starlight7

A lot is just sheer luck of who you meet. I love Melbourne but I could live in most other cities - except Perth. Just not my sort of thing and never would be. So different in just about every way.

No and I certainly wouldn’t try to smuggle one in,either. They grow so quickly and easily here you don’t need to.

We have had a slow cooker for a while now but to be perfectly honest I wouldn’t get one again because they take up bench space and I can do most things just as well without it. Great for roast potatoes etc but then so is the oven! Depends what you want I suppose. Now I love my slow cooker and that I do use even though I have to get it out of the cupboard.

Quite right. Not appropriate at all.

I worked there for 25 years. It is a suburb on the up- used to be not too good for various reasons.

She's been very good and very dedicated. I am not a royalist and think it is time we grew up and moved on but if you have to have a monarch, you couldn't fault her.

Haven’t felt British for over 40 years and it was reinforced when we went there just before all this Covid business. I suppose because all our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are Aussies.

I find they never shut up, totally the opposite. Depends what circles you move in I suppose.

We haven't had them for a few years now but last night I heard them here in the Yarra Valley. A welcome sound. Whilst we are at it, what happened to the bellbirds? Haven't heard any in years.

I loved Paul Keating. He was a statesman, better than any of the current mob. They all make me shudder, Liberal and Labour.

My friend has a son in WA who she hasn't seen for over 2 years now. She lives in Victoria and had booked a ticket to go and see him this month. She is so,so sad that this now won't happen because of the stupid over reaction that is going on over there. She now thinks she will never see him again because she is close to 90 years old . He is her only son. Sooner or later they will have to open the borders, what is wrong with them? She is triple vaxxed. Personally I never want to go to WA again so we are planning on cancelling our trip to the Kimberleys and Broome later in the year. Rather spend our money in Queensland.

I haven’t seen or heard of any ‘ huge protests’ in Australia but then I only live here. At this time of year most couldn’t be bothered, too busy.

8.30- 4.30 pm would be a short day here. Just saying.

Of course another thing is that the UK you left has changed a lot. Sometimes we remember it as it used to be. I don't know the place anymore now, it feels foreign to me the same as I suppose Australia feels for those who have been absent a long time.

So typical of Australia I’m afraid.

Yes they seem to have more or less gone. I don’t think I would order one these days though an egg and bacon roll goes down well from time to time.

Just hope and pray we can have our Christmas without being disrupted again.

Same as you, ramot. You know where you feel 'at home' and that's it, really. I don't even want to visit my birthplace now since Covid, no appeal whatsoever. I still think the tv programs are better there, though and still watch them for preference.

Melbourne is very much what you make it because there are vast differences in areas to live, type of people you meet etc. It is very big and sprawly. When we arrived in the early 70 s I thought it was exceedingly ugly, mainly because of the trip in from the airport. If you find the ‘right’ suburbs it is actually charming and green and pretty with good local networks and communities. So many things to do, especially when you get older. Theses days I rarely go to the dead centre (city) because it has been decimated by over zealous politicians and their fondness for draconian measures against Covid but I can live very happily without that. The population has dropped somewhat just now which is a good thing that they have done. Unintentionally I am sure but there are benefits for the ‘remainders’.

I think SBS is better than Netflix these days though none of them are that good. Vigil was good- most of those British ones are, unlike the American trashy things . The Scandinavians have good ones if you don't mind subtitles

Queensland was certainly looking good during the Melbourne lockdowns. I think it will take a while to recover down here, so many businesses closed up especially in the city.

So many horror stories about Australian citizens being stuck in Europe and Asia who cannot get home, I wouldn't take a step outside Australia just now.

I've never heard anything about this at all and I have lived here since the 1970s. I do remember how very careful they were when the AIDS epidemic was on and how there were scares about kindergarten children biting each other and passing contaminated blood across.

I'd love to come over to New Zealand, not to live but to visit. We used to go every couple of years or so before Covid. Now we have decided we will never go back and visit Europe again and not so sure about Asia ,either. We have done all that and now we will just visit New Zealand, rest of Australia and ,my favourite, Raratonga. Exception being a trip to Norfolk Island early next year which I am hoping and praying will still be 'on'. I got that claustrophobic feeling living in Tassie so probably would be the same in NZ were we to be resident there.

Normally Melbourne is a great city. Not just now as I am sure you are aware. I've lived here most of my life and we have never had it like this. We are not beach goers but we do have a holiday house down at the island which we are not allowed to visit just now. The beaches are mostly fine, even close to the city. I have never come across a dirty one but maybe I am lucky. It's been nearly 50 years, though. We like the Eastern suburbs ourselves with lots of trees, rivers and greenery, good private and public schools and a stone's throw from the Yarra Valley but it is a personal thing. It is very safe, you don't need to lock your door but I expect that will change one day the way things are.