I agree John, we all laugh together at how much the same we all are, yet have so many human-generated constraints that divide us! Thank goodness, laughter brings us all together!
Just for the record, this will not be my first trip down under. I came down in 2005 with Dave Kriege and a bunch of other Yanks for a week of observing outside of Coona, and a second week in Sydney. Oh yeah, and a spent a week in Sydney in 1970 while on R&R from Vietnam. So jest away, blokes. I understand most everything you're saying. I can't wait to order up a schooner of Toohey's Old Black Ale and some prawn chops and chips. Can't get either here and really grew fond of them on previous jaunts to Oz.
No not at all. I just hadn't heard them called that for years. I gather the menu was in southern NSW or in Vic. They are called butterfly prawns here in Qld. But we won't go into interstate linquistic differences (not to mention cultural and social differences ).
My great grandfather used to net prawns in the Brisbane river for a living (he did it right up until the day he died at 98). Prawnies weren't trawlermen. They used to use long fine nets run out from the back of rowed dingies (punts). I remeber my grandmother when I was a very very young boy selling prawns out of whicker washing baskets at the markets for tuppence (2 pence) a pint bottle.
Very interesting. I thought prawns were a saltwater creature like shrimp. My grandfather used to run a setline across the Fox River here in Oshkosh, Wisc. for catfish. He'd sell most of them and keep some to feed his family of 12 kids. I ran one myself when I was a teenager. Wasn't unusual to pull up a 30 lb catfish.
yep they are like saltwater shimp. The brisbane river is salt for quite a few miles up stream. Nothing like this happens in the river now, though the water quality has improved considerably in the past few years.