[Dixielandjazz] Short Question...

[Bill Haesler]

Steve wrote [in part]:
 >- SO when and IF I get to the "land of OZ", I hope to meet all our 
list members down there for a ROUSING F2F...
Oh, and any pointers and/or tips you can give me about how to act in 
Australia, will be greatly appreciated :-)  (HOPEFULLY, they don't use 
Euro's down under!)<
And Dave replied [also snipped]:

> My band has toured eastern OZ several times and had a wonderful time. 
> The parts of Australia I have been to remind me a lot of California in 
> climate & nature (except for the 'roos, wombats and stuff) and the 
> folks there like to have a good time with music, food and beer. It is 
> a very casual sort of place, but there are still remnants of  British 
> culture. They like all sorts of American music, I noticed.
> It seemed like Americans were well accepted there, but that was 8 
> years ago (things may have changed just a bit ;-) .................... 
> They have their own dollar, close to the USD at this point. $US 1.00 = 
> $A 1.12, if I am doing the math right.

Dear Steve (and Dave),
Or g'day, as our cobbers Ross Anderson [Melbourne] and Phil O'Rourke 
[Canberra] would say.
Notwithstanding the obvious question as to why an Oz musician was not 
offered the gig <big grin> both of you would be very welcome at 
specially convened F2Fs with Oz DJMLers.
Steve, Australians are open and friendly by nature, so just be your 
usual jolly self.
And yes, I can understand Dave's comparison with parts of California. 
We had the same impression while in CA.
Fortunately,  the great remnants of British culture are still evident, 
particularly the similar Oz sense of humour, often lost on some of 
"youse Yanks". With exceptions like me DJML mates Don Ingle, Tom 
Wiggins, Bob Romans, Nancie Beaven and Steve Barbone. To name just a 
few.
Bob Ringwald has also enjoyed some Oz hospitality, I believe. (Ask him 
about the girl in the Sydney pub.)
There is very little personal anti-American feeling here (apart from 
politics for some), just don't mention the war.
8>)
The $ exchange rate is in our favour at the moment, so there are no 
beer bargains.
< http://www.pintprice.com/ > courtesy of Dave.
We use Oz dollars, not euros. But be prepared for metric weights and 
measures.
And proper spelling, as you will have already noticed.
If you want to see ' the 'roos, wombats and stuff' you have visit a 
city zoo or 'go bush'.
Great jazz can be heard all over but is, as elsewhere worldwide, 
concentrated in the major cities.
Ours is amazingly good too, as a few DJML visitors from all over have 
found.
Before making the trip, check out the size of our country.
Although we only have about 21 million people (concentrated to the east 
and south) it's a bloody big continent (about 8 million square km) so 
don't expect to do it all (with New Zealand thrown in) on a 10-day trip.
Kind regards,
Bill in Sydney.