Things Australian. Things here. Moving into 2023.

It’s already 2023 in Sidney, Australia. So it goes. Everything is relative. It all depends where you are.

Also in Australia, there’s this. I came across a story of a woman whose dog had a Tasmanian devil toy. She saw the ‘toy’ under a chair and went to grab it to pass it to her hound and the ‘toy’ got to its legs and scuttled away. It was a real marsupial! Apparently they are quite shy animals and don’t often venture into people’s houses. That probably is a case of ‘only in Australia’! 

Then a friend of mine posted something on Facebook about a British woman going to Australia and encountering a habit that she thinks is really ‘wholesome’ but also ‘emotionally draining’. She was talking about people on the streets of Perth, where everyone she passes says hello to her and wishes her a good morning. She must come from London if she’ s never come across that before. Around here it’s perfectly normal. Not so much in central Manchester but elsewhere it’s certainly the case. 

It had me thinking back to my cousin who greatly impressed me when I was a kid and she was a grown-up music teacher. She used to greet policemen in particular with a friendly good morning, which back in the early 1960s was a bit unusual. She also used to confuse people by muttering ‘Hairs on men’s legs” as she crossed paths with strangers. This habit had the 12 year old me falling about laughing at the bemused faces of passers-by. 

And there’s also Granddaughter Number Two who is constantly amazed that I seem to know everyone in Delph, where, yes, most people say hello as they pass you on the street. Even before the pandemic I had a nodding acquaintance with a large number of people, whose names I never learnt, but during lockdown the number of such people went up exponentially. Maybe it was the feeling of us all being in the same boat. Also some people started walking around who had never been out for walks before! 

This morning, running round the village I saw only one such person. I still don’t know her name but I know she works in television in some capacity, making documentaries I think, I know where she goes on holiday and her dog is quite devoted to me. She has 15 people staying overnight tonight to see in the New Year. We have no plans and might go to bed early in order to start the New Year feeling fresh and energetic. 

So here we are at the end of 2022. The news programmes are full of pundits giving their ideas about what have been the most significant events of this year and what to look out for the the year about to start in a fe hours’ time. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!