G'Day From Downunder

G'day and Happy New Year from Downunder!

Now the fat man in the red suit has come and gone leaving hundreds of thousands of toys in his wake and God only knows how many truck-loads of discarded wrappings to be dumped or, for the environmentally conscious, folded away for use again next year.

So what are you waiting for? Get the kettle on for the first cuppa and chat to kick off the New Year.

I do hope you and your family had as safe and Happy a Christmas as we had here in Kangaroo Land.

It's hot enough down here now, you could fry your breakfast on the pavement whilst you, my frost-bitten northerly cousins, must fumble with your overcoat buttons.

This makes it more difficult to access your lighter than normal wallet, due to the current crisis, to get yourself a hot toddy in one of the many fine Irish watering holes with which I am now only too familiar.

Here you may achieve a clarity of mind sufficient to discuss important matters such as who is going to be playing in this year's Super Bowl. (This may make more sense if you have already had your hot toddy).

Do be aware history is in the making as, for the first time ever, there will be an Australian playing: Ben Graham in Arizona Cardinals colours.

He once played with Australian Rules team Geelong (say Jeelong) a town of about 100,000, 60 miles South-East of Melbourne.

Aussie Rules is played with a similar shaped ball but it is a very different game from American Football.

Sadly the Irish in Australia won't have much to shout about until March 17th when St Pat's comes around.

There are no Irish in the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament at Melbourne Park that began here on Monday January 19.

Not that the Australians have much to shout about either as their top seed and ex-world number one, Lleyton Hewitt is only a shadow of his former self and was eliminated in the first round.

We'll also be hosting the Formula One Grand Prix here in early March and again there are no Irish participants; no Eddie Ervine and no Eddie Jordan.

The last time the Irish had anything to shout about was when Eddie Ervine won here in his Ferrari in 1999, and boy, oh boy did that party go on. It went on for days and days.

No wonder the world is going through a recession; I'm sure it's because of the amount of money spent by the Irish on celebrating this occasion.

I hope you will spare a thought for us poor buggers down here sweltering in glorious sunshine with only a cold beer in one hand and a plateful of prawns in the other trying to struggle through.

Now don't kid yourself, it's not all plain sailing for us southern-hemispherians.

We do have to be careful where we step for if we don't there are plenty of snakes who will be only to happy to bite into a wayward ankle, and there is no shortage of venomous spiders either who are only too willing to share a meal with you.

If that's not enough there are plenty of sharp-eyed sharks only too willing to share the depths of the water with you and they're not fussy. If you are a native or tourist; to a shark we all taste the same.

There are also plenty of other dangerous creatures in our waters; just to mention a few: Rock Fish, Blue Ring Octopus and the now infamous Stingray that killed Steve Irwin the famous Crocodile man in 2006.

Speaking of crocodiles they too have a penchant for people for lunch, with a clear preference for tourists who are more naïve and easier to catch than the locals.

I know that's a little different from you, my northerly cousins, who are up to your necks in icicles.

Yes, of course, your days in the sun will come later but in the meantime we will soak up what sun we can using plenty of sunscreen to prevent getting any melanomas.

The heat of our summer does not shield us from the chilling effects of the world economic Winter (Now is our Summer of our content, made glorious Winter by our cousin New York!).

You will know from my past writings that I am in the finance industry (despite my general derision of it).

Our economy is not great, but for a small country it is relatively stronger right now than yours, but for whatever reason when America shivers Australia freezes.

Be warned, this will affect your economy too because I shall have less money to spend in New York's fine Irish establishments on my next trip, meaning that the good proprietors of these establishments will take a little longer to become billionaires.

In one of my now regular trips to New York my lawyer friend Philip Colman and I took a trip up the Hudson River on a 'boat'... what else would you expect?

Until last week when that norm was broken by one-hundred-and-fifty-five airline passengers and crew who made my trip look so insignificant by travelling down the Hudson in an A320 Airbus.

Now that's a once in a lifetime experience! Oh what a great story to be able to tell your grandchildren.

Best of all, not a single soul was lost thanks to the wonderful skills of pilot Chesley Sullenberger and his crew.

My faith in flying has never been in doubt. The miracle on the Hudson has confirmed just how competent airline pilots are.

I have flown over to Ireland and back to Australia forty-four times in twenty-two years, plus hundreds of other international and domestic flights, and I can tell you simply, I have never ever come close to anything that gave me as much as a hiccup in flight.

No, I would not have liked to have been standing on the wing of a drowning aeroplane in the middle of the Hudson River in the middle of winter, or at anytime.

I know that would have been hellish and I would have been crapping myself thinking of the icy waters, considering I can only do about four strokes in the water anyway.

In spite of the Hudson miracle or near disaster, whatever way you would like to see it, flying is much safer than driving; I would sooner travel in a plane anytime rather than drive my car on the road.

God, I see some idiots doing stupid things that would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and sometimes those idiots make my blood boil when I think it's only a matter of time before they kill somebody with their lack of consideration for other road users.

My American driving experience suggests that driving there is more rational and less frenetic than in Australia but that might just be rose-tinted spectacles.

On behalf of all the Irish and Australians in this land they sometimes call the Lucky Country, I wish to congratulate Pilot Chesley Sullenberger and his crew on their marvellous achievements.

It's thanks to people like him who ensure the safety of many, that I have the confidence to step on a plane again next week rather than face the tedium and risks of driving (about 430 miles), for my journey north to Canberra.

No doubt all eyes in America are on Barack Obama as they are in Australia and all over the world.

A new year and a new President, a time of change and a huge expectation of good things to come, but as I have said in a previous article "give it time, Rome wasn't built in a day!"

I wish him all the best from everyone Downunder in his endeavours to restore America's economic strength and to restore its position in the world.

Until I talk to you again be good to those who love you and Slainte from Downunder.