Winter?

On Friday (June 1), Australia officially moved into winter.

I had to help organise a press conference related to this, in which ministers from the NSW Government would warn of the dangers of house fires during the colder months. You would have thought bushfires were the biggest threat to life and property down under, but that's not actually the case. Basically, because most homes here are not fitted with standard central heating systems that you or I would have at home, Aussies are reliant on crappy little portable heaters to keep them warm for the brief periods of the year when it gets chilly. And these are invariably a bit of a fire hazard. Particularly when you dry clothes on them, which seems to be a rather unadvisable habit out here.

So, the press conference was held and two ministers help up dodgy looking heaters and electric blankets. "It's freezing outside," proclaimed one of them. "Stay safe this winter!" A noble message, but it was 19 degrees outside. Watching Aussies behave in conditions that are perfectly normal to the rest of the world is highly amusing. The British in them comes out, they all complain about how cold it is and start wearing absurdly over the top clothing. But it is only marginally colder here than it is in the UK at the start of summer...

On Saturday I took a boat trip to Watsons Bay, a very wealthy retreat where the houses are jaw droppingly amazing. It was a gorgeous day, without a cloud in the sky and the temperature around 20 degrees. Families sun bathed on the beach and swam in the sea. And this is supposed to be 'winter'!

I will, however, be glad to leave Sydney in two weeks time and move north to hotter temperatures for a while. I'll also be glad to leave generally. I feel as if I have reached the end of my stay in the city and that I am hanging around somewhat. It is a fantastic, amazing place that I will never forget, but I feel as if I need to get on with the 'holiday' side of this trip now.

Part of this feeling has been caused by a particularly unpleasant break down in relations between me and Tom, who I had been seeing out here. I will not go into details. Suffice to say we had what might be diplomatically described as a difference of opinion over certain issues, and I decided that we shouldn't see each other any more. He will not be accompanying me to Cairns when I fly there in two weeks.

This has principally been my decision, and largely stems from the fact I do not want to carry on having a fictitious 'relationship' with someone I am likely to never see again as of a few weeks' time. It is rather more complicated than that and not my fault, but there you go.

Anyway, one of the consequences of this has been I am now persona non grata amongst his friends. Not quite how I envisaged leaving Sydney, but such is life.

Went on a tour of the Opera House on Sunday. It is a curious place in many respects. It looks best when set against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and the sparkling water, but inside it is slightly reminiscent of a 1970s car park. Its design is truly unique and iconic - it is actually two buildings, a stone exterior with wooden theatres inside. But there really is little you can say that is positive about its interior, other than the view ain't half bad across the harbour.

The Opera House was such a complicated design to build it actually took 14 years to complete - at a cost of more than $100 million. That's not an insignificant amount for a project commissioned in 1955. Puts Wembley into perspective, eh?