Pom Gone Walkabout

 A website of stories, fun and
 adventure.

Eric Cullen, age 47 and still very much a young boy at heart. He's a product of the 1960’s, born of English parentage in the midlands town of Loughcaster. Eric emigrated to Australia in march 1990 and got a job working in Television. He met an English nurse and for 15 years they lived together in the beautiful harbour side city of Sydney.
 Because of their love for travel, Land Rovers and the bush the decision to skip the bright lights and head for the outback was easy. Along the way they heard the little patter of tiny paws as two became three with the addition of Banjo a slightly demented 8 week old headstrong but very lovable yellow Labrador puppy (Most Lab owners will agree that demented is normal).
 It's a little over 9 long years since Eric and the English nurse were last back in dear old Blighty but Christmas 2007 was to change all that. Read on and follow their adventures in this special summer edition of Pom Gone Walkabout. 
Summer Special? England? Christmas? Winter? Well it was 46°C the day they set off from their outback home on the 600km, 6 hour drive to Adelaide airport.
Winter Special, Summer Special whatever! BBrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
 

The arrivals lounge in Terminal 4 hasn’t changed much in 9 years and is as drab as ever. The officials in passport control had a full flight from Nigeria to deal with. Now I hate racism but I did sort of smile when
I overheard a cockney in the queue behind me quip to his wife “Look at him Rita, he’s as black and shiny as Newgate’s knocker!”

The ever helpful and cheerful wheelchair assistant delivered the English nurse right up to the door of my brothers car and with sick bag at the ready he safely navigated the M25 and M1 as we made our way home? to Loughcaster. So after 9 years away had the country of my birth changed much? Only time will tell but first impressions? I had forgotten just how busy the roads in the UK are, the M1 southbound was at a complete standstill and during the two hours that it took us to get home I saw more traffic than I have seen in the last three years whilst living in outback Woop Woop.

England was my home for thirty years but after years away you forget just how narrow the roads and streets are with cars parked either side. To drive through just follow the Romans, close your eyes and aim for the middle.
Not only the roads but the houses all looked small and hemmed in. There is a phrase “An Englishman’s home is his castle” apparently an ancient Royal charter deems that all castles should be filled with the largest Plasma TV possible. A 60cm plasma is evidently preferably to a 40cm even if it means taking a living room wall out or two. Stick a dish on the roof, subscribe to Sky Sports, call in at your local MFI shop to order a new sofa and pay nothing til March 2018. Six cans of Boddingtons from the “Offy” and you have your very own male nirvana. The ultimate male nirvana would be if your team is somewhere mid table in the Premier League which is where I left my team 9 long years ago and NOT languishing near the bottom of the Championship and currently on their 6^th manager in about a year.

So there you are, a few first Impressions after a nine year absence and a 22 hour flight, jetlag, bacon buttie, time for a well earned kip or tell you what forget the kip how about a nice quiet pint in the Volunteer?
Actually I forgot they pulled it and turned it into some sort of sports bar with a hundred giant plasma screens. Lets make it the Nags Head instead.