Crikey!

This morning I woke up to find that Steve Irwin aka Crocodile Hunter had been killed. Sometimes I found his over the top nature to be a little embarrassing and a little too Australian. Occasionally I feel that Australia is very uncultured and backward and well maybe it is. Is that something to be embarrassed about though? The fact remains Steve was a great Aussie export. He did a lot to put Australia on the map and no doubt he did wonders for the tourism economy. I was reading the messages people had left on the BBC website today and they made me feel quite sad - click here to read them. Maybe our lack of culture is indeed our style of culture. None the less it seems to be well received in most places around the world and being Australian has my travels easier in many respects. Australians have been well regarded wherever I have traveled and people always want to hear a story about life in Australia. I guess we have Steve in part to thank for that.
(Picture from BBC Website - In Pictures: Steve Irwin)