Thornleigh (D11)

It's hot, the sort of hot that doesn't wet your clothes, the sort of hot that distorts the pavement if you're foolish enough to go out in it. That's the sort of hot that I set out in to visit the shops. Thornleigh, were Marilyn lives, is a north Sydney suburb and I thought I'd go explore. Her road opens out on to what I later discover is the end of the freeway, like Princess Parkway comes off the M56. The heat is hellish. The centre consists of a shopping mall, mercifully air conditioned, but that's it. I was surprised to see a Woolworths, I thought they'd folded. This one was more of a supermarket than ours were. There are no pubs in Thornleigh and no road side cafes. There's one cafe in the shopping mall and three people in it. People don't go into Thornleigh to meet up. They live off take outs. There are several churches. I guess that's where they socialise. Mostly, it seems, people stay out of the sun and in their air conditioned houses. I don't blame them.

Marilyn is having lunch in the city with some girl friends, she needs to network. I thought I'd have another look round. I end up in Darling Harbour again. It's busier this time. It's Friday lunchtime. There seems to be a lot of networking going on. I'd gone especially to find the place Rachel worked at when she was here. It's called Fioriani's. It's nowhere to be found. So I had lunch at the Blue Fish. This harbour side restaurant is renowned for it's fish and chips, the best in Australia, I'm told. There's a placard outside that says so. Anyway it's not at all bad. I do recommend it.

People watching is great. There are lots of smartly dressed young men, with straight backs, strutting around the harbour in small groups. A few lovely girls and no, but no, Aboriginals still. Come to think of it I'm yet to come across one. Did you know that there are more Greeks in Sydney than anywhere other than Greece itself. Suddenly within about ten minutes the skies darkened, thunder clapped and lightening struck. Those Greeks, I wonder what they've been up to now? The storm soon passes.

At the time of British settlement the population of Australia was about 350,000. It is now 21.5 million. Migrants have come from all over the world.

The first people to arrive came at least 40,000 years ago from the islands to the north. Portuguese & Dutch sailors landed in Western Australia several times during the 17th century but didn't settle. Not like our own Captain James Cook who landed, settled and bags'd it for Great Britain in 1770. At that time, there were as many as 500 tribes, speaking many different languages. They were hunter gatherers and had a rich mystical spiritual life based on the earthly elements around them. Today, many tribal Aborigines lead a settled traditional life in remote areas of northern, central, and western Australia. Let's hope they keep their way of life going. Diversity is the key to survival and you never know when we might need their deep knowledge and wisdom. In the south most Aborigines are of mixed descent and live in the cities. They have low status and high deprivation. Many drift into alcoholism, diabetes and an early grave.

Around the corner is the Australian Maritime Museum. There is a replica of Captain Cook's ship, the Endeavour. I decline the chance to experience life aboard the museum's submarine, HMAS Onslow. A little further on is the Chinese Garden of Friendship. That's nice of them, isn't it? It's footpaths join exotic pavilions, waterfalls and lily-padded lakes.

We have arranged to meet up at Star City in a couple of hours, after Marilyn is done. It's like a small Trafford Centre. There is a cinema complex, indoor shops and everything. There are nice young men standing around chatting and shopping. And lots of women. Aussies like to shop in doors it seems.

In Australia, and especially Sydney, there are many more women than men of eligible age. The reason is less easy to understand. Sydney is also, so says Viv, the gay capital of the world, which makes matters worse for single young women like her. So come on chaps get down here.