My thoughts are with Australia

[Cyberman]

I have many relatives and friends who live within 50km of these fires, and I must say, I am rather worried for them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7878123.stm

[Board Game Geek]

Austrailia really does seem to be a wretched place, and I wonder why people emigate there.

1. Virtually every creature that slithers, crawls, hops, lollops or oozes along is highly poisonous to one degree or another.

2. If anything from category 1 doesn't get you, you'll die of skin cancer instead.

3. If you manage to survive 1 and 2, well done ! Treat yourself to a nice cold beer instead. Oh wait..that's pooched as well.

It's ironic that we sent people there to die in a penal colony, and nowadays people pay to go there to die instead.

[Moscow Mule]

Austrailia really does seem to be a wretched place, and I wonder why people emigate there.

Why does anybody emigrate anywhere?

It's lovely here in "sunny all year round, low crime, low taxation, great public transport, great roads, hardly any people, great surf , great mountains" blighty.

[EternalOptimist]

Austrailia really does seem to be a wretched place, and I wonder why people emigate there.

1. Virtually every creature that slithers, crawls, hops, lollops or oozes along is highly poisonous to one degree or another.

2. If anything from category 1 doesn't get you, you'll die of skin cancer instead.

3. If you manage to survive 1 and 2, well done ! Treat yourself to a nice cold beer instead. Oh wait..that's pooched as well.

It's ironic that we sent people there to die in a penal colony, and nowadays people pay to go there to die instead.

I like it because the people have the same outlook on life that we had thirty or forty years back.

It was hard not to laugh this morning listening to a sheila sobbing on the radio. 'We lost everything. We lost the photos, our house, our car. We lost everything. The photos, we even lost the babies dummy. Oh and two neighbours were burned alive as well'

tough as heck those aussies

[Cyberman]

Austrailia really does seem to be a wretched place, and I wonder why people emigate there.

1. Virtually every creature that slithers, crawls, hops, lollops or oozes along is highly poisonous to one degree or another.

2. If anything from category 1 doesn't get you, you'll die of skin cancer instead.

3. If you manage to survive 1 and 2, well done ! Treat yourself to a nice cold beer instead. Oh wait..that's pooched as well.

It's ironic that we sent people there to die in a penal colony, and nowadays people pay to go there to die instead.

One of my uncles emigrated there in 1962, and by all accounts had a great life there until he passed away in 1992 with lung cancer through his heavy smoking. I've been there a few times and I like the country very much. If you use commonsense there is not much likelihood to be attacked be the wildlife.
They do have extremes of weather and on the first occasion I visited I was in a restaurant with about 20 relatives when the roof collapsed under the weight of hailstones and a million dollars of damage was done to the infrastructure of the medium-sized town. Another time I was there, a hurricane hit the town, destroying many trees on the farm where I was staying. My relatives always blamed me for bringing destruction with me !!

[EternalOptimist]

My relatives always blamed me for bringing destruction with me !!

<cough>
us here too

[NotAllThere]

Both the flora and fauna of the continent is extremely dangerous, as Death's Library attests. A book series known as "Dangerous Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Jellyfish, Insects, Spiders, Crustaceans, Grasses, Trees, Mosses and Lichens of Terror Incognita" extends at least into "Volume 29c Part Three", while a list of the harmless ones contains only "Some of the sheep." There are few poisonous snakes in XXXX, but the explanation for this is that "most of them have been eaten by the spiders".

[crimdon]

Both the flora and fauna of the continent is extremely dangerous, as Death's Library attests. A book series known as "Dangerous Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Jellyfish, Insects, Spiders, Crustaceans, Grasses, Trees, Mosses and Lichens of Terror Incognita" extends at least into "Volume 29c Part Three", while a list of the harmless ones contains only "Some of the sheep." There are few poisonous snakes in XXXX, but the explanation for this is that "most of them have been eaten by the spiders".

They say the heat and the flies here can drive a man insane. But you don't have to believe that, and nor does that bright mauve elephant that just cycled past.

[expat]

Why does anybody emigrate anywhere?

It's lovely here in "sunny all year round, low crime, low taxation, great public transport, great roads, hardly any people, great surf , great mountains" blighty.

Actually on reflection, I think we beat Oz for mountains. Oh well.

[Board Game Geek]

Actually on reflection, I think we beat Oz for mountains

I don't if Oz has any mountains, never having being there, but I have seen a picture of a big flat one in the middle.