It's warm and sunny in Chile

UK food prices are actually remarkably low by European standards, partly
because the average quality is lower because the market is more
price-driven.

Also, there is no VAT on UK food (except for confectionery and cakes),
which makes another difference.

 

No, it's 'cos it's oop North, where they keep coal in the bath.

 

took a blunt brush and painted...

I rather suspect that buildings in the UK (older ones anyway) are simply
built from local materials.

Which in the UK is stones.

Haven't got a clue what Melbourne and Sidney were like when they were just a
few buildings, mostly sand & dirt with lots of palm trees IWHT?

 

took a blunt brush and painted...

You cahnt! Oh for the chance to move over there.

Or should that be "oh for the guts to actually do it"?

 

Depends what you mean by 'spare'. There's enough space along the M4
corridor alone for a couple of Greater Londons if you build around the
villages, & space for a couple more between Swindon & Birmingham.
Several more west of Salisbury & in Wales.

Still physically space for millions more homes though.

 

There's lots of special ladies in Blackpool. You'd probably like Brighton
too.

 

If wou want a megalopolis, yes, I suppose so.

 

And brick.

Melbourne's climate is temperate, I think, but wibbleflip.

 

'We're going to need a bigger whip'

 

Let me get this straight: When you came to the UK, you went to
Blackpool, Sheffield and Manchester and came away with the impression
that the country is a bit of a shithole?

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

 

Hence why London is known in our family as the monkey hive. I've got
some good friends there but after more than two days in the place I
want to get out, I find the sheer density of people tiring.

I *need* to live where I can see trees and sky (hence this house
backing onto a summer meadow) or I get edgy. I get what you mean.

 

I'd like to see him cope with it now. 1750s (ish) to now is a big
difference.

The gate has been replaced by wall since the bike went through it, but
here's the view, this is when it was flooded 2 years back.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23404780@N08/2231442488/

They'll be tucked up nice and warm. Sensible creatures.

 

Ummm, palm trees? Wrong continent

But yeah, it's chalk and cheese. There's stuff I loved over there, but
there's stuff I love here as well. I just gotta go wjere the work is.
My favourite place is still Tasmania and it isn't just coz I was born
there. I couldn't wait to get out of the place when I was in my early
20s. By my 30s I'd realised what a spectacular place it is and if you
ever want some fucking seriously good bike roads, get yer arse to
Tassie. If you look at it on a map it loos small off the bottom of
Australia's mainland but it is larger than Ireland. With only 500,000
people living there. With very few roads that are straight. It is
seriously bike riding heaven.

I know I'll get back there some day.

Meanwhile I'm playing the job game. Mumph.

 

Generally temperate but the problem is if Northerly or North Westerly
winds come in, which is going to happen today, we are heading for 43C
today with strong winds, it has traveled across them middle of the
continent which as you might have noticed is not small. There's
nothing in there to cool the winds down so even if we are the furthest
south of the mainland capitals we have "catastrophic" fire alerts for
tomorrow. Well today my time, but tomorrow your time. It ain't gunne
be nice.

Tasmania's climate is a lot more temperate as any Northerly's have to
cross 300km of Bass Strait and it tends to cool them down. Southern
Tasmania is 42 degrees South but is much more like Mediterranean
climate due to different winds an ocean currents and the like. We are
in a big continent surrounded by masses of water, which make things
totally different to UK and Europe.

To sum it all up, yeah we are a lot hotter than the UK, but we do
still get snow. I've ridden through insane blizzards in Tas. It's all
fun though

 

Wanna swap?


Melbourne is fine. When I figured I had to move from Tasmania I picked
here (again - for the 3rd time) as it has the best live music scene in
the Australia. So here I am again.

 

Well I did end up with a couple of girlies in Blackpool. Seems pom
girls have a thing for Aussie guys. I don't get that. I get up in the
morning and see fat,ugly, old bearded bastard in the mirror each day.
But if cute young things want to play, who am I to complain.

And there is one back in Blackpool that I'd really like to catch up
with again.

 

Hmm, well compared to here, they seemed fucking expensive to me. Mind
you Dublin was even worse. Jeezuz. I was so glad that I was being paid
for by a company I was having a job interview with.

 

<whoosh>

 

OK it's not every bodies music but I found this interesting as I sat
next to Johnno for a couple of years at school.

http://www.abc.net.au/snc/

 

Odd that. Do you think "fat,ugly, old bearded bastard" had anything to do
with it?