Ausrtalia continues to lure us into its bosom - it feels like home more and more every week. Looking at bbc.co.uk/news every so often just confirms the chasm of difference between the two countries. Todays news items for example

1. Body found in murder hunt trial

2. Man sectioned in murder probe

3. Murder charge moher dies

4. Woman assualted by 'taxi driver'

 

News.com.au gives us nuggets like

1. Komodo dragon mauls boy to death

2. Elephant beats keeper when meal is late

3. Jobs ads booming with economy

4. New Wiggle recruited

 

Nuff said I reckon.

 

Since we came back to Oz from our relatively miserable trip home, we haven't done much to write about. One highlight was the reappearance of Fraser from wherever he's been (Paris, with a Czech model, allegedly) and a big night out in Byron. His sister, Lilleth came over as well - she's on a permanent holiday after a gruelling two weeks work handing out brochures. Inevitably, we stayed at Byron Dunes - there's something odd about staying in a guest house and seeing your own name in the guestbook and filling in the space just below it. Saw some dodgy Kiwi band called Rhombus ('Dub' music, apparently!) that BJ had told us about and then drank vast amounts of espresso martinis and sambuca, just for a change.

 

This is a trend I'm starting to notice. You can be 10,000miles away from your comfort zone, but the same things keep cropping up - electricity bills, weird green vegetables in burgers, Mateus Rose (except here, its sophisticated still!), sambuca, Ford Cortinas.

 

Yes indeed, you may find it amusing to know that our legendary Ford Fairmont is nothing more than a later model Cortina. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the other day I saw a familiar old sight in a car park and recognised it instantly as the classic shape of the old Cortina. Except that to my horror, on the back it said Fairmont. I checked twice, because Cortinas were something that the people in the pokey house at the end of our road had two of. And they were rusty and rattled a lot.

 

MMC still hasn't produced the goods. There's only 2days till the deadline for job offers and there's no word from the London Deanery. Most of you know I dashed home for an interview - in the country for 36hours - 10 in-flight meals, 10 in-flight movies, 40 hours and 4 flights to the UK and 36hours and 3 flights back to Coffs. I could have been more jet-lagged amazingly and the interview, according to my old boss, put me 'in contention for the job'. Just got to decide whether or not to accept it if they do offer it. We use doctors.net.uk a lot for the forum, and it gives us a good idea of the mood back home among our profession. Seems prety piss-poor and we feel the outlook is bleak for doctors. Its easy to see how teachers and policemen have been reduced to low-paid service providers and it doesn't seem like its going to be any different for us. Below inflation pay rises for the last few years, pay freezed for some areas of the profession, all management decisions gone to some ex-city banker and the training recruitment system gone to the same bunch of monkeys originally employed to write about some couple called Romeo and Juliet on typewriters. And they're having similar levels of success too. Allegedly.

 

Needless to say, it makes it much easier to sit and type my tale of woe when i'm sitting on the deck (in the middle of winter remember), in a T-shirt, drinking beer, watching the sunset paint the sky pink, while seeing whales playing just off-shore. There must be at least 6 or 7 within 300 metres of the beach, flapping fins and showing their tails, making splashes and creating puffs from their blow-holes.

 

Thats what makes this place so amazing - feeling like we're at home, but being blown away every day by incredible sights. The whale season began 3days ago and goes on for three months. So while I know you're at home worrying that i'm having a dreadful time, just remember - I'm ok, watching the whales, drinking beer, wondering where to go surfing before i pile the boards in the back of the Cortina.