I'm going to gloat right now.
- Thread starter Abbey
- Start date
Marguerite
Active Member
Actually, the first time our friend from Philadelphia visited with us (he was billeted for a week) we had a barbecue for him and were sitting around the fire afterwards discussing poetry. husband was telling him about Australian bush poetry and to illustrate a point, he (husband) took the book of Australian bush poetry down from the shelf and read aloud "The Man From Snowy River", which is for Aussies like reading Woody Guthrie and Walt Whitman combined. It sounds best when read with a male Aussie accent.
http://www.mountainman.com.au/mansnowy.html
It's also worth noting that in the beginning of the poem, he's a boy, unregarded. At the end of the poem, the label has changed - he's the MAN from Snowy River.
husband has a good bass baritone speaking voice. He reads well.
I also read poetry well. I grew up having been trained to speak "educated Australian" - think Cate Blanchett or Naomi Watts. However, I've worked among blue-collar males enough to absorb the accent and have to use it to slip below their radar. My previously posh accent got very rough and "ocker" (Paul Hogan, Russell Crow or Eric Bana). Over the years since I left work I've moved back to my previous more formal accent, but when I need to/want to, I can slip into broad "Strine". I've actually been talking to husband about maybe finding out about doing voiceover work. I've done unpaid voiceover as well as public speaking.
Maybe husband & I need to do some readings for you, of our best Aussie bush ballads. It would be fun!
Then you wouldn't need to put the hard word on stray Aussie tourists!
Marg
http://www.mountainman.com.au/mansnowy.html
It's also worth noting that in the beginning of the poem, he's a boy, unregarded. At the end of the poem, the label has changed - he's the MAN from Snowy River.
husband has a good bass baritone speaking voice. He reads well.
I also read poetry well. I grew up having been trained to speak "educated Australian" - think Cate Blanchett or Naomi Watts. However, I've worked among blue-collar males enough to absorb the accent and have to use it to slip below their radar. My previously posh accent got very rough and "ocker" (Paul Hogan, Russell Crow or Eric Bana). Over the years since I left work I've moved back to my previous more formal accent, but when I need to/want to, I can slip into broad "Strine". I've actually been talking to husband about maybe finding out about doing voiceover work. I've done unpaid voiceover as well as public speaking.
Maybe husband & I need to do some readings for you, of our best Aussie bush ballads. It would be fun!
Then you wouldn't need to put the hard word on stray Aussie tourists!
Marg
Abbey, Are you sure you want to switch positions? Ask him to come iin the middle of your shift. His voice will get you through anything.
How to do that? While scanning his groceries, take one thing away that looks like he will need the meal of your next shift. He will have to come back to get it.
Wasn't it a little too soon to mention the husband?
I hope it didn't scare him too far away, we need more stories. 
How to do that? While scanning his groceries, take one thing away that looks like he will need the meal of your next shift. He will have to come back to get it.
Wasn't it a little too soon to mention the husband?
I hope it didn't scare him too far away, we need more stories. 
amazeofgrace
A maze of Grace - that about sums it up
what ever you do do not watch the movie Unfaithful! LOL
Abbey
Spork Queen
Oh, GEEZ!!! How do you know what Cougar means??? I only know because my daughter informed me after a night of playing beer pong with her friends, and I was NOT on the prowl. NO. I am not a Cougar. I like them old and seasoned. A little bit of hippy hair is a nice added touch. Ok...I digress.
Sigh...
Abbey
Sigh...
Abbey
Marguerite
Active Member
Sounds like a harmless flirt to me. Some Aussie blokes are like this - very informal, just being friendly, wanting friends more than anything else.
The way to handle it - sass him back. He's probably just as fascinated with your accent. You probably "made the mistake" of being friendly to him. I'd be curious as to how long he's been in the US.
I know you would consider yourselves to be a friendly, welcoming people, but it IS different, from what family and friends have told us. We also get visitors from the US coming here and commenting on how open Aussies are to each other. OUr Philly friends who stayed with us over Easter - we took them for a drive into the Southern Highlands, farming country (with the emphasis on COUNTRY). husband & I grew up mostly in the city (or outskirts) from farming stock, so we understand country folk. Not that there's much different to understand - only those completely absorbed into inner city life are likely to be nervous and insular. On our drive we saw a village fete and stopped to check it out (our friends were antique-hunting). As we walked around the various craft tables husband & I talked to various stallholders, chatted to other customers (as we're used to doing) and asked about the village. People chatted back, as they do here, it was very laid-back and friendly.
As we were leaving, a couple of other villagers were also heading homewards (in the usual leisurely pace of weekend village life) and called out "hooroo" to us.
My Philly friend turned to me and said, "So you've bumped into someone you know?"
I said, "No, she's just someone I was chatting to near the second-hand books."
Another bloke left, waved to us as we drove off. By this stage they knew where we were from, knew where our friends were from, had told us about their garden pests and the wife's pesky relatives, knew we were in search of antiques - but really didn't want to be nosy. They were just typical friendlies.
And that really is what we are like. It's typical, especially in country areas or even in city outskirts. As I said, only the most workaholic of central city dwellers/workers is insular.
People were amazed at how welcoming Sydneysiders were during World Youth Day - let me tell you, A lot of Sydney residents were NOT happy about it. That was Sydney, NOT being particularly welcoming. That was just us, being normal, not going to any trouble.
The Olympics 2000 - THAT was us being welcoming!
And Sydney is more insular than just about any other Aussie city except maybe Melbourne.
So depending on where your mate is from, and how long he's been there - I'd say you were friendly to him in a way that felt familiar. He's probably homesick. If your husband turned up at work one day, this bloke would shake him by the hand and congratulate him.
So think up some gentle "country boy" insults, maybe some Down Under comments and deliver them with a grin. If he objects, tell him you got advice from another Aussie on how to make him feel at home.
Marg
The way to handle it - sass him back. He's probably just as fascinated with your accent. You probably "made the mistake" of being friendly to him. I'd be curious as to how long he's been in the US.
I know you would consider yourselves to be a friendly, welcoming people, but it IS different, from what family and friends have told us. We also get visitors from the US coming here and commenting on how open Aussies are to each other. OUr Philly friends who stayed with us over Easter - we took them for a drive into the Southern Highlands, farming country (with the emphasis on COUNTRY). husband & I grew up mostly in the city (or outskirts) from farming stock, so we understand country folk. Not that there's much different to understand - only those completely absorbed into inner city life are likely to be nervous and insular. On our drive we saw a village fete and stopped to check it out (our friends were antique-hunting). As we walked around the various craft tables husband & I talked to various stallholders, chatted to other customers (as we're used to doing) and asked about the village. People chatted back, as they do here, it was very laid-back and friendly.
As we were leaving, a couple of other villagers were also heading homewards (in the usual leisurely pace of weekend village life) and called out "hooroo" to us.
My Philly friend turned to me and said, "So you've bumped into someone you know?"
I said, "No, she's just someone I was chatting to near the second-hand books."
Another bloke left, waved to us as we drove off. By this stage they knew where we were from, knew where our friends were from, had told us about their garden pests and the wife's pesky relatives, knew we were in search of antiques - but really didn't want to be nosy. They were just typical friendlies.
And that really is what we are like. It's typical, especially in country areas or even in city outskirts. As I said, only the most workaholic of central city dwellers/workers is insular.
People were amazed at how welcoming Sydneysiders were during World Youth Day - let me tell you, A lot of Sydney residents were NOT happy about it. That was Sydney, NOT being particularly welcoming. That was just us, being normal, not going to any trouble.
The Olympics 2000 - THAT was us being welcoming!
And Sydney is more insular than just about any other Aussie city except maybe Melbourne.
So depending on where your mate is from, and how long he's been there - I'd say you were friendly to him in a way that felt familiar. He's probably homesick. If your husband turned up at work one day, this bloke would shake him by the hand and congratulate him.
So think up some gentle "country boy" insults, maybe some Down Under comments and deliver them with a grin. If he objects, tell him you got advice from another Aussie on how to make him feel at home.
Marg
Abbey
Spork Queen
That's great, Marg. I don't really know anything about him because we've never chatted other than the 30 seconds he goes through my line each day, but he seems like a genuinely nice person...kind of shy. How an Aussie ended up in WI is beyond me.
I went to Sydney and Melbourne, geez...got to be 20+ years ago for 3 days while enroute to Papua New Guinea. (Long story why, but it was work related. Don't think I want to go back.) Very lovely place and people. I can't remember the name of it, but I visited a bird sanctuary where there were hundreds of lorikeets flying around, landing on you to get a treat.
Abbey
I went to Sydney and Melbourne, geez...got to be 20+ years ago for 3 days while enroute to Papua New Guinea. (Long story why, but it was work related. Don't think I want to go back.) Very lovely place and people. I can't remember the name of it, but I visited a bird sanctuary where there were hundreds of lorikeets flying around, landing on you to get a treat.
Abbey
Marguerite
Active Member
The bird sanctuary sounds like Currumbin. It's famous for it. But it's up on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane on the border of Queensland and New South Wales.
Currumbin still has a lot of lorikeets but there's a few other tourist places there including a caravan park, and they've 'stolen' a lot of the lorikeets, they get sidetracked. We were in Currumbin six years ago with the kids.
Does this look familiar?
http://www.pbase.com/scapes_photography/image/55707546
Our next door neighbour puts out bowls of water for the lorikeets - every morning and every evening, it's like Currumbin outside our back door. The budgies hear the lorikeets and it drives them crazy - they want to go play with them. But the lorikeets would tear the budgies to pieces if they ever got out.
The lorikeets love to play in water, they're amazing to watch. The various sanctuaries use a special lorikeet mix that mixes up like baby cereal into a sort of runny porridge. We've got a packet of the stuff, sometimes we might decide to feed them (if we have friends visiting from overseas, for example) and we stand outside with a dish of this gruel and a big bowl of water. Yes, these are wild birds (like they are at Currumbin) but they're tarts for gruel and fresh water.
With your new Aussie mate, ask him if he recites Aussie bush ballads. Aside form "Man From Snowy River" another good favourite is "Clancy of the Overflow" or "Man From Ironbark " (which is hilarious). These three poems are all by Banjo Patterson.
If he does, you are in for a treat - a good Aussie bush ballad, read by a typical Aussie bloke - that's what they were written for. If you love Aussie accents, you're in for a real treat. And if he wants to do something with this, he should check out the folk club groups in the area, he will make a lot of new friends. It's easy to download these poems online, you just type in a line of text between double quote marks, pop it into Google and you should get the full poem really easily.
Marg
Currumbin still has a lot of lorikeets but there's a few other tourist places there including a caravan park, and they've 'stolen' a lot of the lorikeets, they get sidetracked. We were in Currumbin six years ago with the kids.
Does this look familiar?
http://www.pbase.com/scapes_photography/image/55707546
Our next door neighbour puts out bowls of water for the lorikeets - every morning and every evening, it's like Currumbin outside our back door. The budgies hear the lorikeets and it drives them crazy - they want to go play with them. But the lorikeets would tear the budgies to pieces if they ever got out.
The lorikeets love to play in water, they're amazing to watch. The various sanctuaries use a special lorikeet mix that mixes up like baby cereal into a sort of runny porridge. We've got a packet of the stuff, sometimes we might decide to feed them (if we have friends visiting from overseas, for example) and we stand outside with a dish of this gruel and a big bowl of water. Yes, these are wild birds (like they are at Currumbin) but they're tarts for gruel and fresh water.
With your new Aussie mate, ask him if he recites Aussie bush ballads. Aside form "Man From Snowy River" another good favourite is "Clancy of the Overflow" or "Man From Ironbark " (which is hilarious). These three poems are all by Banjo Patterson.
If he does, you are in for a treat - a good Aussie bush ballad, read by a typical Aussie bloke - that's what they were written for. If you love Aussie accents, you're in for a real treat. And if he wants to do something with this, he should check out the folk club groups in the area, he will make a lot of new friends. It's easy to download these poems online, you just type in a line of text between double quote marks, pop it into Google and you should get the full poem really easily.
Marg
Abbey
Spork Queen
Oddly enough, my first bird was a lorikeet. That thing shredded my fingers to bleed. It was supposed to be a baby, but NOOOO. No way. I ended up taking it back to the breeder and hence, Abbey my oldest Grey. I got her at 3 days old so I KNOW she was a baby.
That bird could shoot cr@p 10 feet away. They are fruit eaters so their poo is very watery. I had plexiglass everywhere trying to contain the mess. They are very acrobatic and playful. Yes, the photo does look familiar. It's been so many years that I don't remember where, but it was a fun trip.
Maybe I'll look the lyrics up and give them to Aussie boy.
Abbey
That bird could shoot cr@p 10 feet away. They are fruit eaters so their poo is very watery. I had plexiglass everywhere trying to contain the mess. They are very acrobatic and playful. Yes, the photo does look familiar. It's been so many years that I don't remember where, but it was a fun trip.
Maybe I'll look the lyrics up and give them to Aussie boy.
Abbey
SearchingForRainbows
Active Member
Abbey,
Thanks for making me laugh this morning!!! Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you see things, my mind is right down there in the gutter with yours and Stars, and Lisa's (sorry Lisa if it wasn't you down there with us - my memory isn't too good lately...), etc., etc., etc., .... WFEN
Thanks for making me laugh this morning!!! Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you see things, my mind is right down there in the gutter with yours and Stars, and Lisa's (sorry Lisa if it wasn't you down there with us - my memory isn't too good lately...), etc., etc., etc., .... WFEN
