The last-of-the-summer whine

SKT here. So apparently it’s autumn in the southern hemisphere. Happened on Monday, I gather, and I reckon that’s a bit rough. I came here for warmth and sun, and though it’s still quite warm (too warm to be wearing a suit) it’s quite windy and grey in Sydney at the moment.

I was quite enjoying what little we saw of summer. The girls in Sydney were wandering around wearing not a lot, which was quite good. I don’t pretend that this is all for my benefit, of course – it’s for the benefit of all the (straight) men out here.

In contrast to the hipsters ‘n’ cleavage look in Sydney, in Tokyo there was a very appealing fashion of short skirts and long boots. (Appealing on the women, that is – it was a bit tacky on the men.) So you see I am getting a cultural experience out of my trip.

And please don’t email me telling me that’s sexist. It’s not.

Anne is Mr Benn (metaphorically)

When Anne realised that a job in science was going to be hard to come by she got a bit sad. However, the flip side of this is a chance to try something different – a chance to be like her hero, Mr Benn. Anne could go into the metaphorical magical fancy dress shop and try on any outfit she liked: secretary, PA, waitress, welder, sex-trade worker… the possibilities were endless, and she wouldn’t be restrained by her A level choices or degrees.

However, the job market here is pretty dire, so things were a little different. She still is Mr Benn (metaphorically, not actually), but as she entered the fancy dress shop (job market) she found that the picture was not as she remembered from the telly. Most of the racks were empty of outfits (jobs) and the outfits (jobs) that were left were door-to-door sales outfits (jobs) or were similarly poor. What’s more, the magical shopkeeper had gone away (on holiday probably) and left a miserable, disinterested school kid who didn’t want to serve (return calls) in charge of the fancy dress shop (job market).

I suppose Festive (or was it Festival?) Road, where the real (fictional) Mr Benn lived and walked down to get to the fancy dress shop, is represented in this metaphor by the route between London and Sydney. Via Tokyo. However, that doesn’t really add anything to the image and I will omit it so as not to get bogged down.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that Anne’s having trouble finding work.