I’ll hand on some bits and pieces here:
I got the 360°, the official race Souvenir Magazine through the post one morning. Had a good look at it the other day. It’s really quite good and well worth the £5 asking price. We have a postal strike in the UK at the moment but if anyone wants a copy let me know and I’ll find out how they can be sent.
I’ve followed the diaries on the main Clipper site (www.clipperroundtheworld.com) and I’ve only just realised the best way to access. If you go directly to the Diaries they are simply in date order. If you go to The Teams then select Spirit of Australia and then select Crew Diaries they will then be nicely filtered to those for our boat only. You all know that and I’m the dumbo – I know.
Eileen sent three more pictures from La Rochelle (seems like ages ago) but better late than never. I’ll try to be more timely with my updates and check attachments better (not sure if anyone reads this stuff anyway!)
Before the Start, Celebrations and Team Spirit following arrival at La Rochelle (click thumbnail to see larger image)
Budgie smugglers.. what’s all this about?
There is a section called Rule 17 and the language will be English . . . .
None of you Aussies have risen to the bait – until now (can you read?). I’ve added the unadulterated list below:
ritz (in sa only…!) is a spam kind of slice – butchers will give a slice to kids as a treat…
deli (in SA) milk bars (in vic) somewhere that sells papers, coffee, cakes, cold meats etc
mall (in SA pronounced maul) – somewhere to shop - generally where traffic has been stopped
bathers (sa) togs (nz and somwherre is oz that I can’t remember), swimmers (NSW) – swimming costumes
“slip.slap, slop”………………..you can guess what that means before I tell you!
farmers union iced coffee – the best iced coffee in oz – only available in SA
parmy – sa – chicken or beef flattened as much as possible, ham put on top, then breadcrumbed and deep fried, tthen topped with melted cheese and tomoto sauce
Ute – a prestigious vehicle to drive around in – orginally a ‘utility’ vehicle it is essentially a small truck like car with a flat bed on the back – it is now a bit of a status symbol especially amongst builders, gardeners, and some young drivers whose parents own a ‘property’ (bit of land in the rural areas) – checkout the Toyota hilux for an example -the blacker and shinier the better, and it helps to have a blue heeler (Aust Kelpie, cattle dog) on the flat bed
Thongs – flip flops
G’day is really used, and lots
Darl – short (as most things are in Oz) for Darling – used by men and women - ’sorry Darl’, ‘thanks Darl’ etc
Arvo – afternoon – ’see you this arvo’
We do things on the weekend, not at the weekend
Mozzies – yes you’ve guessed, Mosquitoes
CFS – country fire service – mostly volunteers and the true heroes of the Australian summer
MFS – metropolitan fire service – their better paid and better equipped brothers
Bush fire season – no, not to light bush fires but when all fires are banned to prevent bush fires
Footy – the oval ball version. Soccer is now being played here more and more (Harry Keoul – think thats how he spells it! – came to Oz from Liverpool)
The mighty Crows – Adelaide’s better footy team - Port Power – their arch rivals
AFL – Australian Football League – the county literally grinds to a halt during Grand Final week at the end of each September
SA loves Vic as the English love the French…
Abos – the local native population, and not a term of endearment - often found in the parklands - a terrible end for an amazing nation of people
Shack – the holiday home at the beach
Boardies – board shorts – long shorts to swim in or be on the beach in – only Surf life savers are allowed to wear Speedoes (Speedoes are also fondly referred to as Budgie smugglers…)
Firies – firemen – in SA they pose scantily dressed for the annual fund raising calendar – I can send Debbie one!
Ambos – ambulance men and women
snag – sausage
barbie – barbeque – an essential part of Australia as you can imagine
Heaps Good – what we say about Adelaide and SA in general – check out the heapsgood website: www.heapsgoodsa.com.au
Rural area – out of the city
Country – extremely far from anything at all
Adelaide – a big country town (they all say so)
and its worth learning the words to:
I still call Australia Home – from the Qantas ad and now a bit of a national icon
The Australian National Anthem – much more positive and cheerful than the UK one, and almost all Aussies I have seen know and sing it loud and proud!
Back yard is the garden – could be a tiny concrete plot or a huge flowering affair
Water restrictions – all around the country, all the time
Any reactions? Up you pommies is not good enough. You can do better!