear. Australian servicemen and the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land were suffering blindness, sores and illnesses like cancer. They started to piece things together, linking their afflictions with their exposure to nuclear testing.

Groups including the Atomic Veterans Association and the Pitjantjatjara Council put pressure on the government until in 1985 it agreed to hold a royal commission to investigate the damage that had been caused.

The commission found that the land where the tests were conducted is still highly radioactive, and the cost of cleaning up the area would be around $600 million. Even after this full clean-up, certain areas would still remain dangerously radioactive for a quarter of a million years.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/newsrel/1998/980121a.htm

16/98 21 January 1998
TWO MORE CUMBRIAN SHEEP FARMS FREE FROM POST-CHERNOBYL RESTRICTIONS

Two more sheep holdings in Cumbria were granted exemptions from post-Chernobyl restrictions controlling the movement and slaughter of sheep today.

Consents for the movement and slaughter of sheep were granted following the latest scientific monitoring surveys of sheep in the area which show levels of radioactivity are continuing to fall. The number of holdings under restriction has fallen to ten, covering around 14,000 sheep. This compares to 1,670 holdings under restriction when the measures were first introduced in 1986.

With other governments taking advantage of a developing nation, can you see the reasons for us not wanting nuclear weapons testing being brought back into our region?

The main reasons people seem to be able to come up with in support of their decision to return to england seems to be quite pathetic. "Green Fields" are nice but not a neccessity. Ever considered the possibility that you might just be a "Whinging Pom"???

I was listing the nuclear problems of both nations. Australia was so desparate for nukes it let the UK irradiate the desert without actually getting bomb making technology.

I think you will also find those returning to the UK find it home. I suggest you pull your out out and read some of the threads . I suggest you take your whinging pom remarks elsewhere as it is a very boring and tiring argument. Aussies whinge with the best of them.

Do you really think the sole reason people leave one country for another is purely for green fields (or other single equivalent reason)? Get real! People have lives to live, and there's a bit more to people than the few snippets that you might pick up on here.

Nice country, but some people don't want to live in Oz for ever. Get over it.

After 25 years in the Australian removal industry, and seeing far more people than have ever graced the , forums of this site . It is amazing how so many set them selves up as experts, how long were you here?????.............mm

And what in general do you believe the returners reasons were?