Anzac Day

Wednesday 25 April was Anzac Day, which is the equivalent here of our Remembrance Sunday.

The big difference in Australia is that you get an extra day off work for it. This is the country with the most public holidays in the world, after all.

It was really weird having a day off in the middle of the week, and not actually as enjoyable as it sounds. My body starts from a point of disrepair at the beginning of the week, before gradually improving after 'normal' nights of non drinking and good nights' sleep. Sticking the equivalent of a Saturday night on a Tuesday interferes with this process somewhat, and also turns Thursday into a Monday. Or something like that.

Anzac Day has all the pomp and pomposity that you would expect from a day about wars. The big difference here is that everyone goes to the pub all day and plays 'two up', which is basically playing 'heads or tails' with somebody for money and was apparently popular with Aussie and Kiwi troops during the First World War. To be fair, I don't suppose there was much else to do...

Anyway, you have to give credit where it's due. Whether you agree with these kinds of events or not, at least the Australians do it properly and make a day of it. Consider the annual charade that is Remembrance Sunday. The overwhelming majority of people who do wear a poppy think they are making some fantastic patriotic statement of gratitude to the war dead, when in fact all they have actually done is put 5p in a collector's tin outside WhSmith and attached a small piece of red and green paper to their coat. Next time this silly season comes around remember to have a look out for people who wear their poppies earlier than most others - they are invariably the most objectionable people you know/work with.