Rene starts the citizenship process

2009 - The 60th Anniversary of Australian Citizenship

(Prior we were all British citizens)

Just letting you know that Rene, that terrific Dutch partner of mine, starts the citizenship process this Tuesday at 10:30am. He goes into the city and has to answer a test on Australian citizenship administered by a friendly computer. The first time pass rate is 95% of applicants so I'm not expecting any surprises here, he's not either. The next step is an interview, and following that he then gets a date given to him for presentation of his certificate.

Should you wish to contact him and wish him good luck, feel free to do so.

Here's a sample test paper (from crikey.com) http://www.crikey.com.au/Media/docs/Aust-citizen-test-eb596422-8016-4610-a58b-8b6adb023358.pdf

I found this during my research: NB only 'dinky di' Aussies will get all the jokes.

You know you're Australian if . . . .
You know the meaning of 'girt'

You believe that stubbies can either be worn or drunk

You think it is normal to have a Prime Minister called Kevin

You waddle when you walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in your wallet or purse

You've made a bong out of your garden hose rather than use it for something illegal such as watering the garden

When you hear that an American 'roots for his team' you wonder how often and with whom

You understand that the phrase 'a group of women wearing black thongs' refers to footwear and may be less alluring than it sounds

You pronounce Melbourne as ' Mel -bin'

You pronounce Penrith as 'Pen-riff'

You believe the 'L' in the word ' Australia ' is optional

You can translate: 'Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas'

You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, pineapples, prawns and sheep

You call your best friend 'a total bastard' but someone you really, truly despise is just 'a bit of a bastard'

You think 'Woolloomooloo' is a perfectly reasonable name for a place

You believe is makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin

You understand that 'Wagga Wagga' can be abbreviated to 'Wagga' but 'Woy Woy' can't be called 'Woy'

You believe that cooked-down axle grease makes a good breakfast spread

You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis

You know, whatever the tourist books say, that no one says 'cobber'

You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again'

You believe, as an article of faith, that the confectionary known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year

You still don't get why the 'Labor' in 'Australian Labor Party' is not spelt with a 'u'

You wear ugg boots outside the house

You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them

Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language

You understand that 'excuse me' can sound rude, while 'scuse me' is alway polite

You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasions via your nose

You understand that 'you' has a plural and that it's 'youse'

You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle

You biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules of beach cricket

You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call 'Anzac Cookies'

You still think of Kylie as 'that girl off Neighbours'

When returning home from overseas, you expect to be brutally strip-searched by Customs - just in case you're trying to sneak in fruit

You believe the phrase 'smart casual' refers to a pair of black tracky-daks, suitably laundered

You understand that all train timetables are works of fiction

When working at a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer

You get choked up with emotion by the first verse of the national anthem and then have trouble remembering the second

You find yourself ignorant of nearly all the facts deemed essential in the government's new test for migrants.

ahem, there's no truth to the rumour....

Yes, I'm still alive. I've had very many enquiries as to my health, both by email and phone, and I have to say I'm feeling particularly pucker these days since I'm towards the end of a very nice short break from school.

Speaking of the living dead, the picture of Phil Spector taken this week at his trial shows a severely challenged man. The hair and skin, the eyes; the overall impression is one of a man not quite all there.

This man does know what he is doing. He's Bo's new master trying to keep up with the dog. The dog was a gift for the President's children from Ted Kennedy. I hope he is feeling well considering the enormous health issues he faces. Lovely gesture!

Rene is away doing his part time job at a couple of schools during their vacation, and I'm home alone monitoring the gallery and just relaxing. He'll be home soon, so I'd better get this blog finished quickly.

Since I last wrote the oil has almost been cleaned off the beaches, the offending ship having left the Port of Brisbane just yesterday. Moreton Island's more remote parts will still take a little longer, but the majority is cleaned up.

The state election came and went, with the incumbent party returned with a slightly reduced majority, but a surprisingly easy win after every poll had indicated otherwise. As one pundit stated, it's a bit like toying with the idea of a mistress, but just as you go to make the move you are reminded that the wife back home in the long run is much more stable and satisfying. People flirted with the idea of voting for the Opposition but at the last moment kept with the status quo. So after three terms Labor is in again for a fourth, but surely a final, term. It's not healthy to have any party in for too long - take NSW for an example. Incidentally, Anna Bligh, our state premier, has become the first woman premier in Australian history to be returned at premier - all three women premiers have assumed office mid term.

The GFC (don't you just love the acronyms) continues, and some signs of a bottoming out are apparent, but I'm SOoooo not going to say it's gone as far as it can go just yet. Most Aussies will get $900 to spend, spend, spend (I won't, earned too much last year) but there is evidence everywhere of the (not quite just yet) recession we're in. Companies are failing, shops in centres are vacant, just a few of the indicators. Mind you, it's very slight here in Brisbane just yet, but it's there.

This is the You Tube Orchestra. How clever to have people audition and rehearse via the net then assemble to play in a symphony orchestra. Google announced profits up 9% today. See, it's not all gloom and doom.

The second stage of the Nundah Village redevelopment is still old buildings barricaded from the street, yet they should have been demolished last June and construction commenced around the end of last year. It's on hold. Last Saturday Brisbane Airport announced the delay to it's domestic terminal expansion and the second parallel runway - pushed back 2 years. Qantas announced many job cuts, fewer flights and mothballing aircraft - even delaying new aircraft deliveries. It still is in line to post a profit of $200m, but it admitted at present it's operating at a loss.

On a personal level, I'm doing fine, attending regular trivia nights (doing spectacularly poorly though) and socialising like crazy. We attended the recent opening night for the Queer Film Festival at the Powerhouse, welcomed the full moon at Sandgate (think candles, crystals and fireworks) and have entertained many at home and been to many friend's homes too, so all in all we've been very busy.

Last weekend was Easter, and Rene and I visited a friend's farm in the hinterland behind Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. We didn't end up swimming in the gorgeous pool or walking around the 10 acre property because it POURED down , an inch on the first day and 6.5 inches on the second. That's 25mm on day 1 and 160mm on the second day. Two neighbours visited, one for dinner, the other for lunch, and the rest of the time we talked, relaxed, played cards and watched a film. Oh, nearly forgot, we drank many, many bottles of great wine plus a bit of beer. The day we left was sunny and clear. We had to go to the highway on a slightly circuitous route (very pretty) but we got home safe and well to discover that it had only rained about 50mm here over a couple of days, nothing like what we had in the hills behind the Sunshine Coast. It was a great visit - thanks Steve!

Tulips bloom in Washington DC, snow covers the New Mexican countryside. Both taken last weekend during Easter. Beautiful photos from a newspaper in Santa Fe NM. I can lose myself on the net for hours.

I saw the Dawn Princess dock yesterday at Portside - the ship I'm going on with my brother and his family. Because we don't do much travelling now - the gallery ties us down - I'm really looking forward to getting away, even for just three days. Coming into the Cruise Terminal at Portside, Thursday April 16.

My work continues to be enjoyable, and it's marvellous to meet the parents who have left everything behind to start a new life in this country. It's ironic but nice to receive a pack of tiny Easter eggs from my Muslim boy, the same boy who sat beside me in church last Thursday and witnessed the Stations of the Cross. My Sikh boy told me about his religion whilst I tried to explain Easter to him. I love working in a multi faith Catholic school where, even though I'm not Catholic, I'm still welcomed as a valuable member of staff. Our system here in Australia is very generous, and above all inclusive. We mirror the sort of society we all wish would exist everywhere; one where difference is acknowledged and cherished though not to the detriment of society as a whole.

My cousin Rachel in London took silk at the end of March. She joined an increased number of female QC's appointed this year. I know little of the legal system, and the many 'Rumpole' episodes I've viewed over the years gone by hardly qualify me as knowledgeable of the British legal system, but I congratulate her on her ascendancy to the position of Queen's Counsel and wish her continued success.

On May 10, for Mother's Day, we're off to watch a live presentation of Edna Everidge, Dame Edna, from the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. This is going to be on the screen at the Dendy, Portside, and should be a fun afternoon. I'd heard of opera being broadcast live in cinemas, but this comedy show is a first I think. Anyway, a bit of fun to look forward to.

My darling friend Debbie, from Toowoomba via Oklahoma, sent me a link to a marvellous site in the US that reproduces the front page of around 580 newspapers world wide EVERY day. The link is here http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/ and once you've found your city/town, you click on the dot on the map, up pops the page, and it has a spot at the top of that page to click on to have a readable pdf page. I spent ages yesterday just trawling the world's newspapers. A wonderfully interesting resource. I can now tell you that NY is to introduce same sex marriage, tea parties have been held across America (for tax reform and spending cuts) and the Coliseum in Rome was floodlit especially on Wednesday to mark the New Mexican state governor's visit to Rome, celebrating the decision to abolish the death penalty in New Mexico - I have an interest in NM that goes back 25 years. I read about it on the front page. Cool! The following samples of Thursday April 16 front pages are from Brisbane, The Netherlands, Australian Financial Review, Oregan and London.




The earthquake in Italy last week was a reminder of the immense power of Nature. The disaster hit Italy somewhat like the recent bushfires in Victoria hit Australia.

Rene's home, I'm off out to do some shopping. He'll resume taking care of the gallery. He had a Dutch gallery director from Rotterdam visit a couple of weeks ago. He may well be sending an exhibition to Rotterdam later in the year. It's a work in progress. Watch this space.

PS This clip has been seen by everyone, but just in case you missed it, here's a 47yo spinster from Scotland performing on 'Britain You've Got Talent'. It's uplifting. Bye! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY.

PPS I read where this has been 'overhyped' and not all the British media have been excited over her performance, but I don't give a damn. It's brilliant, not just her singing but her putting all the cynics in the audience and judging panel right in their place.

Oh, and here's another clip I found from the 2008 series. This is called 'Signature' - really fun to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaBsshIYT2w&feature=related