Last night I spoke to me brother who asked me what I was going to be doing today.
To which I replied, "Well, it's Thursday so I'm going to be really busy teaching.... how about you?"
To which he replied, "You do remember it's Australia Day tomorrow? I have the day off..."
To which I replied, "Mmm, oh, yeah, so it is...." And I thought a bit about that lovely country I'm from.... And I got thirsty for a Tooheys Extra Dry which, sadly, is unavailable in Tokyo. Coopers green and red labels ARE, however, available at Mishima in Kichijoji and so, this evening, I shall trundle down for some Coopers with Kat (from my home town of Brisbane), Darin (honorary Aussie), and Josh (Sydney/Bondi Books) and celebrate... well... Australia. Seems like a strange thing to be celebrating in the middle of freezing Tokyo (especially since it was never a big deal to me in Australia).... But celebrate I will.

Dave (my brother) sent me this gorgeous photo taken in his front yard and this hilarious email:

Only a couple of hours before the first ball is bowled in the Australia day one day match at the SCG (Shannonvale Cricket Ground). As you can see by the attached photo conditions are overcast so weather could play an important role in the outcome of the match. However, due to the neighbours across the road building a bloody big lake across the road, the Mossman Doctor (That's similar to the Freemantle Doctor which is a lot of wind blowing across the water) should keep conditions cool. If the weather does take control we will go to Plan B which includes thong throwing and prawn on the spoon races. Anyway happy Australia Day.

Tags: Australia Day, Tokyo