Living In Australia Isn’t Suitable For Those Frightened Of Spiders But Our Apartment Wasn’t Affected
Gazing out of my window I can see the initial signs of the leaves turning on the trees. We had our first herald of autumn a two weeks ago when a huge house spider ran across the living room carpet. Following that we have had another three and another is hiding near the stairs somewhere. I'm not good with spiders, and I wish I could bbq them all. It was one of my terrors when we moved to Australia as the red back sometimes lives under toilet seats and is known to nip at things that dangle too adjacent. The fact they can be deadly toxic just adds to the pain. But for some reason they don't live above the second floor in a building and we got an apartment on the 3rd in ours.
We lived in a tower called Capital Tower, one of the 2 tallest buildings in Canberra. The other one, Rydges Hotel was next door and was useful for a refreshing srop on the way home on a hot day. The main bar had pictures of all Australian prime ministers including the best, Harold Holt who went swimming in a bay near Melbourne on December 17th 1967 and disappeared.
Our apartment block included a gym which had a sauna and hot tub for relaxing after a session which I used several times a week. Strange, considering it was free for us to use and I had paid a ransom for a membership in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and yet I very rarely went. Outside it also had a garden which contained a swimming pool and a huge gas bbq that you could borrow as long as it was booked and left clean. There was also a smaller charcoal bbq which largely redundant as you had to provide your own coals and have it cleaned and cleared of ash and leftovers. The block also had a pair of tennis courts as well which were usually in use once autumn was done.
Leaving the complex, you could turn right along a path to go into the main business district, known as the Civic, or turn left which took you to a bridge to the side of lake Burley Griffin, called after the man who was the architect for Canberra when the Aussies decided to make a city to be a home to the national government. There was a tiny beach, though swimming wasn't a smart idea, but also a place where you could hirerent rowing boats and pedalos as well as a picnic area which had a public bbq area with anyone could use if there was a free charcoal bbq as long as they used their own briquettes. If they hadn't got charcoals, you could use a gas bbq which were worked by putting in a coin which would expel a standard measurement of gas. These were everywhere in Oz which is of course keen on the bbq as a cultural icon and not everyone wants to drag a portable bbq with them when they go out for the day. They just want to carry the grub and grog they will need to see them through the day.
We should have them in the UK at parks, beaches or other places where groups of people go to spend a day outdoors.
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