Happy new year , for anyone on my side of the date line of course ......
And for everyone else still celebrating - have a good one. And be safe . Don't drink and drive and all that other public safety announcement stuff.
Drinking excessively is a problem - Violent people get more violent. And then there are those lovely mild-mannered sweet-hearts who turn into Mr Hyde at the whiff of a vodka tonic. Not that I'm innocent of course - I have been known to partake of the fermented by-product from grapes , as well as some potato juice on occasion. And I was the quintessential student in my day - roaring it up on drinking nights , held in check only by my very short pockets, rather than any attempt to remain responsible.
But I'll not bore you to death with my strong opinions on that matter - at least not today anyway. The reason I mention it is because Melbourne Metlink provided free public transport to all and sundry last night from 6pm onwards , all night long. And I can only surmise that it was to try and prevent drunken driving. Or as they say here in Australia , drink driving.
Not a bad idea - we even considered catching a train into the city to the Southgate Wharf to watch the fireworks and count in the new year with the rest of the Melbournians. We ended up having dinner with our friends ( and yes , I did take along that Cherry Pie , and it was Deee-licious !!!) and from there we made our way to the beach where we took in the fireworks from both the City , and Frankston, as we had a clear view of both metropoles across the Bay from our spot on the sand.
We even got treated to some closer fireworks as people all up and down the beach let off their rockets and crackers and sparklies of all sizes from as early as 11:30 pm.
Now I have had some rip roaring New Years Eve Parties, I've been to H2O in Boksburg South Africa , almost every year since turning 18 - I spent the Millennium new year partying up a storm with my University buddies on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River , and tiger fishing during the day. Last year, in my 'final' African new year , I was in my brothers back yard drinking far far far too much of everything , and playing no-emotion-tequila with my mother until neither of us were standing very straight at all.The first few days of 2010 had some rough edges let me tell you.
But no other new year I have experienced so far , compares to being able to sit on an open uncrowded public beach , with no litter , junk or rubbish anywhere in sight , taking in the city lights and fireworks. No crowds, no shoving and pushing when you want to go to the toilet , no drunken louts - just happy people being happy. And we were glad to discover from another friend who did go into the city last year on new year , that they had to wait over an hour for a train that had enough space to take them , and they had to stand the entire trip in the train was so crowded. So we really didn't miss anything by not going on the free train rides.
If this is what being in Australia for new year is like , then I'm a happy camper let me tell you. And I say everyone needs to come visit me soon so they can see what it's like for themselves.
And for everyone else still celebrating - have a good one. And be safe . Don't drink and drive and all that other public safety announcement stuff.
Drinking excessively is a problem - Violent people get more violent. And then there are those lovely mild-mannered sweet-hearts who turn into Mr Hyde at the whiff of a vodka tonic. Not that I'm innocent of course - I have been known to partake of the fermented by-product from grapes , as well as some potato juice on occasion. And I was the quintessential student in my day - roaring it up on drinking nights , held in check only by my very short pockets, rather than any attempt to remain responsible.
But I'll not bore you to death with my strong opinions on that matter - at least not today anyway. The reason I mention it is because Melbourne Metlink provided free public transport to all and sundry last night from 6pm onwards , all night long. And I can only surmise that it was to try and prevent drunken driving. Or as they say here in Australia , drink driving.
Not a bad idea - we even considered catching a train into the city to the Southgate Wharf to watch the fireworks and count in the new year with the rest of the Melbournians. We ended up having dinner with our friends ( and yes , I did take along that Cherry Pie , and it was Deee-licious !!!) and from there we made our way to the beach where we took in the fireworks from both the City , and Frankston, as we had a clear view of both metropoles across the Bay from our spot on the sand.
We even got treated to some closer fireworks as people all up and down the beach let off their rockets and crackers and sparklies of all sizes from as early as 11:30 pm.
Now I have had some rip roaring New Years Eve Parties, I've been to H2O in Boksburg South Africa , almost every year since turning 18 - I spent the Millennium new year partying up a storm with my University buddies on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River , and tiger fishing during the day. Last year, in my 'final' African new year , I was in my brothers back yard drinking far far far too much of everything , and playing no-emotion-tequila with my mother until neither of us were standing very straight at all.The first few days of 2010 had some rough edges let me tell you.
But no other new year I have experienced so far , compares to being able to sit on an open uncrowded public beach , with no litter , junk or rubbish anywhere in sight , taking in the city lights and fireworks. No crowds, no shoving and pushing when you want to go to the toilet , no drunken louts - just happy people being happy. And we were glad to discover from another friend who did go into the city last year on new year , that they had to wait over an hour for a train that had enough space to take them , and they had to stand the entire trip in the train was so crowded. So we really didn't miss anything by not going on the free train rides.
If this is what being in Australia for new year is like , then I'm a happy camper let me tell you. And I say everyone needs to come visit me soon so they can see what it's like for themselves.
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