Monthly Archives: October 2017
The day Australia freezes
Every year on the first Tuesday of November, Australia inevitably falls into a slight insanity. It covers the country for 142 years, long passed directly with genes. They are waiting for this day with lust, preparing to throw out the accumulated charge of emotions in the cherished 3.5 minutes. That is how much the average takes the crown race in the races for the Melbourne Cup.
For the fifth continent, one of the most prestigious races of the world means immeasurably more than just a competition of two dozen eminent horses, whatever the prize pool. By the way, this time it amounted to a record amount of 4 million Australian dollars, or 2.2 million US dollars. This is the day of “absolute democracy”, almost permissiveness, when statuses, positions and titles cease to exist, when you can and should relax, forget about sorrows and worries, completely surrendering yourself to the power of sports excitement. Continue reading
Sydney – Walking Upside Down
“A peasant at the Australian embassy is asked: Do you have a criminal record ?, and he answered: And what, do you still need a criminal record to get an Australian visa?”
This joke has been spinning in my head all the days of my stay in Sydney. I could not understand why the British sent criminals to this oldest city in Australia, founded as far back as 1788, rather than sending the best people of the nation there? Probably something was wrong in their head then.
You can walk around Sydney for hours. A light breeze from the ocean knocks down the heat, and numerous parks and squares make it possible to lie on pure grass in broad daylight. Although the city is large, and about four million people live in it, it is somehow not felt among the abundant greenery. Continue reading