Front Page News

$1,700 seats "just not cricket"

Editor — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 02:50:16 +0000

2 seats at the Ashes Test for the price of a Plasma TV. That's today's bargain offer on ebay.com.au for the Brisbane Test. Over 100,000 Aussies have already registered on Cricket Australia's website to become part of the "Australian Cricket Family", guaranteeing them access to Ashes tickets from the 1st June. Over 35,000 have registered in Sydney alone yet the public seating is about 28,000 in the 42,000 seat stadium.

Check the progress by clicking here.

BBC cabbie does not fare well

Editor — Thu, 25 May 2006 07:41:54 +0000

Heard the story of the ‘cabbie’ who was wheeled in front of the BBC’s cameras to discuss Apple? It turns out that the (very black) Mr Goma was really there for job interview at the BEEB. He was mistaken for a (very white) expert on the Apple Case.

Despite the presence of cameras and studio lights, he believed a BBC HR Manager rather than a Broadcast Journalist was interrogating him.

After his 5 minutes of fame on the talk shows, the Congolese Mr Goma disappeared, apparently following enquiries into his residency status in the UK.

Proms get Poms moving

Editor — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:27:44 +0000

Perth Concert Hall is the venue for the 2006 Best of British; widely known as David Hawkes' "downunder" Last Night of the Proms.

As well as the regular favourites: ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, the audience will be treated to some delightful choral selections from the British Isles.

All of this topped off with a Scottish sing-along and some rousing British pub songs.

Will Conductor John Christmass find himself wielding his baton anti-clockwise, we wonder?

Remember Negative Equity?

Editor — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:26:38 +0000

Rising Perth house prices are making many of us more than a little smug these days. Why not redraw for that plasma or an extended holiday? Only a few years ago, Sydney-siders were feeling much the same way but have now suffered minor losses. But go back to the late eighties in the UK and you may recall the horror stories of Negative Equity.

For newbies this is where you owe more to the bank than your home is worth. You can sell-up, walk away and still owe the bank big bikkies.

Since this tends to hurt those who buy at the top of the cycle with a basic 5 or 10% deposit, it's the first time buyers who are most at risk. Pom asks: is the current boom in prices really sustainable?

Marmite beats Vegemite for taste

Editor — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:24:58 +0000

Well that got your attention, didn't it!

You know the way it goes: You were brought up in Blighty or your parents were, and you've 'acquired' a taste for Marmite. In the other camp, there's your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband who swear by Vegemite. Bloody Oath!

At Pom, we want to help heal a breach that is clearly at the core of many interpersonal disputes. We propose a kind of Ashes for savoury spread (no not burnt toast). Anyone brave enough to enter the fray?

St George's day more popular downunder

Editor — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:23:52 +0000

What is it that makes ex-pats Proud Patriots after they have left the Old Dart? You will have noticed a marked increase in commercial activity in Australia on St George's Day, and it's hard to find a dissenting voice to the proposition that being an English Australian should be cause for celebration.

For many years there have been attempts in England to get St George's day recognised as 'England's Day' but to no avail. An ongoing Poll of three-quarters of a million people on the UK site A Day For England shows massive support for the day to be a Bank Holiday.

So, if it's good enough for St Patrick (not to mention Burn's Night in Scotland), what's up with the Pommy authorities?

Send your rellies a ray of sunshine

Editor — Mon, 08 May 2006 09:21:41 +0000

It may be your last chance to gloat about our wonderful weather before there's a risk (okay not that great a risk) that Blighty will better it. Take the chance to send a Pom weathergram to your poor, damp rellies. It'll brighten up their day.