Horse Racing

If you were on Google today you saw the photos of the horse that Eadweard J. Muybridge (born 182 years ago) photographed, or rather the horse did, as his leg hit the string tied to the shutter of each camera. The purpose of the exercise was to settle an argument about trotting horses, that all four hooves do in fact leave the ground for a moment. While doing so, he invented the motion picture.

Coincidentally I had a horsy day myself at the Oak Bank Races, a well know South Australia horse race. It wasn’t what I expected. As per the British tradition there were lots of young women wearing dresses, fascinators and high heels.

In fact there were 4 horse races going on around Australia that you could watch on the screen and bet on. I actually bet on a few races, managing to break even. This is an American horse named Juliet’s Princess who didn’t come through for me.

There was controversy over the Steeplechase. A horse had to be put down at the same event on Saturday and three did not complete the event today – but were fine.

But in the centre of the track was a carnival with rides (yes camels and The Titanic?).

and food and games of chance. And people come in mini-buses and lug Eskies (coolers) and have picnics.

The booze was flowing. As the afternoon wore on several young men had trouble walking and finding the toilet… say no more.

Happy Easter!

A few people have expressed concern about me being alone this Easter weekend. Yes it would be nice to be home with my family, but it wasn't so bad.

Here are some photos of my friends

other students

and a colleague and his family who I spent time with this the weekend.

And here's Deb cooking our Easter dinner - shrimp on the barbie.

Happy Easter to you wherever you are.

Cricket “Down Under”

I am reading a book by the American author Bill Bryson called ‘Down Under’. Not unlike his other well-known book, ‘A Walk in the Woods’ that takes place along the Appalachian Trail, it’s a humourous, historical travelogue of Australia. It was recommended to me by a couple from Adelaide now living in B.C.

I was laughing out loud reading it on the beach, to the amusement of the couple on the towel near me.

His description of Cricket is hilarious from my North American perspective. When Keith and I first arrived in Adelaide we were met at the airport by my friends Lori and Bob. They drove by the stadium where they’d spent 10 hours the day before at a Cricket match. We all found that incredulous.

So here’s an excerpt. “Imagine a form of baseball in which the pitcher, after each delivery, collects the ball from the catcher and walks slowly with it to centre field: and… after a minutes pause to collect himself, he turns and runs full tilt towards the pitcher’s mound before hurling the ball at the ankles of a man who stands before him wearing a riding hat, heavy gloves of the sort used to handle radioactive isotopes; and a mattress strapped to each leg. Imagine, moreover, that if this batsman fails to hit the ball in a way that heartens him sufficiently to try and waddle sixty feet with the mattresses strapped to his legs he is under no formal compulsion to run; he may stand there all day, and as a rule does. If by some miracle he is coaxed into making a misstroke that leads to his being put out, all the fielders throw up their arms in triumph and have a hug. Then tea is called and everyone retires happily to a distant pavilion to fortify for the next siege. Now imagine all this going on for so long that by the time the match concludes autumn has crept in and all your library books are overdue.

It is the only sport in which the spectators burn as many calories as players. It is the only competitive activity of any type, other than perhaps baking, in which you can dress in white from head to toe and be as clean at the end of the day as you were at the beginning. There you have cricket.”

Surf's Up

I was always a good student and rarely played hooky but today I skipped out of school early, stopping briefly at the house for my swimsuit, towel and sunscreen and continuing down to Brighton Beach.

It was a hot day and lots of people were at the seaside, mostly families. I think everyone feels like I do, take advantage of the weather as it may be the last chance before autumn really sets in. The nights are cooling off and the odd leaf has fallen.

I bought a vegetable pastie enroute and it was still warm when I ate it one and a half hours later!

I recall a colleague who did his PhD in Australia talking about dividing his time between surfing and his studies. I thought that was cool. I have not learned to board surf yet but did some body surfing today. One step at a time!

Aussieisms

The Reject Shop = Dollar store

Eftpos = debit

Capsicum = pepper (green, red etc.)

No pennies, everything is rounded in a cash transaction.

BLTs and Caesar salads have soft boiled eggs in them. Most Aussies think hard boiled eggs are disgusting!

Movies have different levels of seats ranging in price from $18 to $35.

Dodgy = Sketchy

Ra Ra Ra = And so on

sunnies = sunglasses

Buying gold fish at an outdoor market!?

Home away from Home

So you’ve seen photos of Adelaide and environs. Here is a picture of where I live, ‘the house with the lavender hedge’. That’s how my landlady, Deb, marketed the room. She got me. Oh yes and mentioning it was quiet helped too.

Here she is (on my left) with some friends, both named Susan, on her birthday.

And her cat … Suzi!

Reality Check

So tonight I was going to send you a nice blog with nice photos.  It has to wait.

This blog's been brewing, like Aussie beer, since Keith and I were travelling.   It’s about something not so great here.  

When you live abroad the differences in culture and politics are apparent. But Australia and New Zealand are both Commonwealth countries with colonial roots to Britain like Canada, and therefore in many ways uncannily similar.  So the differences stand out like a sore thumb. 

We put our clocks back yesterday, it’s fall here.  So tonight it became dark at 6:30. Really dark. And there are not many street lights in Adelaide.  I don’t feel safe going for a walk even though it’s a pleasant 25 C.

If I did go for a walk I might roll my ankle. Sidewalks are not well maintained.

The buses don’t connect around the city and the fares are exorbitant.  Most students and the poor cannot afford them.

The cost of living  is much higher. The average cup of coffee, even at McDonalds, is $4.

National and State Parks have poor signage, are inconsistent in terms of amenities, and have private food and souvenir vendors at some of the most picturesque spots.

When I go for a swim there are no flutter boards or equipment on deck to borrow (people buy their own) and I pay extra to go in the sauna on the pool deck.

Private health insurance is a reality for most people as their employer offers nothing, and I mean private insurance for hospital services as well.

Anyone will tell you that private health clinics don’t offer quality services (isn’t that the opposite of what we’ve been told?).

Most schools are private. The public ones have lower quality and standards so what good parent would send their child to one, even though they’re paying $6,000 per semester.

The Howard government in Australia and the National government in New Zealand began the path of privatization in the 1990s (Ralph Klein modeled Alberta on NZ until it started to crash big time).   

Living in Britain 30 years ago I was horrified by the ghettoization of immigrants. I foresaw Canada following suit. Fortunately, Canada did learn something from the UK example.   But privatization is like a snowball rolling down a huge hill, it’s getting bigger and bigger. 

Come on Canadians pay attention and get political.  There’s no going back once you go down the slippery slope of privatizing utilities and essential services. Just ask any Aussie or Kiwi.