Quick turn on the lights.

Isn't it funny how the polticians all come out when they want something from you.

And on this occasion, they forget their differences for a cup of manky coffee in dundrum shopping centre.
I'm sure I could quite easily relate this to meeting the Leader of the opposition walking down the main street in Goulburn the other day. It was the opening of the largest waste incinerator in Australia that day.
Rubbish!

Don't let your nan go down for murder!

Today I was checking out the avon and somerset police website.
I needed information on getting a piece of paper for the Australian Visa people which confirms my non-criminal status.
While checking around the site, I found the following gem...

So Wise Up! And don't let your nan go down for murder!

Beat me baby

So today I found out that if K_ ever has enough of me, I'll have to ask her to beat me so I don't get thrown out of the country.

Let me explain.

I'm applying for a spousal visa with K_, we're in a defacto relationship.
When I apply for the visa, I get a temporary 820 Visa. When immigration check up on us two years later, if we're togeather I get permenant residency, if not, I get evicted & deported.

UNLESS...
Katherine beats me, and I can prove that I am the victim of maritial violence.
Then, if these circumstances are the reason for our breakup, I may be allowed to contunue reside in the country.

I understand that this provision is for the protection of people in a relationship with their Visa sponsor. But wouldn't it be open to abuse?

Attack of the Arachnoid

So, today I was bringing my bike down into the celler, when I met someone in the garage.
A HUGE spider! I opened the door, and he winked at me and asked me how I was doing.

So being naturally scared of anything that casts a shadow, as all good irishmen are, I took a photo and legged it. It was the size of my hand!! Well half the size! Well it was the biggest bloody spider I ever saw.
And when my lovely girlfriend got home, she informed me that this was a Sydney funnel web spider, a type of tarantula, and ONE OF THE MOST VENOMOUS spiders in Australia.
Nice, I've been here a month, and the first australian animal I find, is one of the ones that can kill ye!
Lets see how long I last. Maybe the next one will be a redback.
In other news, today I found out that New Zealand apparantly has no snakes, hmm...

Lovedale long luncheon

So the weekend was spent doing something that katherine and I have after 1 month in Australia, only just found time for...
Relaxing.
Well, we tried to relax, but it wasn't as easy as we had thought. Both of us had a shocking case of the flu mixed with encroaching chest infections. And there were 10 other mad eijits, mates, friends and accomplices from katherines band of friends travelling with us.
Still, fun was had and a select few will be able to see more than this little pic.

Yeah Connected Again!

Just a quick word to say...
We have Moved into an apartment of our own! Now we have a considerable amount of room!
Internet is connected... now to get the rest done.

The proof is in the pudding.

Here's further proof, that the road rage problem is definitely out of control.
Idiot driver, worries a pack of professional and semi-profesional cyclists, then overtakes and emergency breaks in front of them with a shit eating "I Think I'm so funny" grin on his face. Now he's claiming he had engine trouble...
Yeah, the engine trouble was caused by the dick in the driver seat. Man, people like this make me mad.
I did't beleive what I had been told before I came here, cyclists are pelted with eggs, stones, cans, abuse. They are squeezed of the Road by cars, and BUSES! Overtaking cars pull in on cyclists to knock them of balance.
Unfortunatly it's all true.

I think it's an ingrained problem in the driver psyche in Sydney. The roads are hostile for car users, never mind cyclists and motorbikes. Most cars would cut you to pieces to gain a 20 metre advantage to the next red light. The lanes are too narrow for a normal car. The intersections are inconsistanly laid out. None of the traffic lights are intelligently controlled. The roads are uneven, potholed and inappropriatly cambered. Everybody wants a V6 muscle engine, regardless of piece of shite car it's attached to. How do you change a nation, grown up with traffic like this. It's like dublin, but 3 times the size, and 3 times the idiots.

I don't know what else to say, except, I don't have any idea how to solve this probem without confronting every crazy driver individually.