I love the winter in Australia. It is just mild enough that all you need is a light jacket most days but cool enough that cuddling up next to a roaring fire is not an unreasonable activity. Rather like the British summer.
As an aside, I was listening to a podcast of the daily news on BBC’s Radio 4 and there was much unsettled discussion of the heat wave plaguing the south of England. Temperatures predicted to soar to a blistering 32°C (90°F). Now admittedly, this is warm for a city like London, but they had a guy who had spent time exploring the Sahara to offer advice on how to cope with the heat.
The high in Adelaide over the summer? 45°C (113°F). I’ve got your Sahara right here.
I felt hot in Oxford exactly once. The first summer we were there, there were a couple of days in July in which the thermometer breached the mid 30’s and with no A/C and a fair bit of humidity, I think I broke a sweat. Once. In nearly four years. 
Right, the Australian winter. That’s what I’m talking about. Yesterday was my weekly stay-at-home-dad day. I can’t stand actually staying at home on these days and having the boy tear the house down, so despite stormy conditions we headed out to our favorite little hideaway/playground. Barreled up into the hills east of the city. The further up we got, the worse the weather got – horizontal rain, pea soup fog. There is something exhilirating in the vertigo of rounding a sharp corner - looking out of the car window and seeing that you are surrounded by a misty void – nothing in front of you, a rocky hillock to the right and a long drop of nothing to the left.
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As a footnote, Dr. O’C thinks I dress our son like a “redneck/chav/bogan”. (These are synonymous for those of you not fluent in multiple English dialects). Could you all please tell her that she’s wrong? Thanks.
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I’m in the midst of a passionate musical affair with Eels. They’re one of those bands that has always just been simmering below the surface for me and in the last few days I’ve gotten it. They’ve got a new full-length, “Hombre Lobo” out (
), but it is “Electro-Shock Blues Show” that has been turning my crank lately. Buy it from .
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by Jacob
02 Jul 2009 at 12:14
I don’t see anything wrong with the way you dress the kid, but then I am a male raised in more or less the same area you were, so my expectations of what a toddler should dress like is probably going to be written off by Dr. O’C as just as bad as yours. Not sure I can help then.
Jacob´s last blog ..This Is Awesome
by Jacob
02 Jul 2009 at 12:15
And I love that photos of the emus in the mist.
Jacob´s last blog ..This Is Awesome
by ZenMom
02 Jul 2009 at 12:28
Those are great photos. Did he try to lick any kangaroos today? Oh, and, for the record, I think he looks adorable in his little cuffed jeans. But I have a lot of rednecks in my distant family, so you might not want to go by me.
ZenMom´s last blog ..Fun with Google
by NATUI
02 Jul 2009 at 13:52
If you survived summers in Athens, you are inoculated against the heat for life.
NATUI´s last blog ..Why Reality TV Works
by Nichole
02 Jul 2009 at 13:55
He just looks like a tiny American.
Nichole´s last blog ..A sonic shoulder to cry on
by Dr O'C
02 Jul 2009 at 14:26
I don’t think you do all the time, just the scary plastic bulldogs tracksuit jacket. I mean you couldn’t dress him poorly with all the other clothes he has because me and my family have awesome taste in boys clothes and there is nothing there that is crap to chose from:)
by Dr O'C
02 Jul 2009 at 14:29
You should make some of the photos you took into blog banners.
by heather
02 Jul 2009 at 15:00
My husband can’t dress the children either.
I just posted some Eels pre-arrival.
heather´s last blog ..Here I Dreamt I Was a Statistician
by Theresa B
02 Jul 2009 at 15:50
Hm, I thought you were going for the “Canadian trucker” look. My mistake.
It was 107 F here over the weekend. Opening the patio door felt like opening the oven door. Miserable.
Theresa B´s last blog ..Bawk, bawk, bawk….Charge!
by Jamie
02 Jul 2009 at 16:57
Well, of course, if you are dressing him in Georgia red and black (can you wear anything but plastic tracksuits at UGA?) he is going to look like a mouth-breathing dirt-foot hillperson. But it sounds like Dr. O’C limits his exposure to such attire, so the damage should be limited.
by arizaphale
02 Jul 2009 at 17:29
I will remain diplomatic on the clothes issue and withold comment. As for the photos….coool! I’ve never been up there when it’s misty!
by Dr O'C
02 Jul 2009 at 17:42
Jamie, Chris holds out hope that Zach will one day be a Georgia alum as well. I thought moving to a different hemisphere put a nail in that coffin, but apparently not!
by Florida Girl in Sydney
02 Jul 2009 at 20:35
I don’t see the redneck examples anywhere here– but I can say that my husband cannot dress our kids– luckily they’ve started picking their own clothes out (they do a far better job than he does:).
And similarly to what Mrs. OC said– with the choice of clothes in their closets you wonder how they can end up looking so insane when the daddy gets em dressed– it’s baffling.
Florida Girl in Sydney´s last blog ..Two Year Expativersary
by Joe
02 Jul 2009 at 20:46
I tend to think he looks more like the Georgia Bulldogs’ biggest (or littlest) fan. Not so much anymore though. Either you aren’t dressing him up in Dawg gear everyday, or you’re just not taking pictures of it… or maybe I’ve just become numb to it and don’t even notice anymore.
Joe´s last blog ..My life, or part of it at least
by kitty
02 Jul 2009 at 21:10
Sorry Chris, I’m with the good doctor. But then again I don’t think worrying what kids wear is particularly important. On the other hand you should see how I present myself when I’m out in public, so maybe instilling some good habits when they’re wee is important.
There have been some wonderfully foggy days recently.
kitty´s last blog ..11-20
by The Unbearable Baishment
02 Jul 2009 at 21:14
It’s all relative. Remember, you’ve suffered the thick, oppressive, summers of Georgia. I was offered a job in Atlanta many years ago and turned it down because I didn’t think I could survive the summer. Or kudzu.
The Unbearable Baishment´s last blog ..the magical world of bobzyeruncle
by Agnes
02 Jul 2009 at 22:26
Gorgeous pics. And Z doesn’t look like a bogan – he needs a rat’s tail and a puffy Eminem jacket before he’s deserving of such a title.
by Jan
02 Jul 2009 at 22:29
I grew up in Dallas, Texas. Six weeks of 100+ temps every summer. I get tickled to death when these Ohioans start complaining about how horribly hot 85 degrees is.
Of course, they laugh at me when I turn blue the minute the temperature drops below 40 in the fall. I think it’s safe to say I will NEVER learn to cope well with winter here.
If your wife thinks you dress your son like a redneck, y’all just need to drive through the Appalachians in West Virginia some time. The scenery is gorgeous; the people dress like the cast from Deliverance.
Jan´s last blog ..It’s Not All Poison Apples
by Nathan B.
02 Jul 2009 at 23:13
Love the Eels…and Dr. O’C, be thankful that AFM doesn’t have to dress Z in some obnoxious orange color that just preps him for a life behind bars.
by My Name's Not Barbara
02 Jul 2009 at 23:20
I love Boy Z’s black circle shirt from the Blackbird post. He’s very hip. And heck, if a bulldog tracksuit is what it takes to ward off the Australian mist, so be it!
by JChevais
02 Jul 2009 at 23:48
Alberta, Canada is totally redneck territory. Your little fellow does not look like a redneck.
I’d have to see him from the front to see if he looked like a roughneck. He could, but he’s a little too small for crude oil sands…
JChevais´s last blog ..Life is a Hella Crazy
by Coal Miner's Granddaughter
03 Jul 2009 at 04:55
I just love the cool fall and spring morning at my in-law’s home in the north Georgia mountains for the very same reason. Misty and above the clouds.
And no, you don’t dress Boy Z like a redneck. Not in my humble opinion.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter´s last blog ..Fertile Left-Overs
by courtney
03 Jul 2009 at 06:56
A Free Man, the sooner you realize that dressing in U(sic)GA red and black is just an invitation to redneckitude, the better off you’ll all be.
I’m with Jamie — let Dr. O’C be in charge of the clothing and maybe the boy will be less scarred.
courtney´s last blog ..Now With Unprecedented Levels of High School Loserdom
by admin
03 Jul 2009 at 12:59
Jacob – I’ve just discovered that you are the enemy. An honorary member of the Nerd Herd. I’m not sure we can be friends anymore.
Zen Mom – No, but he nearly caught a potoroo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoroo
NATUI – True, I’ve never been hotter than living in north Georgia without A/C.
Nichole – He is a tiny American!
Dr. O’C – I’m pretty sure it isn’t plastic.
Heather – What are you implying?
Theresa – I’m pretty sure that Canadian trucker is synonymous with the other three.
Jamie – At least he’s not wearing jorts and a stupid, smug grin.
Ariza – Membership has its privileges. We can go up there for an hour or so and the weather doesn’t matter. I’ve never seen Cleland prettier (and emptier) than it was the other day.
Dr. O’C – No way, he’s going to Oxford (or ANU as a backup). But he will be a Dawg at heart.
A Free Man´s last blog ..And where the hell do the days go? There’s another one sneaking away.
by admin
03 Jul 2009 at 13:13
FGIS – That’s because we’re less fascistic and let them pick out their own clothes sometimes!
Joe – We’re saving most of the Dawg gear for the football season.
Kitty – It’s a wonderful change from the bone dry summer!
TUN – What’s wrong with kudzu? Kudzu’s awesome. Won’t get you unless you sit realllly still.
Agnes – As long as I have breath in my lungs and a pair of scissors that boy will never wear a rat tail.
Jan – Or south Georgia.
Nathan – No doubt, my man.
Not Barbara – Thanks for that, though Dr. O’C picked out the circle shirt.
JChev – He may be a bit of a rough neck.
CMGD – I’ve got Misty Mountain Hop in my head now.
Courtney – I’m about sick of this jealousy from you fans of lesser teams. I know it’s tough to be a Techie, but go pick on a Duke fan or something.
by HereInFranklin
04 Jul 2009 at 02:58
I just got back from two weeks in Northern England and I must say that summer is a little confusing there. Here, I know exactly what to wear in July–as little as possible. But there, everyday was a conundrum–shirt and fleece? Shirt and sweater? Shirt and rain gear? Sweater and rain gear? The possibilities are endless. And confusing.
HereInFranklin´s last blog ..Getting out of your comfort zone
by blues
04 Jul 2009 at 05:28
I love the winter and I’m jealous because right now here it’s sweltering heat and I just can’t get away from it. There’s no A/C in my kitchen which makes it impossible to even go in there.
blues´s last blog ..The story of Huta
by Jill/Twipply Skwood
06 Jul 2009 at 00:37
Or like fall in Vermont. It was 106 here yesterday. And of course, we spent the entire day outside…
I thought rednecks went more for ball caps then those cute little sunhats you always have him in?
Jill/Twipply Skwood´s last blog ..Sorry Folks, but Debbie Makes the Rules at our House…apparently…
by Angel
07 Jul 2009 at 23:23
You posts this stuff, and it makes me want to visit there more and more. I actually did a bit of research a few days ago on exactly what jobs our various degrees might qualify the two of us for there and England.
I think boy Z looks fine!
Angel´s last blog ..Tuesday mornings are meant to be taken slowly
by SSG
07 Jul 2009 at 23:39
dude, i’ve been having fever in 30 degrees and when you’re not used to it, that’s HOT. it’s also humid, which sucks. And the houses are built to keep the heat in. Anyways, I always found it funny when people down here get the brollies out and stay in doors because it’s “raining”. Coming from one of the wettest places in Europe there are multiple types of rain, and hardly any that would make you stay inside. And brollies? useless. Against real rain anyways.
Yeah I remember heat waves as a child, and I think the media is crap here and anything they can get the public into a frenzy about the better. Hello? It was a bit hotter than usual. People wore less clothes and drank more water. The media goes all “people are DYING” and it’s a bit stupid. Where did the stiff upper lip go?
SSG´s last blog ..hello again