AUSTRALIA DAY

The 26th of January. This is just an excuse for every Australian to drink and barbecue all day. And for every non-Australian to either scoff and go about their normal business for a while and then join in the fun, or (as I did), throw on a giant flag and celebrate as if they were as Australian as can be.

So for 24 hours I was as Australian as can be. We went to a friend's friend's house at around 11 a.m., the eskies were opened and out came the first beers. Within half an hour everyone had been thrown into the pool at least once and we were well into a game of beer-cricket with the meat grilling in the distance. There was also a wrestling casualty, a broken pinky which was quickly first-aided (by me) with a skewer. By 7 p.m. nobody was in any kind of state to drive so we caught a bus to the river front to watch the fireworks, wearing flags and chanting Aussie Aussie Aussie! OY OY OY! with the rest of Perth. After the fireworks, we made our way home with many a stop at petrol stations for pit stops and feeds, and somehow all ended up at the same house, which was quite a miracle. A couple more beers to finish up Australia Day as it was meant to be celebrated!