Well, we've been and gone and done it now. We've become Australian. The three of us made the pledge last night along with 67 others. To start with there was a guy singing traditional Australian songs, he invited some people up to play other instruments to accompany him. Our daughter thrust her hand in the air and was picked to play the spoons ( not to successfully, I might add). There was an introduction by a local Councillor, a Welcome to Country by a Wurundjeri Elder, the Mayor introduced himself and in groups of 10, future citizens were called out to recite the pledge under the guidance of the Mayor. We were each given a certificate proving our new status, along with a book of your choice, a native plant and a gum leaf was presented by the Elder. We took along our oldest friends from our new country, who had been very welcoming when we first arrived and Holly started school, they befriended us at the first school BBQ and have been very helpful in introducing us to the delights of the area, advising us on how things work out here and diciphering some of the lingo ( the most recent being "Bogan"). You may ask, why only the three of you? What happened to your eldest daughter? Well due to her travels to Africa, she hasn't resided in Australia long enough to qualify. She bemoaned her state as the only Pom in the house now!! (Please excuse the photos, there was a very unflattering green light above us)
