the SNAKE is more scared of you, than you of it!

No matter how many times I've been told this I remain sceptical. I'm petrified of these creatures. There is nothing nice about them and people who own them as pets - well can't say I have, nor intend to have, any friends that do - must see something that I definitely do not. I'm glad that at the Hideout we have Glen 'the snake man' (from nearby Healesville Sanctuary on speed dial.) This proved useful a few months back when Dad saw a tiger snake in the garden. Glen the snake man dropped by on his way home from work caught the snake (not dissimilar to the actions employed by the Crocodile Hunter, he grabbed it by the tail and pulled it out of the crevice it was attempting to escape into, apparently it heard him coming.) He relocated the vile creature. I may have been happier if he had chopped it's head off, but snakes, like sharks, spiders, jelly fish and scorpions all play their part in the eco-system.

I was not happy that Glen informed my Father that stomping on the ground (in order to create vibrations, which in turn scare off the snake) was ineffective and did little more than confuse the creatures. At least my days of stomping around fiercely hollering go away snakey snakey have come to an end. Apparently, if you walk normally they will just slither away.

While I believe the Hideout is rid of reptiles, apart from Dad's friend the blue tongue lizard, Mum still maintains she hears a snake in the agapanthus. She also has in-depth conversations with the dogs and the cat.

It's sad when someone dies. It's even sadder when someone young does. This happened on the weekend when a young boy was bitten by an eastern brown snake. Attempting to seek help, he walked through bushland until he stumbled upon an oval, where a cricket match was taking place. Unfortunately, it was not possible to splint the bitten limb, nor wrap it in a compressed bandage, nor administer anti-venom in time (these are some of the guidelines to follow when treating a snake bite.)This young life was lost. It was a tragedy. There was much written about it by the press.

Australia is a land of very dangerous creatures. I not referring to those human beings that live in the northern territory, deny that global warming is a problem, treat asylum seekers abhorrently, misconstrue native title as land rights, attempt to argue that the stolen generations didn't exist or think that Australia doesn't own an almighty apology to the Indigenous people of this country. I am referring to the animal variety. The snakes, the spiders (including the red back on the toilet seat) the jelly fish, the scorpions, the sharks, and the jelly fish.

There is a fantastic account of the and other Australian terrors in Bill Bryson's 'Down Under.' I'd add some snippets from the text here. Unfortunately Gordon Prisco still has my copy. I lent him this over a year ago. Feel free to go and borrow it from him. He lives in North Tower. If you stand down in the student court yard and holla his name, he should appear at a window somewhere. Just tell him you came to borrow Emma's copy of Bill Bryson's book. If he tells you he doesn't have it, he is fibbing. Rather, than returning the book to him when your done, drop it back to me. I leave here in August, so anytime before that would be fine. Oh and while you are there you could also retrieve my copy of 'Dude where is my Country.'