Via Wagga Wagga To Canberra. By Uncle Monty.

Via Wagga Wagga To Canberra.

Story By Uncle Monty.

Photos By Alex Albion.

***

To journey across the territories

of Victoria and New South Wales

(NSW) for almost 10 hours to arrive

at the Australian Capital Territory

(ACT) of Canberra, I was amazed to

find the landscape reminded me so

much of the American Prairieland.

Indeed, if I didn't know I was actually

in Oz, I'd swear under oath that I was

back in America just by the sheer

landscape itself.

***

Beyond that, I have now spent some time

at both the Old (shown above) and New

Parliament Houses at Canberra. The folkz

here aren't so open and friendly that I have

found Aussies elsewhere to be in Australia.

The localz of Canberra don't even look at

you let alone offer you a nice word to say.

Though, such wasn't true with Carl Fromnel,

the New Parliament House's Police Service

Protection Officer, who couldn't have been

more open and friendly to me when we en-

countered each other while I was photograph-

ing the Australian Parliament from all of its

various angles. With his broad smile and

strong handshake, Carl was like most Aussies

that I have had the pleasure to meet. I've

found them to be helpful and not just friendly

and outgoing. They're gnerally pretty laid

back and casual and show little coldness or

suspicion toward strangers and visitors.

Canberra seems to be the exception ...

***

While here in Canberra - with no

skyscrapers like Melbourne and

Sydney - I visited the Archbishop's

House on Commonwealth Avenue at

where a number of embassies or High

Commissions are also located. My aim

in visiting Archbishop Mark Coleridge's

archiepiscopal residence was to meet

him personally and to also get some

upfront photographs of him, if he

granted me his personal permission to

do so. Regretably for me, there was no

sign of the Australian Prince of the Holy

Catholic Church nor any sign of his

staff or any vehicles in the driveway

I waited for awhile in the hope that

someone would appear at the 6-feet

high locked black iron gates so that

I could find out if the archbishop

was home or otherwise indisposed.

Nobody appeared at the gates with the

Episcopal Coat-of-Arms mounted on

both the front and back entrance gates

of his lovely white-painted residence. I

spent, in any event, a good time getting

some upclose shot of the Archbishop's

House itself, which I may included here

once I am able to upload my shots ..

***

Later I also photographed the British High

Commission that was like a complete gated-

community in which the Britsh diplomatic

staff there seemed to be under lock and key

in which the public had no access beyond

the side door. At the New Zealand and

Canadian High Commissions, located

next door and next door but one to the

Pommies, there was little evidence of

being under siege with their open access

unlike the Brits who seemed to be suffer-

ing from a "Seizure Mentality" toward

the general public. I found the same

mentality at South Africa's Pretoria when

I visited the British High Commission

there after being robbed by a street

gang at Johannesburg; and at our

embassy at Washington, D.C., too.

***

"Downtown" Canberra is hardly one to

speak of. There is a plainness and flatness

about the capital city of Australia to me.

It's dull, too, with the exception of the Parl-

iamentary Zone. I was unable to get to see

the famed Australian War Memorial due

to time constrains while staying at Can-

berra before going onto Adelaide some

800 miles away. I'll be visiting with Carl

and Mryna Hancock at nearby Adelaide

Hills. They're Welsh by birth, but they

moved some years ago to Oz to be with

their daughter after Carl retired as a prep

school housemaster at Kenya. His first book

was published this year entitled "Angel

Over Africa," of which Carl gave me a love-

ly autographed copy to read and keep.

I first met them at my Big Issue pitch

at London's Covent Garden. I'm looking

forward to us getting together again on

the other side of the world from my pitch.

***

And talking of my pitch, I still have

yet to see a Aussie Big Issue vendor

selling on the streets of Melbourne or

here at the capital city of Australia.

Perhaps, I'll finally will see such street

vendors at the opening of the 6th

World Homeless Cup next Monday.

I hope so. Another thing, I've yet to

see my first kangroo. Not a one have

I seen thus far in almost a week here.

I did, however, see my first camels

near a town called Yass in New South

Wales. Yes, camels but no kangaroos.

The camel trade is a growing Aussie

export business at where they're

sold and shipped to Saudi Arabia and

the Middle East because Australian

camels are not totally inbred like many

camels are in the their native Arabian

habitat.

***

I'm getting a deep sun burn already

with the daylight beginning just before

5:00am and sunset just after 8:00pm.

So the dayz here are full of 15 hours of

welcome sunlight to me and I assume,

too, for the local folkz of Oz.

***

My only real sour note at Canberra

was at the local Lan Games and Inter-

net Cafe called "The Barracks" at the

corner of Verity Lane and Alinga Street.

What they did was pulled the plug on

my computer without warning me that

my time was up and thus I lost all the

data to this online story of mine called

"Via Wagga Wagga To Canberra." I was

forced to re-do my story from memory

when I got back to Melbourne this morning.

I walked out in disgust at their bastard

business attitude, especially after I was

first assured I would simply be charged

for whatever time I used beyond my first

AUS$8 - 4 quid - of use. Instead, they

pulled the plug without any time warning.

It is easy to lose track of precise time when

you're writing your blog for your growing

readership like mine. "The Barracks"

was packed with 'puter gamesterz and

the place was like a loud drinking bar

with screams and laughter from the

punk-type crowd that was beyond rea-

son. Every minute or so, they'd scream

more and more like lunatics at some

game score or other of their's. If you

ever arrive at Canberra, be sure to

NOT patronize such a cold and greedy

business like "The Barracks." I was al-

most going to ask them to refund my

money, but I realised I was out num-

bered anyway. One of the guyz did say

"sorry," but I told him "Sorry doesn't

cut it mate," and I stormed out of the

bloody rip-off place.

***

As for the homeless of Canberra, I did

see the big white truck of "Vinnies Night

Patrol" that feeds the capital city home-

less on the streets every night with their

Soup Kitchen or Tea Runs. That's the

closest I've gotten so far to the Australian

homeless, since I've seen no begging on

the streets or Aussie Big Issue vendors.

***
Although Christmas is just around the

corner, I see fairly subdued displays

of Christmastide here. When I was in

Iran's Shiite last Christmas, I think

ironically there was more elaborate

Christmas shop window displays than what

I have seen so far in Canberra or Melbourne.

Perhaps next at Adelaide - The City of

Churches - I'll see alot more of the Christmas

Spirit there than I have so far in Victoria

and New South Wales. Adelaide is in the

territory of South Australia, by the way.

***

I'm trying to think if I have missed telling

you something else about my wonderful

trip, but for now I'll just close my story

line since I need to get elsewhere pretty

fast after having a great Aussie breakfast

at Sam Serhan's 3FOUR2 upon my arrival

back to Melbourne at 6:15 this morning ...

***

Take care everybody, Uncle Monty.

+Santa Maria, 2oo8.

***

Dear Monty,
Thank you for your second e-mail. I would have

replied yesterday but the machine kept telling me

that I was making some error which it did not explain.

We look forward to the phone contact (from you.).

You certainly get about. We have never been to

Canberra. But we have seen kangaroos, two this

morning looking out at us over a fence close by this

place. 'The World Homeless Games'. Sounds amazing.

I hope it gets a lot of coverage. Are the media up to it.

Perhaps they are getting coverage but just haven't

seen/read it. Coach to Adelaide, sounds tough going

to me but I lack the adventurous spirit of you,

Monty. Best wishes for now -and good luck!
Carl and Myrna (of Adelaide Hills). I'll shortly be

visiting with them after my 12 hour or so drive

to Adelaide from here at Melbourne).

Nov. 28th, 2008.

<.>