OZ BLOG Continued
The impotence of Mr Fish is reflected by the continued good weather. Clear cold nights and mild sunny days. And the cold is dry and not so damp and penetrating as the dreichness of the Merse. Canberra is a small city centre the rest is suburbs. In the ACT you find ommunities called 'Bruce' (but sadly no Sheila nor Kylie) Others include 'Flynn' , 'O Connor' ,'Fraser' (where we are)These are named after (apparently) famous Aussies- Sir Malcolm Fraser was a Prime Minister but I don't know about Bruce.It is unlikely to be the guy with the spider fixation.
Australians tend to make fun of Canberra. It is, they say, boring. Certainly the suburbs are very similar and following a recognisable pattern: shopping malls, petrol stations, leafy streets and are all so alike it is quite difficult to be sure where exactly you are. Fraser is a bit Hutton like in that it seems empty most of the time. It is hard to know where the people are even at week etheywhere thay are as invisible as during working hours. And like the Borders the people you do see are friendly, eye contact and exchange greetings. No shuffling past with down cast eyes avoiding all human contact. Aussies glory in being laid back. 'No worries' is the catchword and apparently the philosophy-so it is surprising to read in the '
Australian' that there are more shrinks per capita in Oz than in any other developed country. Also more obesity than in most other parts of the globe, including the UK-and this includes Safeways in Berwick. Fat children apparently-again surprising in a sports mad nation. So perhaps too many people are working too hard at being laid back and the strine is telling
