Impressions (22)

The 2 blondes of Reynolds Street

Water wars in Australia ?

Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts for many many years, with water levels at the dams around the major cities at all time lows (20-30% of full capacity for some). The government has stepped up the restrictions on water usage once again - for example in Melbourne there is no more washing of cars allowed, you can only water your lawn and plants by hand for one hour in total (independent from the size of the garden) for 3 days per week and they have 140 water police officer to enforce the restrictions.

The article below suggests that we will start to see battles between neighbours because of the new reality people live in ... makes the battles on Wisteria Lane look very kind-hearted.


Is suburbia the first battlefront in the water wars?

Thomas Hunter writes:

Suspicion, envy, lawbreaking, informers, special police. No, not the plot to an overwrought US crime show, but the burgeoning tensions in suburban Australia over our neighbours’ surprisingly healthy gardens.

Some examples. Over Christmas, I waved to a kindly old Lebanese neighbour who was watering her garden. Before saying hello she pointed guiltily to her hose and said, “It’s from the washing machine.”

One Crikey reader told us they had a pool installed a few months ago (a plan that's been on the drawing board for over a year) that remains empty. They recently had a fence erected around their shameful pond in an attempt to quell the lectures from neighbours about the indulgence of filling a pool in the middle of stage three restrictions.

Then last night, dropping a letter into my landlord’s letterbox, I was greeted with two A4-sized photographs, thumbtacked to the fence, of his twin 4000 litre water tanks. “Water for this garden is taken from tanks installed EXPRESSLY for this purpose.”

Given how healthy his garden looks, I suspect the signs were an explanation to neighbours. Or a reaction to accusations of water misuse. Or had he been stung by the Water Police?

Currently in Melbourne, there are 140 Water Patrol Officers (basically the meter readers and burst and leak guys with an expanded job description) enforcing Melbourne’s stage three restrictions. They have the power to warn people, cut off their water supply, and issues fines ($429). They also act on tips from people about their water-wasting neighbours. Sydney has had water rangers for over three years, but have only managed to capture one in 12 wrongdoers in that time, a lack of success the Brisbane City Council water chairman John Campbell can empathise with.

So far, we haven’t seen anything that approaches a breakdown of law and order over water, but there’s a mild form of water militancy creeping into our urban neighbourhoods. Given the generally serious way people are approaching it, it’s not impossible to imagine people falling out (or worse) over water use.

Have the water restrictions lead to any tension in your street? Have any of your neighbours felt compelled to explain publicly the health of their garden? Have you been pinged by the water police? Let Crikey know at boss@crikey.com.au

Wanted * Teddy * Gezocht * Teddy

Beste familie en vrienden,

Binnenkort een nieuwe mijlpaal voor Juleen : ze zal vanaf 1 februari twee dagen per week naar de creche gaan. De grootste uitdaging voor de kinderoppas wordt wellicht het middagdutje ... Het is nog steeds een grote strijd om Juleen in bed te krijgen (zelfs thuis) ... maar gelukkig is er haar lieve vriend "teddy" die haar kan sussen - letterlijk door erop te sabbelen.

We zijn nu hardnekkig op zoek naar een tweede teddy Mustela, die we in de creche kunnen laten. We hebben al alternatieve teddy's geprobeerd (bedankt nonna!), ebay en amazon afgezocht, tevergeefs! Mochten jullie toevallig ook zo'n teddy (over) hebben of iemand kennen die eenzelfde Mustela geboortepakket in het ziekenhuis (feb2005) heeft gekregen (zie foto koffertje), dan zouden we heel graag een teddy transfer opzetten. Van al haar teddy's is haar favoriete spijtig genoeg een die je niet kan kopen, aaarrghh!

Help!

Desperate Parents

Impressions (21)

Thank you Santa !

Australian Tourist Questions

We copied these"Australian Tourist Questions" from the website of Peter, Anja & Lise. Our Belgian friends are leaving Sydney for Dusseldorf (!) and they will be missed in Sydney!

The next questions about Australia are from potential visitors. They were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses posted by the website officials, who obviously have a sense of humour.

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)

A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Australia? (Sweden)

A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Harvey Bay? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)

A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it. Sure, hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? ( UK)

A: You're a British politician, right?

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)

A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)

A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)

A: Only at Christmas.

Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross. Can you help? (USA)

A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

Geronimo's Birthday

Yesterday Juleen went to Gerimo's birthday party (Geronimo - now 3 years old - is the boy on the picture next to Juleen). Geronimo's parents, Ramiro & Paula, had organised a fabulous party for the little ones : a petting zoo (little ducks, chicken, rabbits, a pony...), balloons, crafts, yummy food and a magnificent cake. The bar has been raised, once again ...






my first pony ride !

Jules says PEEKABOO !

Santa brought lots of gifts - but I have to wait till Sunday to open them :-(

The biggest one is sooo special I can't wait to tell you ...

... I am getting a little brother or sister in the new year !!!!!!

Mummy and daddy are so happy and excited! I am also getting a baby, b'cause my tummie is very big.

I have asked Santa for a real baby doll to learn to hold and feed a baby.

Almost Sunday ...

Breaking up Belgium?

From Crickey (Australian independent online media source) - Charles Richardson writes:

Last week's big story in Europe was a hoax "news" broadcast on Wednesday evening reporting the break-up of Belgium.

RTBF, the public broadcaster in the southern, French-speaking half of the country reported that the Dutch-speaking north had declared independence, leading to great consternation and even panic among viewers.

Back in 1938, of course, Orson Welles demonstrated that you can create panic even by playing on completely unrealistic fears, when a radio dramatisation of The War of the Worlds convinced many people that martians had landed in New Jersey.

A spokesman for the Belgian prime minister described Wednesday's broadcast as "very bad Orson Welles, in very poor taste".

But believing in Flemish independence is of a somewhat different order from believing in a martian invasion. Belgium is an accident of history: its northern border represents only the line that the Spanish armies held at the end of the Dutch war of independence. Logically, northern Belgium (Flanders) should be part of the Netherlands, while the southern half (Wallonia) should be part of France.

Logic, however, does not always rule in international affairs, and clearly many Belgians have developed a very strong attachment to their artificial country - hence the strong reaction to the hoax. The head of RTBF, Jean-Paul Philippot, admitted the following day that "the impact of the broadcast was greater than expected".

Nonetheless, the tide of globalisation is tending to break apart such artificial countries. The existence of the EU reassures people that independence need not mean isolation, and is a contributing factor to independence movements in such places as Catalonia and Scotland.

Belgium's federal arrangements are due to be renegotiated next year, and it is quite possible that wealthier, more populous Flanders will ultimately decide that keeping Belgium together costs more than it is worth.

If that happens, RTBF might get to run some of last week's footage as real news.

Sydney Zoo

It was about a year ago that we visited the zoo for the first time. Turned out that most animals were too passive to be noticed by Juleen ... but the views on the city were spectacular.

This weekend we returned and guess what ... the views are still spectacular! We paid up to become friends of the zoo which means we need to go at least 3x a year to make the numbers work. But Juleen (and her swimming pal Zach) loves the zoo and therefore we all do !!

Juleen and Dylan make X-mas crafts