Brilliant One Day, Perfect the Next

That's what Queenslanders say about their weather. Sub-tropical places have always been attractive, especially to cooler climate folk. But Global Warming 'threatens' us all with nice weather.

Our Small Island Paradise.

The Tavern is on a cooler-climate Island. It's a bit like Britain, but a better overall temperature and a greater variety of landscape. Oh, and only half a million people in a place the size of Ireland.

At 40Deg South we are like Corfu at 40Deg North.



View from the Tavern.

We have quite a few Ex-Pat British people here.

We get four seasons a day and our customers from the sunny north remind us of what they left behind to come so far for the Graces they can get in the Tavern that they don't get on the Big Island.

Below the Mountain, the Beaches beckon.

Some of them are 'older' folk who get Pensions from the UK.  But those pensions are 'frozen'. They do not increase. They do not match the warming forecasts.

Why are they frozen? Good question.

Anna Raccoon dropped by from her Pub down the way: The Raccoon Arms. Fine pub it is too. She is always welcome here but today she was quite heated.

Britain on DaftCon 2 alert!
by Anna Raccoon
http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/britain-on-daftcon-2-alert/

Good Heavens Britain! Did the clouds part and the sun peek through for five minutes? Every newspaper in hysteria mode! 

Mothers 'mortified' because they thought they could put a four week old baby out to bake on a Brighton beach with no marinade and overcooked the poor little shaver. 

Gritting lorries trying to damp down the tarmac. 

School's closed because too many pupils wanted to leave class for a glass of water. 

NHS England putting 'extra capacity into unscheduled care pathways' (must remember to store that one away for future use!). 

"457,459 people" going to an A & E department last week -  though the figures don't say how many usually attend, so we are left with a large figure and nothing to compare it to. 

Wot, no hosepipe ban, not even a teeny weeny one? 

All that because the temperature rose to a moderate 30°?  

30° degrees is perfectly normal for us, any time between April and late October. Yesterday it was 38.5°. Remember us? We're the ones that live in a 'pleasantly warmer clime' according to Ian Duncan Smith, so we are undeserving of a pension increase. We spend our time sipping Sangria's at Malaga golf clubs.   

All one million of us. 

We cool off in the Mountain Lakes.

At 38.5° you have the air conditioning on all the time - if you are lucky enough to have air conditioning. If you don't, you spend the time in the darkest corner of your home, desperately trying to stay cool. You stand under cold showers. You have to - you're a pensioner, one of those especially vulnerable people with chronic illnesses that 'health and social care experts' are now bound by duty to worry about since the mercury has climbed to 30° in dear old Blighty..... 

Will we see a 'Summer cooling allowance' for pensioners shortly, since this is such a serious situation for the elderly? 50% grants for the installation of air conditioning? Not payable for those fortunately folk sipping Sangria round the log fire in the cooler climes like France and Spain! 

Yesterday, the Department of Work and Pensions issued yet another document purporting to show how France, Spain and five other countries enjoyed such balmy temperate weather year round, that pensioners living in those countries had no need of a pension increase to help with their energy bills; you can hear the hollow laughter all over the continent this morning as Britain goes into panic mode at the sight of the Sun.

It is 30deg here throughout our summer. We don't get our knickers in a twist. Like Anna we bless the warmth and vastly prefer it to the sort of dull, damp, cold England (despite all the other beauties that England offers).

The Sand Sings beneath your Feet here.

Anna complains (in first-rate whinging Pom style, mind you, bless her) about Summer Allowances for ex-pats in Spain and France and other such warm places where furriners live. But what about an unfrozen pension for ex-pats in Oz?

Despite the best efforts of people writing to their MPs and even going over and collaring them in their offices, our 'Representatives of the People' seem totally cool with the idea of screwing old age pensioners out of our just deserts. No wonder ex-pats get hot under their collarless, beach shirts.

I will pour Anna a nice cool drink.

Anna is always welcome here. Our kinda Landlady.