Sydney - where time flies and seagulls sit still.

I can honestly say that when Paul and I first rolled into Sydney and booked into Fawlty towers I had a minor twinge of apprehension. Some may rememeber my reference to meeting heroes being like dreams and that living/working in Sydney was not going to be as easy/realsitic as I thought. Well with only five days left here in Sydney before I move on I thought I'd write an Ode to Sydney.

My time here has flown by quicker than a greyhound on speed, I have grown to love Sydney, Many people say it is a money trap and that your best off getting out as soon as you arrive. I have found it to be a pleasent city and it will be with a heavy heart that I leave. Fear not people of Sydney, Paul and I are returning for Christmas and New year (more importantly my B'day) and hopefully we will be meeting up with a selection of English friends quoted as saying they will be here. These include Jackie and Paul from Uni aka Peanut and Jacks who are on the verge of going to Thailand.

Sydney is surprisingly accsessable for a big city and this gives it a charm that I like, it has clear divisions that one can flutter to and from if they so wish and the surroundings suburbs (which we are now discovering) can offer as much as the city itself.

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Sydney has some of the best buskers and homeless people in the world. A few times Paul and I have just gone out in the evening wondering the streets and admiring the array of talent. There is a beatboxer who is very talented, a drummer who plays a full set of songs on bottles of beer filled with water, 11 year old chinese boys who play their violins and some really good guitar players.

As for the homeless, They are brilliant, most are drunk, some of them are mad, some are proactive e.g: play Suduko and offer shoe cleaning services. There is one that covers herself with talcum powder and wedges tissue paper in every hole on her face, under her glasses and in the holes in her tights...I pass her every day on the way to work.

Our fave is a guy called Stevie...Uh yeah we are on first name terms. He is supported by the local kebab shop and has been on the streets for 15 years, he can't remember why. He had his hair cut the other day cos he said he needed to smarten his image up. Lastly he has an addiction to coke, its disgusting...Oh hold on whats that Stevie...Not cocaine, Oh Coca Cola!! Yes Stevie the tramp has an addiction to an American, fizzy drinks beverage.....brilliant!

We have made a few friends, seen a few sights, enjoyed a few nights, made a few dollars and tolerated 9 Koreans. Sydney its been a pleasure, we shall do this again sometime.