The Scotsman's view of Canberra

Are those sheep back in Civic?

Edinburgh is a lovely city. I like to be compared to Edinburgh. Adn as for ‘artificial”, what is natural? A bunch of mud huts and then some rich guy builds a big house?

Not hear of us in a negative way (in the context of the fed gov) which was my point… Still banning particular words in the press is a bit much.

I think every one bags us out when they come to buy porn, kind of like pollies bg out brothels.

“May be we need to take Washington’s (the US gov) approach and legislate that the press can only ever refer to Capital Hill for the fed gov and not Canberra…”

But then nobody would ever hear of us, kind of like South Australia.

Replace the standing sheep with a Scotsman in gumboots and he might get it.
Canberra was probably too expensive for a Scotsman.
I’ll see your sweeping generalisation, and raise you…

Oh well, it’s nice to be aware on our own shortcomings.

I wonder how much of the ‘negative’ elements of this place stem from being the parliamentary capital? Aside from our own attitudes, behaviour and conventions in Canberra, there’s a bit of negative stereotyping by the wider aussie press when they talk about Canberra (as in the fed gov) – that seems to flow by association to Canberra (as in the city and people).

May be we need to take Washington’s (the US gov) approach and legislate that the press can only ever refer to Capital Hill for the fed gov and not Canberra, which has it’s own local gov however weak, virtual and fledgling that democracy is. Civil partnerships (take II) anyone?

However, we don’t have an festival of international renown to make up for it. And no, the multicultural festival doesn’t count.

Yes we are.

‘Interesting that this Edinburgh paper and the locals reading it (mostly from said Edinburgh) don’t realise that they live in the Canberra of Scotland!!

Like Edinburgh, the residents of Canberra suffer from severe delusions of grandeur, are obsessed with ‘capital’ status (i.e. keep shouting that they are the ‘capital’ at every possible opportunity), are laughed at and despised by the rest of Australia/Scotland, are *only* the seat of government, lack a big city feel, claim ‘national’ this and that (museums, galleries etc) paid for by Australian/Scottish taxpayers, are up themselves to an unhealthy extent and although thinking (and shouting) that they are the ‘capital’, know underneath that the real action always takes place in the largest city, Sydney/Glasgow.’

Ouch! We’re not really that bad are we?