It's Wednesday, so it must be Melbourne
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2004
1
10
25
Trip End
Nov 05, 2004
Melbourne,
Australia
Friday, October 15, 2004
I had a great flight from Canberra to Melbourne, which lasted a little over an hour but which took no time at all thanks to good company and conversation with my 'next seat neighbour' on the flight Simon, who then very kindly let me hitch a lift with him in the taxi he was taking to get to his hotel. Hope that you manage to complete that weighty tomb you're reading Simon, and eventually do the history degree (to add to your collection of Masters degrees)
Black Swans
.My current book is so lightweight in comparison (both literally, and in terms on content). I'm about half way through Bill Bryson's 'Down Under', which Alison suggested was an appropriate read for me. and so it; it's full of interesting facts like at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta the Aussies won 3.78 medals per million of population, a rate more than two and a half times better than the next best performer, Germany, and almost five times better than the US rate (p. 147-8). And what's more, Australia's medal winning tally spanned a total of 14 sports, in other words the Aussies excel at virtually all sports!! But now that I've seen at first hand the priority given to fitness, then their activities and enthusiasm in turn translates into competitiveness and medal winning. Personally, I prefer the Australian enthusiasm and expertise around
coffee shops and eating out!
I'm also impressed with Melborne's Information officers in nice uniforms who stand at busy junctions and ask people looking lost and vacant in they can help at all - not that I'm referring to me of course!! But one has just come up to me, so to give him something to do I asked for directions to an internet cafe, a camera shop and the railway station (key in helping me get to the airport in a couple of hour's time)
Great Ocean Road
. So here I am at the internet cafe, which is a Chinese one and it's most confusing having chinese characters on the screen! and now I know where to find batteries for my new digi camera, and also just where the station is.My first day in Melbourne was a mixture of repeats and firsts. The repeats included getting to grips with yet another city, and another street map and another transport system - trams in Melbourne's case. And really what I forgot to say in a previous entry is that whilst I might have enjoyed using the buses, well part of that was the neat contrast it made to rides in the Jags that both Malcolm and John drive!
And yet more repeats of my Respite presentation' I'm getting good at it now!! But what makes it interesting and diffierent for me is that each time the audience latches on to different elements of the work and consequently asks a different set of questions. This can be both positive and negative. At the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare in Canberra yesterday, they were really keen on the statistical information either from the GHS or from Michael's secondary analysis of the BHPS - and we all know that when it comes to stats, well, let's just say that they're not one of my stronger points!! Carers Victoria wanted to know about the consultation element of the Review, and Elizabeth Ozanne et al at the University of Melbourne were keen to know about the RAE and how the DH undertakes scientific reviews of the research programmes it funds
Lakeside view
! Other firsts in Melbourne: a 600 km trip on the Great Ocean Road complete with 'Bush Billy Tea' and Lamington cakes (now I know what to look for in the supermarket for when I evenually reappear in SPRU!). The views were awesome, absolutely spectacular; and the trip also included the 12 Apostles at Port Campbell National Park and walking on Bells Beach, site for international surfing competitions (nb: I still haven't got my trainers off on the beach, never mind anything else!).
Inna: my travelling companion on this trip was Sabine, a young woman from Moscow currently working as cabin crew for United Emirates airlines - which explains why she was in Dubai (her base) on Wednesday, Melbourne on Thursday and by now (mid Friday pm) will be in Auckland, New Zealand. Saw lots of little new born lambs on the trip as well, so add that to tulips and hyacinths in the gardens - just adds to my 'season' confusion!
My first cultural activities both took place on Wednesday night. One was attending a reading which was part of 'The Diary Project', put on as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival at the Arts Centre. But much more interesting and special was another first for me, ie attending the opening of a presitguous display of paintings at the National Gallery of Australia: Edvard Munch and The Frieze of Life
London Bridge
. This was by invitation only, so I was very privileged to be here (it all comes from knowing the right people, you know!). The art was excellent, and so too were the accompanying drinks, roast beef sandwiches, salmon pasties and wraps. No teensy, weensy nibbles here - there was an endless stream of quality food and drinks available. If you were a vegetarian it would have been a bit of a problem, but for us carnivores ......I've come across yet more parents in Australia for the prime purpose of meeting up with their children travelling the world. This phenomenon seems to me to have scope for research and scholarship, and possibly could be the start of a new discipline area. so going beyond John Urry back at Lancaster and sociology of tourism, the tourist gaze etc. Not sure that it fits into SPRU's main areas of work though, but the fieldwork for it it isn't half fun!
OK; that's it for now. I should just have time to get to the camera shop before I need to start thinking about heading off for the airport and Perth. It's a four hour flight, and Perth is two hours ahead of Melbourne so I'll be arriving at just after eight o'clock tonight. I spend the time on the flight reading up about wherever I'm visiting; or alternatively, and much more fun, chatting up whoever is sitting next to me (no, that's not quite true, I have a rule that I never start a conversation, I only respond!_.
Ciao
H.
