On previous occasions when I’ve left a bit of a gap between blogs, I’ve always had some kind of excuse to myself–usually a backlog of travel related musings that I wanted to get down before moving on to more recent events. But this time I’ve just not had anything much to write about.
Before we left, I thought that moving to Australia would provide me with the impetus I needed to ramp up the blogging again–all those amusing cultural differences to observe and wittily chronicle–but it turns out that going to the pub over here is much the same as doing it back home. Who knew? I can’t even really comment on the curious aussie habit of drinking out of tiny glasses, because pints seem to be available in most bars now (although you still do see plenty of aussie blokes drinking beer out of laughably small thimbles known as “pots”; they claim it’s because the beer gets warm, but I think we all know it’s because they’re a bunch of wusses).
All of which is not to say that we haven’t been out busily enjoying all that our new home has to offer. Melbourne might not have the size and something-always-happening buzz of London, but it’s not short of decent restaurants and other venues in which to spend your evenings and weekends. And I’ve signed up to just about every gig related mailing list I could find. Last week we attended a “secret” Jet gig at the East Brunswick Club. Not that I’m a huge fan of the band or anything, but as they were playing in the back room of a pub we couldn’t resist. We’ve got a bunch of stuff lined up for the new year too–Mystery Jets on the 1st, Gomez at the Espy in St Kilda playing Bring It On in its entirety in the middle of the month, Razorlight on the 31st, the Kings of Leon, and then the Killers, Kaisers and Elbow at Melbourne’s V Festival. All of which should keep us busy.
It doesn’t feel like Christmas here, though, as I sit here in my office on the morning of Christmas Eve. Outside my window I can see a palm tree, blue skies above it, and busy St Kilda Road beyond–it’s a far cry from the chilly Southport Christmas Eve I might normally be experiencing. And tomorrow promises to be a bit different to usual–I’m swapping an intimate gathering of just the immediate family at home for a sprawling mass of someone else’s extended family at Sal’s cousin’s place in Elwood. There’s still going to be turkey, apparently, but we’ll be eating it outside in the sunshine.
