The Intro.....continued
Anything included in The Wining Pom should be taken with a pinch of salt, is not meant to be offensive and is only supposed make people smile (or even laugh) therefore if you have lost or had your sense of humour removed or are American (that doesn’t include you Noreen), please stop reading now.
The name of the Blog has originated from one of the most obvious facts, which is I am a POM, this is one of the most affectionate phrases used by the Aussie’s to describe us English/British here in Australia. The origins of this semi-derogatory term is by no means defined, some believe it originated for P.O.H.M. which stands for Prisoner Of His/Her Majesty, or P.O.M.E. Prisoner (or Product) of Mother England, either way its used in the continuous banter between my beloved nation (i.e. English) and the ex-convictsP.O.H.M.s!
The “wining” part should also be an obvious play on words as us Poms have a rather suitable reputation of whinging all the time…..”never” I hear you say rather sarcastically! Unfortunately parts of this Blog will substantiate such “wild” accusations. Plus there’s also the unknown fact that I don’t mind an infrequent small amount of alcohol.
Over the first few editions I also hope to offer an insight in to what we’ve done since leaving the “sunny” shores of Blighty, way back in late 2007, for one of our most successful colonies, i.e. Australia. I’m also hoping to educate the non-southern hemisphere folk in what happens in this part of the world.
The Early Days
So then, the past, one of the only constant growing things in life....now there's a semi morbid thought! As already stated I left the UK in late 2007, jumping ship as it were just before the Global Financial Crisis took hold in Britain Sydney
I landed on this fair land on Wed 12th Dec, and just as a previous Yorkshire predecessor (i.e. Captain James Cook) had done back in 1770, I intended on starting a new life.
As I’d given up my job as of Fri 7th Dec 2007, I was technically speaking “on holiday” and so therefore found little motivation to search for a new career and decided to enjoy the opportunity for rest and relaxation after a relatively hectic ending to my AZ/UK days when I was working and decorating the house ready for sale!
My dear fiancée and now wife, Rita, had already been in Sydney for a few weeks prior to my arrival and had sorted out a small, in fact very small, studio type unit (aka flat to normal speaking people). This was, and I suppose still is, situated a short walk outside Sydney
So what did I do with my free time? Well, Sydney is not unsurprisingly a visually attractive city, therefore I spent a lot of time just wandering around the CBD, botanic gardens and visiting the odd beach, as I figured that I was still being paid I might as well treat it as a holiday. See the “Iconic Views” photo I took during my daily ambling.
During which time I had decided that I couldn’t be bothered grooming myself as I had once done in England (believe it or not) as I tried to blend in with the so called “natives”, so my hair grew longer and a beard type thing appeared around my lower jaw as I regressed through evolution in to a more Neanderthal appearance, as shown in the “Blending in” photo. I’d just like to point out that the Aussie’s obviously aren’t the true natives in Oz although some of them may not actually be aware of this as their education system ignored the actual natives, i.e. the aboriginals, for years!.......
This look proved to be quiet disturbing as when wandering aimlessly around Sydney several foreigners would stop me to ask for directions, then to their horror I would reply in a broad(ish) Yorkshire accent, but would be able to help neither-the-less due to my days spent aimlessly ambling.
During the early days I also mixed with one or two celebs, the most notable of which was the infamous Milky Joe from the British comedy series the Mighty Boosh. Take a ganders at the “Mixing with the celebs” photo which shows me and Milky Joe hitting the town!
Thus ends the small insight in to the first few weeks in Oz. I will write more in the next few editions since I’ve not been overly great at updating folk over the past few years!
Fire, Water, Wind and Earth – The Serious Bit
I hope some of you Northern hemisphere folk are aware this part of the planet has been hit with damn awful events over the past few years which seem to have taken the form of the “elements”, fire, water, wind and earth.
First up, fire, the state of Victoria
Secondly, water, Queensland France and Germany
Thirdly, wind, as if the floods weren’t enough the same state copped for cyclone Yasi bringing more destruction in early February 2011.
Lastly and more recently, earth, Christchurch on New Zealand
Again, please donate if you wish.
The Finale
I hope I have now given you all a bit of an insight in to our lives in Oz and what I did at the start of the adventure in to foreign lands. Also this has kind of ended on a very serious note on what horrific disasters have hit this part of the planet but I thought the northern hemisphere folk may not have realised what Australia and its cousins in New Zealand
If you have any input, thoughts or comments about the content of this Blog please feel free to email thewiningpom@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks to.....
This edition has been brought to by Tyrrell’s 2009 Chardonnay, a lovely little white with the usual citrus undertones.
