Category: Australia

I signed a contract to buy a new flat yesterday and was horrified to see a clause stating that I couldn’t dry my washing on my balcony. This clause has been around in contracts for a long time, primarily to prevent a building looking untidy. I dislike mess as much as anyone and I understand… Continue reading Unfriendly Drying

From a conversation between 10 year-olds overheard on the train: ‘GMail? My father uses GMail.’

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to get to the free concert by A.R.Rahman, put on as part of the Sydney Festival. For those of us who don’t recognise the name, Rahman wrote the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire. Although he’s been booked to perform for a long time, the recent tension between India and Australia… Continue reading India Australia Friendship

As of this year, NSW will have 4 bilingual schools where lessons are to be given in both English and an Asian language. I spoke to the principal of Scotts Head Public School , which specialises in Indonesian and found out that all new students will be taught the normal curriculum in Bahasa for at… Continue reading Bilingual Schools

Being a Muslim country, or a mixed religion country with a large number of Muslims, many women in Borneo wear headdresses in public. Interestingly, I saw a number young women in high heels, tight pants, tight tops and push-up bras wearing the headdress too. I wonder if this means that Malaysian men are more distracted… Continue reading Hair drives men to lust

On my way up the bush track from home to the station yesterday, I found a man with a clipboard prodding at the stone steps. With long hair tied back, khaki clothes and trekking boots, he might have been a ranger, but he didn’t have the badges. I struck up a conversation and learnt that… Continue reading Track Work

I’m often frustrated by the selfish actions of Sydney commuters, but this morning I saw my first case of rail rage. My own gripes are to do with the way people will turn the seat in front of them around so that they don’t have to sit facing anyone, even when that means someone who… Continue reading Rail Rage

Sculptures by the Sea is run every year about this time as a little bit of Sydney culture. I went today with the AFS gang and took my camera. I started out trying to take photos of the sculptures I liked best, but there were always people in the way. Soon I realised that it… Continue reading Sculptures by the Sea

Aboriginal elders walked off the community land in July to protest against the Northern Territory Intervention, which it says is “widening the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.” This mirrors the first move to reclaim their traditional lands in 1966, when Aboriginal stockmen and their families walked off the Wave Hill Pastoral lands. Then, the action made… Continue reading Aboriginal Elders Leave Community

I’m again slow on the uptake here as uni has been keeping me very busy, but I want to highlight the recent visit of a UN expert on human rights to Australia after complaints about NT Intervention violating the rights of Aborigines. As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of the idea of global… Continue reading UN Slams NT Intervention