ANZAC Day 2008

Aussies, you have to say rightly in spite of the, at best, mixed emotions we have about military service, make a big deal every year for their veterans and those currently in the armed forces.

The big pay-off for us was another public holiday. In NSW at least they get a bit greedy and take most of their bank holidays by April. We've had about 5 so far this year and we reckon it's maybe October before the next one. Foolish if you ask us although there's World Youth Day this year where hundreds of thousands of 'pilgrims' will descend on Sydney to see the Pope, choking up the transport system making it impossible for an honest Joe or Jane to get to work.

On ANZAC morning they have dawn services all round the country, the commitment that getting up at 4am shows is pretty special, it'd be unheard of back home. They even went so far as to recreate Gallipoli beach on the Gold Coast complete with a big mountain of sand an everything. These guys don't do things by half measures. Thousands of ANZAC fans, loads young barely out of school, even made the trek to Turkey and France to mark the occasion.

In residence at the Gold Coast ceremony was Australia's most patriotic and therefore best musician John Williamson (not to be confused with the Oscar winning film music composer John Williams, Chris would not be happy.) He did some favourites like Waltzing Matilda that went down a treat and also dropped a little nationalist gem True Blue containing some tremendous lyrics such as those which ponder if a cockatoo is in fact 'true blue', check the video out below it's well...dreadful (note how the only non-white face appears in the last few seconds.) Dreadful though it may be it does depict a side of Australia that we're curious about and hope to experience during our travels: the outback spirit, small towns, inhospitable vast land, mateship, sheep-shearing and all that.