Happy Australia Day

[Shane Drew]

Thanks for that Russ, I’m working around the house actually 🙄

Australia Day is not what it used to be. Citizenship ceremonies aside, a lot of people just treat it as a day off really.

The major cities have fireworks, and the kids like it because they only went back to school on Monday, and they feel it a well deserved break 😮

Some of my suppliers are making it a long weekend and closing Friday too.

Frog Man and Nancy are in other states so they may have different aspects tho. It is a big country after all 😉

[Chris Wool]

shane your not having a day off are you

[Shane Drew]

quote Chris Wool:

shane your not having a day off are you

you sound like my wife mate :lol1:

Only having a day off from the sign side, the wife has plenty of work lined up to keep me busy 🙁

[Carrie Brown]

Have a nice day!!

😀

[Frog Man]

The wife and kids and me are off to park around lunch time to meet up with my mum, dad, brothers, sister and all their children and children’s children (28 in total) for a BBQ then a family cricket match. It has become a bit of a family tradition and it’s great to catch up with everyone.

There is a massive fireworks display at sunset on the river that runs past the city (Perth) for about 30 minutes, it’s simulcast on an FM station. Nearly half a million people get down there with radios to watch and listen to the show.

Shane, if anything I’ve noticed people seem to be a lot more patriotic these days with flags on cars and houses and of course all the kids have Aussie flag temporary tattoos on their faces and arms.

[Nancy Wannous]

well thank you for that Russ. I will be working actually I have a full time job for a US company. 😉

[George Elsmore]

I dont know… you aussies have more time off than rip van winkle’s bedside light!!!! :lol1: have a fun day!

[Shane Drew]

quote Frog Man:

Shane, if anything I’ve noticed people seem to be a lot more patriotic these days with flags on cars and houses and of course all the kids have Aussie flag temporary tattoos on their faces and arms.

I’ve noticed that too mate, especially since the Bali bombings and such. I think that with the patriotism has come more racism too. Seems to go hand in hand somehow.

The cronulla riots seems to be proof of that.

We have a huguuuggge Arab tourist population here, and there is growing unrest with the conecessions the government are giving these people (full burkas allowed in banks and shops) but not extending that to the locals. As a result, a big movement in aussie patriotic feeling, and thus, anti Arab feeling.

George, we have a lot of short weeks in the early part of the year.. Queens Birthday (which is not on the Queens Birthday) to celebrate our heritage, Labor Day to celebrate the ‘struggle’ for freedom, Queensland day to celebrate our state, the list goes on. The second half of the year is almost holiday free 🙁

[Brian Little]

Have a |Bundy Shane put your feet up ……write some jokes for us ….relax (drink1) 😀 😀 😀

[Shane Drew]

quote Brian Little:

Have a |Bundy Shane put your feet up ……write some jokes for us ….relax (drink1) 😀 😀 😀

5 hours on a jack hammer, two hours carting rubble to a skip bin. I’ll be having more than one bundy I promise you 😕 *drink* *drink* *drink* :lol1:

[Frog Man]

I am not a racist by any stretch of the imagination, I have friends from many different countries and cultures. However I think things like letting Muslims into banks wearing burkas is really pushing political/religious correctness way to far.

On the local news the other night the West Australian Police Department was showing off their new uniforms that allow policemen and women to wear turbans and hijabs and perhaps other clothing. (I’ve included a screengrab from the West Australian Newspaper site)
The TV station did a phone poll to gauge public reaction to the changes and the results were 95% (roughly 100,000 votes) against the changes. I can totally understand this result and agree with the majority, if they can’t wear a uniform that is fine for every other policeman/woman perhaps they shouldn’t be joining.

I think two old sayings are relevant in this situation “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” and “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”.

This obviously has nothing at all to do with signwriting and I’m not trying to stir up debate, I just thought that on Australia Day 2006 it was relevant.

[Frog Man]

Couldn’t post the screengrab but it read
“Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan has not ruled out allowing Rastafarian police officers to wear dreadlocks for cultural reasons after he unveiled the first round of changes to official police dress yesterday to make them culturally appropriate for Muslims and Sikhs.

The modified uniforms include a turban for Sikh male officers who will also be allowed to be bearded while female Muslim officers will be allowed to wear the hijab headscarf and a longer, loose-fitting long-sleeved top.

Mr O’Callaghan said he wants to diversify the WA police force this year by recruiting more people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. He said he would consider every other cultural application to vary the standard regulations governing the dress and appearance of uniformed officers on its merits, but had not yet decided how the process would work.

Asked if this meant Rastafarian officers could wear dreadlocks, Mr O’Callaghan said it was possible, if it was judged culturally appropriate.

It did not necessarily mean that someone who was not from a background where beards were traditional could get permission to grow a beard because they wanted one.

He believed the WA community would accept the changes.

“It won’t make the officers stand out more, I believe the people of WA are cosmopolitan enough to handle it,” he said. Opposition police spokesman Rob Johnson said the move could backfire if the community had doubts about the suitability of some people to be police officers.

He said it would be more appropriate to follow the lead of other States and consider the need for a culturally sensitive uniform on a case by case basis. WA Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey dismissed the new uniforms as a media stunt.”

[Shane Drew]

Qld police are allowed beards, but the uniform is the same for everyone at the moment. Although they have decided to let the police wear shorts and open neck shirts. I don’t see our premier making any other changes anytime soon, because he is not very popular at the moment. Only today, because of our hospital shortage, they had to order a fire engine to pick up a poor bloke who was having a heart attack, as no ambulances were available..

I have just done a series of signs for our theme parks here that advise people that some rest rooms are now prayer rooms.

The arabic tourism groups have forced the theme parks to change their scheduals to accommodate their worship times. If they don’t the arabs wll go somewhere else. My arguments is, if they are coming out here to experience real aussie culture, why do we then have to change?

I’m sure if we go there, they’d not be happy about our women walking the streets in summer dresses and us drinking a xxxx , and I’m sure they would not change their ideas to accommodate us.

That said, I have asian and arabic clients that can’t understand it themselves, so I’ve got no chance. They are good friends too

Have a good picnic? Record heat wave in victoria. Wouldn’t want to be down there this week. 😮

[Freddy.Tait]

just back from perth(waneroo area ) all the best to the boys over there,
if they got any more laid back they’d fall over
its getting a bit crowded since we last visited in 2000
but with a £350.00 return ticket from gatwick we had to give it a go,
any other travellers to ozz recomend airlines to fly with
cheap prices any comments welcome

(mod-edit)….
i’d like to know what the mod edit bit was for?
forgive me for any subversion not intendedxxxx

from freddy in u.k.