Christmas thoughts

Sydney is very transient city, despite being at the end of the line, as it were. So many people come here for work, or simply to experience the great Australian lifestyle, at the same time as having every city amenity on one's doorstep. There aren't many cities where you can be on the beach one minute, splashing about in turquoise blue Mediterranean waters, and twenty minutes later be rubbing shoulders with crowds in places like Chinatown or Oxford Street. 

You would expect a city that is so transient to be well-equipped for expats, but unlike the Asian cities of Singapore or Hong Kong, which are geared towards an expatriate lifestyle and have ready-made communities to join, Sydney is has such a wide diaspora of people it is far harder to make like-minded friends and Australians can be quite insular in sticking to their own.

Christmas, on the other hand, appears to be the same the world over. Throngs of people wending their way through shopping malls wearily buying in to today's consumerist religion. It has been said a thousand times before, but it is so easy to lose sight of Christmas and the religious aspect that it represents, when faced with unashamed commercialism. However, even for those who have a secular outlook on the festivities, the key is to remain true to traditions and above all to celebrate family, friends and, ultimately I suppose, love. Happy Christmas. 

Christmas is coming

In the spirit of all things Christmas, I took Charlie to meet Father Christmas yesterday. He was all gung-ho and then came over shy when we got there. However confidence was resumed at the suggestion of showing "The Man" his cars and they chatted about the merits of BMWs versus Minis while the obligatory photo was taken.  We were offered a somewhat overwhelming choice of photos on bookmarks, photos on keyrings, photos blown up to poster size and photos in a snow dome. An unashamedly commercial experience, just like they had back in Bethlehem. Father Christmas looks a little worse for wear in the photos, which lead me to believe he kept something stronger in his sack than the shopping-centre-branded antlers he extracted for Charlie.  I suppose if I had to ask 87 children each day what their name was and what they wanted for Christmas, I'd be on the sauce too.

Strange to be seeing Christmas decorations everywhere, mulling over present lists and trying to work out when is a suitably appropriate time for a Christmas tree - given the Yuletide excitement that has been provoked in Charlie - when the sun is blazing outside. Odder still to hear strains of "Jingle Bells" wafting through the air-conditioned shops and fake snow scenes in windows. We pass one house each day that has a host of decorations outside, making up for in quantity what it lacks in taste or charm. A rather sad and deflated-looking blow-up Santa, endless strands of wispy cotton wool and lots of brightly-coloured present boxes. Still, it guarantees excitement from Charlie every time we pass, so at least they are spreading the joy. 

Nature

Comparisons between Australia and England are inevitable but none are so obvious as the discrepancy between the two when it comes to nature. Where the English countryside is a softly muted palette of grey, green and brown, with gentle overtones of weak sunshine filtering through, the Australian landscape is clear-cut and harshly defined, every colour standing out boldly and brilliantly against a seemingly endless sky. 

Everything is bigger and brasher, including the birds. Innocuous-looking rainbow-coloured lorikeets and bright rosellas utter harsh screeches, while ugly magpies are relatively melodious. There are no soft English songbirds or gentle twittering. 

Insects are aplenty too. Yesterday evening, while sitting outside in the garden having supper, we heard one persistently loud and shrill cicada which, when tracked down and gently flicked from it's bush to the grass in the name of a peaceful meal, turned out to be a monster, capable of bringing traffic to a standstill with a mere brush of its legs.

Charlie carefully scrutinises each insect he discovers and has an irresistible urge to manhandle them all - he visibly fights with his conscious knowing it may retaliate, but in the end curiousity wins and the poor creatures (usually hapless beetles) are upended or pursued around the house until I take mercy on them and throw them in to the garden. 

Introduction

Having been in Sydney almost a year now, I feel it is time to offer a soupcon of antipodean life by way of this blog. My mental note-taking and daily observations of Australians and the way they live may not serve up anything extraordinary or remarkable, but it might offer a small insight into this rugged, beautiful and often harsh country, and our transient experiences here as an English family with two young children. 

Inevitably there are pros and cons of living the other side of the world; of being thousands of miles away from family and friends, yet of living the lifestyle dream - not to mention experiencing a certain schadenfreude every time we read news reports of rain lashing Britain, postal strikes and transport problems. 

We swing wildly from high days to low days and yet the challenges are ultimately rewarding and what we don't have we know we will appreciate even more.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts, for what they are worth.