Well we are close to a half a day behind Australia over here in London of course, but with January 26th fast approaching I’m feeling somewhat homesick. I think overall Australia Day is probably my favourite holiday on the calendar, and probably means the most to me personally. A sense of good will tends to just pervade the country and people from all walks of life. I know some people don’t like the jingoistic nationalist side of it all – certainly sometimes things can get a bit over the top. But on the other hand, I don’t see anything wrong with exhibiting a touch of pride in the nation either.

In any case, I thought I would put together a quick list of the things I miss about Australia. In no particular order, but having said that, it’s not like I’ve randomised the list either:

1. Friends and family
2. The weather and more specifically the sun
3. Wearing T-shirts (perhaps an addendum to 2)
4. Driving
5. Fabian Society seminars
6. My home
7. The cacophony of birds in the trees
8. The lack of an aristocracy in the very British sense of the word.
9. Kebab rolls – it’s just not the same over here or anywhere in Europe.
10. Food courts. The concept has apparently not arrived in the London CBD as yet. You need to learn to like sandwiches.
11. Psuedo-Portugese chicken burger franchises.
12. 375ml cans of soft drink (as opposed to 330ml)
13. Drinking tap water (with fluoride). It’s mandatory filtering over here unless you like heavy metals.
14. The silence on CityRail trains as compared to the constant announcements on the tube. Really!
15. Playing sport of some description.
16. Australian accents.
17. The ABC
18. Watching the cricket on lazy Summer afternoons.
19. Plastic banknotes that fit in your wallet.
20. The abolition of 1 and 2c pieces.

Although it somewhat seems like I am scraping the bottom of the barrel, in reality I’m probably just a bit warped. I could go on for hours. Whatever you get up to on Australia Day, I hope you have a good one.