– Love the fact that you flash your car lights when a cop car is up ahead,
– love it when you leave your parking voucher back in the machine when it still has time on it,
– love it when you let me go ahead of you in the ’15 items of less’ aisle when I only have a loaf of bread,
– love it when you open the door of the cafe when I am ladden with multiple lattes and
– love it when you say hello when you pass me around the lake
– hate it when you won’t stop to help me or even slow down when I am trying to stop two lost dogs from crossing a main road at 10pm at night -shame on you white Toyota ute!
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People of all races and religions in countries all over the world have offered me the same courtesies (and curses) at various times – just goes to show that no matter where you are, as a species we really are all one of a kind, eh?
It used to be uniquely Canberran to say Thank You to the bus driver as you hopped off. Does anyone still do that anymore?
I left a parking thing with 30 minutes on it in the machine at MacKay Gdns yesterday (dentist went fast).
I did that last week too, and then got boxed in by soem chap who left his car behind mine while he went to the ticket machine… and got the one I’d left in there. How’s that for Karma gone wrong?
People flashing to warn of those white vans is always appreciated, I must say.
Which road was this? I only ask because I happened to be driving a white toyota ute on a main road in canberra at 10PM last night and (briefly as I cruised past at 60km/h) saw some idiot standing on the side of the road wearing dark clothing in a very poorly lit area. Didn’t see any dogs though. Didn’t feel any “speedbumps” either.
sepi said :
not unique, everyone ised to do it in my home town in central queensland, but yes, still do it whenever I’m forced by cruel circumstance to travel by bus
Who doesn’t say ‘thank you’ to the bus driver? Unless the driver is being a real grump!
I know I always say thank you to the driver.
I love Canberra for lots of reasons including the ones you state. And yes, when I travel by bus most people tend to say thanks to the driver.
I also greatly appreciate it when a fellow passenger gives up a seat for me, I’m obviously with chid currently.
Other reasons why I love Canberra:
- When fellow motorists see someone with a flat tyre on the side of the road and stop to help
- Seeing business people take a homeless/down on their luck individual to subway/oporto etc and buying them a meal
- The Big Issue vendors who try to strike up conversation with you and its not even to angle a sale, just being friendly.
There are so many things to love about this place, it’s just hard to remember them off the top of your head.
dsblue55 said :
Agreed, I came from Wollongong and have always done this.
I’d be interested to see a survey that shows who does and who doesn’t noting which cities/towns they are from.
Wait… who catches a bus?
Leinna said :
Those of us who prefer to let someone else do the driving
I’ve been on buses in several different parts of the world, and people almost always thank the driver. Why wouldn’t you?
I say thankyou to the bus driver – they have to put up with screaming babies and dirtbag teen kiddies giving them jip.
I love;
-the birds, especially my hilarious magpie friends, parrots of all varieties, and blue wrens and their harem of girlfriends
- the trees turning in autumn
- the Brindabellas cradling one side of our city
- the generally quiet roads at night
- fog and cold in winter
- our green spaces
- the bunnies of Duntroon
- fresh apples from Pialligo
- the multicultural festival
My list of hates seem to be centred around the road, carparks and malls. I don’t think there is anymore to say other than – KEEP TO THE LEFT AND DON’T HOLD FAMILY REUNIONS IN THE WALKWAYS.
A few more good things than i can think of:
People walking past your house knock on your door if you left your car lights on
People apologise when you walk around a blind corner of a building and have to move aside
Short people always ask me to reach items off the high shelves at the supermarket
One time 2 people pulled over to help when my motorbike ran out of fuel while i was waiting for a friend
We seem to get all excited if someone asks for some directions
Used to thank the bus driver in Sydney as well but its more noticeable here as (a) you exit from the door near the driver and not the middle door (still can’t work that one out) and (b) there is hardly anyone on the bus so they can hear you.
Doesn’t make up for the fact that we’re not near a beach, we get second rate AFL teams playing at Manuka Oval, we don’t get to host the Australian cricket team in a one day match (even Hobart beats us),we don’t get the big international acts coming here even though Bruce stadium can hold 15k , we don’t have an international airport and we don’t have a train network.
astrojax said :
or abysmal pollution. or unbearable humidity. and we do have parrots. and we can see the stars. and there’s a bus and a train out of town if you don’t wanna stay and enjoy them… (who’d want oprah or u2 here anyway? i’ve seen nirvana here, herbie hancock, eric clapton. albert collins – even got backstage at this last one, but this wouldn’t happen in sinney… who d’ya want?)
Love:
Rugging up in winter, especially when I get to glimpse snow on the Brindabellas.
Waking up to the sound of birds and getting to visit the hundreds of roosting cockatoos each evening
Traffic as a thing of the past
Fog on the lake
That pretty much everyone is involved in some sort of social sport
Never being more than a 5 minute walk from nature
Having a creek behind my house
Calvary Hospital – it served me very well… too bad about the crucifixes
Asian Noodle House
The awesome bike / walking paths
Location – snow, bush, beach, big smoke… all within striking distance
Dislike:
Aggressive attitudes on the roads
Canberrans are generally a***holes
Jclarke said :
We do now.
I love Canberra because of RiotACT. Without it, I would hate it~!
I thank bus drivers too, but when you think about it we’re just thanking them for doing their job.
I even thank the ones that drive like lunatics playing the “how far can I go before all this sudden braking/accelerating makes someone sick” game, the ones that have the heating on when it’s 25 degrees outside, and the ones that dont turn the aircon on when it’s 30 degrees outside.
I really love the guys that wave me on without me having to punch my travel 10.
Weird or what???
A while back I witnessed a not so pleasant exchange between a passenger and bus driver.
Standing in the aisle at the front, said passenger rang the bell over Comm Ave Bridge city bound. Unfortunately it didn’t allow the driver to move from second left lane to left lane to let him off over the bridge (back then there was a temp stop at Floriade).
Passenger gave driver a mouth full when the driver couldn’t reach the stop – forgot to mention it was peak hour and left lane was full of traffic. After copping a mouth full, the driver told the passenger how to go about making a complaint. “Oh I will.” followed by “It’s not a difficult job and you can’t even do it well”, from the passenger.
With that passenger made two points;
1. He didn’t like missing his stop, and
2. He was a pratt!
That said, outstanding to see some positives on the site!
For mine, the distinct change of seasons in Canberra has always been tops (though perhaps a little blurry of late).
Loves:
The birds…parrots, choughs, wedgies, maggies…
The wildlife…roos, echidnas, wombats…
The sun on the Brindabella’s in the afternoon from the Parkway at anytime of the year.
That wherever you go you seem to know someone there.
That we think it’s our god-given right to arrive 5 minutes before any major event and get a parking spot at the front door.
Hates:
That we lose the ability to reverse park.
Chief Minister talk back on 666. I mean really, where in the country would the Chief Minister/Premier take calls from fruit bats about the length of grass on their verge?
The lack of small interesting shops. Enough McMall shops please!
That wherever you go you seem to know someone there.