Conniebygaslight

I'm willing to bet that our 'fair trade' bananas are still considerably cheaper than the one's grown 'locally' in Australia......

Some are more susceptible to the 'Lucky country brainwashing' than others Wend....

Because in the UK we can pretty much get everything at a reasonable cost in them....we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and drive half an hour (minimum) to ensure we're not ripped off.

But they grow bananas elsewhere in Oz.....?! We have to import them from much further here and they are nowhere near that much. The wages may be higher in Perth but surely being ripped off is still unacceptable? You earn more...you pay more tax and higher prices...who's winning there then?

I wanted to book to see Reginald D hunter (comedian) for my husband's birthday so I went on to the site-the amount of venues to choose from was staggering and most easily accessible. This for me is indicative of how spoilt we are in the UK. The choice of everything and the accessibility is something we take for granted until (in my case) we live elsewhere.....

If you have nothing to lose by being nice and telling them now- I would do that TBH, if you don't and they find out from someone else then that may look bad for you- the fact that you are a senior member of staff means (IMO) you should act in a certain way. It's not about what's right for them, it's about minimising any possible comeback for you. You are sticking 2 fingers up to them by leaving and coming back anyway, so why put yourself at any possible risk by peeing them off any further.

It's not just money either...my husband earned a very good salary in Oz but we still thought it was awful. It doesn't matter what you earn, the principle of being ripped off, bored, isolated, dumbed down, etc, etc, etc is still the same-a big house and pool doesn't make up for it IMO. Would be awful to be there and skint though.....

Mine too.....all of a sudden!

Good for you, it's great that you can have this time away (although without the family it must be really hard). I'm only down the road from West Yorks, we could have met up for a cuppa x

Yes whereabouts are you EW and how long for? hope you are enjoying yourself

This evening we stumbled across 'off their rockers'.....watching TV as a family is something that we try to do once a week (but tbh we usually struggle).....FAMILY TV GOLD. It's like candid camera but with only old people pulling the stunts (and hey - who wouldn't go that extra mile for an old lady/gent). Absolutely brilliant and good clean family viewing....if you haven't seen it, you are sure missing a treat.......

We watched it and I can honestly say I haven't seen anything as hilarious in ages, the poor guy who obviously only wanted a nice girl and was very uncomfortable with the whole thing. The masks they wore for the TV were completely bonkers and the fact that they were trying to normalise it all. Incidentally I didn't know that dogging involved everyone having a go...(OMG). But the best/worst was the close up of the dog doing it's business in the woods.....we got very scared for Bambi at one point. How on earth it passed as a documentary for channel 4 it was more like a cross between Rita Sue & Bob too and deliverance.

So true

I would stay put until your baby is born, as you are well aware having a baby is a huge emotional experience and I wouldn't suggest that you don't go through that in a place where you are feeling isolated, otherwise you are in danger of returning again and even having your partner stop you. If your partner comes home (hopefully securing a job before he does) then you can always look at moving in the future, you are still very young. The concern about your partner getting a job is obviously huge, but I wouldn't put that over my mental wellbeing. Good luck

I remember my 6 year old daughter in year 2 had been doing cursive writing for ages in the UK but the school in Qld didn't do it until year 4 so she was told not to write joined up, she was very upset as it had become so natural to her and the teacher kept telling her off, I ended up going in to complain (they found that rather strange I can tell you). It was very much their way or the highway-regardless of how much it upset the children. Lock-down was also bizarre, all the kids having to get under their desks when a siren went off-frightened them to death too. And don't get me started on the teachers dragging 4 year old around a massive school field during sportsday.....you WILL be athletic, we don't care about your brain.

We returned after 8 months and have not regretted It for a second.....and my husband is an Ozzie! Good look on your return

We found it to be really frowned upon.....making any decision gets pretty much the same reaction.

Ant & Dec, Dame Judy Dench, BBC, The Beatles, Daffs, Bonfire night, Royals, Pomp and Circumstance, Parky, Meadows, Motorway network, Centre parcs, Quality Campsites, Churches, Villages, Cities, Venues, Comedy, Fetes, Days out, Christmas, M&S, Peppa Pig, Supermarkets, Cheap Flights, Museums, Rain, Conkers, Peter Kay, Sunday roast, Late summer nights, Bluebells, Bumble bees, Argos, Free dental and pescriptions for kids, Strawberry fields, cream teas, Morris Dancers, Choice of theme parks, Robins, Snow, West End, Countryside, Small primary schools, School meals, humour, wit, Oxo, Oxford Cambridge boat race, Wimbledon..............................................Feeling like part of the real world, having an interest in what's going on out there.

I just ask them if they've ever lived there...when they say 'no' I say 'oh sorry I presumed you had with you obviously knowing what it's like'..... We get it at lot because my husband is Australian. Us Brits are a funny lot, a friend of mine is always slgging the UK off because he holidays in Thailand and thinks it's amazing, obviously life is much easier there...lol. The sun has a lot to answer for I think (or peoples perceptions of life in it).

I agree that people must draw their own conclusion and I too am a believer in vaccination. the single vaccines are done only 6 weeks apart which was my point. I get very annoyed when people say that parents are selfish & ignorant (I know that wasn't you).

Ahh the dreaded daily mail....obviously must be a load of crap then. A friend of ours a midwife has 4 children, the 2 that had MMR are autistic, the 2 that didn't aren't. Of course it can be coincidental and all a load of rubbish-but it wasn't long ago that we were all told to put our babies to sleep on their front's and then that changed. We can only do what we feel is right as parents with the advice given and if parents are concerened then single vaccines should be offered IMHO. I don't get your point about there being a 'gap' with single vaccines......surely the fact that they are not offered until 13 monhs old (same as MMR) is a gap anyway. If parents want to vaccinate their children then they should be given the option and not bloody bullied into the most cost effective method.

If the government had offered single vacinations instead of the MMR then this wouldn't be happening. We were lucky and could afford to go private for single vaccinations but not a lot of people are as fortunate- so the 'choice' was either MMR or none. I think you'll find it's the government not the parents who are selfish, money, money,money!

I too hate crowds, we live in a lovely quiet village but we are only 30 mins drive away from York, Leeds, Harrogate, Sheffield, etc. and many towns. We can get to london by train in 1.5 hours or anywhere really but then come home to the peace and quiet. We can access many small towns in 10, 15 mins or our village has lots of local shops and cafes. My point about the population is that a country like Australia with such a small population cannot possibly offer the same wide range of ameneties as the UK does.....and the distance only adds to that. We have a choice of theatres and concert venues to choose from to see an array of productions/bands/comedians/restaurants/museums etc. But I definitely love the peace and quiet our village offers and the proper village pub!

It wasn't Toowoomba necessarily Bobbsy (TBH we found it perfectly ok) we knew the things we didn't like were inherent within Australia- It was the sheer vastness of the country and the accessibity that caused us a major issue, as this (for us) really affected services, product, choice, etc. When I spoke about this whe living there people would always say 'oh you are a big city person' No I'm not!!!! but here in the UK it's possible to live in a village (as we do) and still be in very easy access to many, many towns and cities and all that they have to offer- the fact that the UK is heavily populatd but that does have an upside in terms of infrastructure and what is available.

I couldn't agree more- especially with the red bit...