Growing up in Northern Ireland and hearing of far away places was a normal part of my childhood. Looking at far flung countries in an atlas or a globe in geography was fascinating to me. I remember in P2 a girl left our class to emigrate to Australia- the other side of the world.
I knew that at the time of the ‘ten pound pomms’ my father had ambitions to emigrate to Australia as his best friend had but my mother didn’t want to leave her mother and so it didn’t happen. If he had left then Australia is where I would have been born. How different my life would have been I don’t know.
Today I had the fabulous experience of sailing into Sydney in Australia on a cruise ship. At sunrise the city was glittering in the distance. Then as the ship rounded a peninsula the world famous Opera House and Harbour bridge came into view. (pic)
How fortunate I am to get paid to be here. See places that I only ever dreamed about visiting. Down under. Walking around this city is perfect. Busy but not bustling. Relaxed and no rush. It’s the Australian way of life and for the next two days I’m going to enjoy being in the city I’ve always heard about.
