"Are you still here?"

I was staring at a map of the Sydney Rail Network today - as you do.

When I first arrived in this city, most of which was totally unknown to me, what struck me was the vast amount of 'British' stations on the map. There is a Kings Cross, Sydenham, Chatswood, Epping, Chetenham, Penrith, Guildford, Lewisham, Dulwich, Liverpool - even a fucking Croydon.

Today when I looked at the map, it scared me how familiar all the places now are - and I don't mean because of their Anglo names. Because of my job - I have had media responsibility for every fire station in the metropolitan Sydney area - I really feel as if I 'know' this city.

None of the above means I'm not looking forward to moving on to warmer places at the weekend. The trip, as it were, is moving on to its next stage at exactly the right time as far as I'm concerned.

It is tempting when you come from London to compare the cities like for like, but that is actually pointless. Sydney itself is actually a relatively small place - no bigger than say Leeds. But because of the size of Australia, Sydney is classified as being more than its technical boundaries. It actually comprises an area hundreds of kilometres in height and breadth, with a population of 4.5 million encompassing many other towns - most of which are utter shit holes. It's a good job the tourists don't venture too far away from the city and the beaches here, otherwise they'd be in for a culture shock.

I will reflect more on my stay in this city in later posts. In the meantime, I am busy finishing up at work and packing my bags...