I'm often explaining myself on this site. I never realised how much Aussie slang I actually use and on top of that, as most of my readers are in the U.S I have learned that although both nations speak English, Our words can have varying meanings. I have decided to put together a simple dictionary (mainly so that I can refer people to it when I get the inevitable reply of , dag? I've never heard that word before, What does that mean?) As this exercise will take me a while to compose, I thought I'd begin with a small lesson using examples of misunderstanding that have actually occurred. Although these will probably be of no help when trying to decipher my blog, they may help you avoid an embarrassing situation with your Aussie friends.

A.) If I say that I'm going to give you a ring, don't expect jewellery. you will receive a phone call though.

B.) If I give you $30 and ask you to pick up a slab, Please don't return with a thick tile or concrete, I'm asking for Beer.

C.) When you receive an invitation (usually a B.B.Q) and it say's "Bring a plate", Don't bring your best china (crockery), a salad on the other hand would be nice.

D.) I hand you a bag of Potting mix and ask you to put it in my boot. I will be really pissed off if I later find my shoes full of dirt. The boot is the luggage compartment at the back of the car.

E.) Please don't go through my underwear drawer when I ask you to pass me my thongs. We wear thongs on our feet here.

As I said that was not a comprehensive list, one will be coming soon. . . by the way we spell quite a few words differently too (Eg. Mum and colour).

Little Blue

P.S I have given up smoking! It's been 4 days and I'm going crazy. Any of my friends reading this will be surprised. I really love cigarettes, I used to smoke about 30-40 a day but cut down to 10. The Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon recently died of Lung cancer, this is my tribute to him. I hope I last, I really really love cigarettes.

P.PS both my Hermit crabs died. So goodbye Bob and Jane, since they both decided to cark it at the same time they either had some disease or sadly I did something wrong. I will not be getting any more hermit crabs until I have re-read the care book I bought when I first got them just in case