What Awful Weather

[kah22]

I'm sitting here in Ireland looking out through my front window and it is blowing a gale outside. The weather men say winds of 50mph and the rain, well the least said there the better.



I love Forums like this you get to know so many people, especially if you are prepared to talk. Anyways I was thinking that Australia has never been a place where I had any desire to visit; I don't know if I could put up with all that sun you have down there. But then, maybe, that's just a myth, I'm sure you have your bad weather as well.



Over here the only part of Australia we seem to hear about is Sidney maybe I'll learn a bit more about Australia and a bit more about Melbourne.



I have to be provoctive and suggest that Australia's best known ambassador of culture is Rolf Harris. What actually is a DIDGERIDOO?



Kevin

Armagh City

Ireland

[glen]

hahaha. hey kevin. rolf harris is up there with steve irwin and malcom douglas.



the weather down here is pretty lousy too. i was supposed to go surfing today but it won't be happening! maybe tomorrow will be better. we have big swells at the moment so its a good time to go surfing but the wind is too strong and blowing from the wrong direction.



sydney is our most famous city but melbourne is probably best known for being more refined and sophisticated...with lots of shopping, places to eat out etc. jamie oliver is setting up a restaurant down here and there is a TV show on at the moment talking about how its all going. jamie speaks very highly of melbourne!



a DIDGERIDOO is a hollowed out log. and the indigenous peple of australia use it as a musical instrument. there is a special breathing technique required to use the didgeridoo to keep the air moving constantly. i can't do it. i think it takes a bit of practice.



and in case you are wondering, a boomerang is a curved piece of wood that you can throw and it will come back to you...it flies in a arc. These were used by indigenous australians to kills animals to eat...and i guess maybe for a bit of fun. <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



hope the weather in ireland improves!



cheers, glen

[kah22]

I've just finished listening to the weather forecast - there are 500 electrical support men on standby for tonight just in case the winds reach their expected 80mph - and you had to put off surfing - do me a favour go throw a

boomerang or blow a DIDGERIDOO <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I've just thought if the Didgeridoo is your national instrument does that mean that all Aussies are full of wind <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Kevin

[glen]

yep we are full of wind for sure! now what is the irish national instrument??...i am thinking maybe it is a wind instrument too!? <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



if so, then this might explain why irish and australians get along well! lol <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[kah22]

[quote name='glen' post='1176' date='Dec 3 2006, 11:06 AM']yep we are full of wind for sure! now what is the irish national instrument??...i am thinking maybe it is a wind instrument too!? <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



if so, then this might explain why irish and australians get along well! lol <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]



Nope it's the Harp - you know the instruments the Angels play. Now I'm not saying we are all angels over here but we have our fair share.



It's our neighbours the Scots that are full of wind - they play the bagpipes



Kevin

[glen]

ah ok well that it explains it. i found this definition of "harp on" at dictionary.com

harp on - To talk or write about to an excessive and tedious degree

hahaha <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



so the irish are also full of wind too!!!! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[kah22]

[quote name='glen' post='1186' date='Dec 4 2006, 05:17 AM']ah ok well that it explains it. i found this definition of "harp on" at dictionary.com

hahaha <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



so the irish are also full of wind too!!!! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]



[b]Your history lesson for today [color="#009900"]The Harp[/color] (background info from Wikipedia)



In tradition the harp was utilized by Irish poets but these guys were seen as potential rabble rousers and rebels by the English colonial powers. Quene Elizabeth 1 even went so far as to outlaw the harp, and told Lord Barrymore to 'Hang the Harpers wherever found and destroy the instruments. . She felt the harp would encourage us Irish to revolution. But no one told her we don't need encouragement to stage revolts <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



But then the Aussies wouldn't know much about revolution <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

well australia did have its own little revolution at "eureka stockade"



quote from wikipedia:

Eureka Stockade

The Eureka Stockade was a miners' revolt in 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the gold-mining region of Ballarat due to many reasons, including heavily priced mining items, the expense of a digging license, and unfair treatment. While the events which sparked the rebellion were specific to the Ballarat goldfields, the underlying grievances of the miners had been the subject of public meetings, civil disobedience and deputations across the various Victorian goldfields for almost three years. These commenced with the Forest Creek Monster Meeting of December 1851 and also included the Bendigo Petition of 1853 and the Red Ribbon Rebellion of August 1853. Although swiftly and violently put down, the Eureka rebellion was a watershed event in Australian politics, and is often described controversially as the "Birthplace of Australian Democracy"