I hear what you are saying in all of this – coarse maybe at times, but I understand your position.

Sorry it was one of ‘those’ days.

Rain may have noticed a prevalence of Aussies in London because a number of the UK locals were over here getting sun-burned and eaten by sharks or bitten by snakes or just lost in the bush for ten days ( Only 2 of those actually happened recently).

So there may have seemed to be a higher proportion of people with Aussie accents than may have been anticipated by a visitor to the country?

@Rain and the rest – I think there’s a bit of a swap going on. Us UK/Irish folks try to move there, gap year there for the sun, sea, surf and laidback lifestyle of the Aussieland.

And when we can’t get jobs as doctors and nurses in the UK just after being trained….hello South Africa, Australia and New Zealand for a year or so!

Glad to hear that like me you are managing to find some more sunshine now

The grass is definitely greener in England than here in our wide sunburnt country, particularly in our respective summers.;-)

i think though that some other reasons for the presence of Aussies in the UK, particularly London, include:

many Aussies are actually expat ‘Poms’ (englishmen) and go there to visit relatives and see some of their ancestry.

work experience – we speak basically the same language and the Brits pay significantly higher wages because of the higher value of the UK pound so a number of new graduates go there for the money and the experience for their CV.

A number of school leavers go there for a ‘break’ and to use as a base to tour Europe for the culture and sights before returning back home to tie themselves down to a career and family.

and lastly – if Aussies did not go to London (or New York, LA etc) there’d be no room for all the S Africans to live here

I’m pretty sure that with a few notable exceptions ( Rolf Harris and Rupert Murdoch eg) the vast majority of Aussies who do go OS long for the day when they can return home for good ( good surfing, good meals, good sports and good beaches/sunshine.)

Good luck with your exams and i hope you may be able to take a holiday here sometime?

Just popping by to say hello Im a bit snowed under (though the sun is shining) with work and exams at the mo.

I do have a question for ya though

So many South Africans leave our Rainbow Nation for the green green grass of your Down Under.

I have often wondered though (upon meeting many many many aussies while living in London): if Australia is so great (and it must be, you live there!:) Why do all the aussies leave to go to England/Ireland etc…?

Or is it really just a case of the grass is always greener…?

‘wee’ guy from Brussells’

i can hear that in a Scots brogue. (Darn that Taggart!)

i think you mean mannekin pis (little man peeing), and i ‘d have to agree.

Cupid has wings and a bow and this clearly is not therefore him – i blame yellow pages