I've made my fair share of condecending comments about Bogans* in the past. I mean if you wear "flanno", have a girlfriend called Shazza, and drink VB the jokes generally write themselves. But I'm not here today to make jokes about our friends from the western suburbs – I'm here to stand proudly in front of you all and say: I was a bogan for a day on Sunday, and I loved every minute of it.

As you're all probably aware, the world cup match was on Sunday afternoon (our time), so naturally the pub would be best setting. Cal, Mendel and I decided we'd head to one of the big Australian themed pubs – the Walkabout. The pub, situated right on the Thames, accross from the London Eye was absolutely massive. Flat screen TVs everywhere, and tonnes of room to fit in many drunk Aussies. It came as quite a shock to me, but they also had Aussie beers available, which almost made the day for me.

Now I wouldn't say I'm particularly homesick – I certainly miss my family and friends terribly, but I'm enjoying living in London for the moment, and am content to stay here for a while and live out the rest of the adventure. But, when you get into a pub full of other people who have your accent, know what you're talking about when you mention your thongs, and you're drinking your favourite beer from back home just puts a smile on your face.

I've mentioned in the past to people that I think Cricket is the best game to spectate since it is equally yobbish and family friendly. League and Aussie rules I find lean either way towards one side of that spectrum. I will say that without a doubt, the crowd of expats watching the game with us made it probably my favourite spectator experience ever. Everyone was loud, enthusiastic, decked out in Aussie colours, and slightly (very) drunk which made it really enjoyable. As an example:

Cal and I in our gear

Mendel decked out in his beloved wifebeater and a random

We've also got a whole bunch of videos and other pictures which I'll upload tonight.

So the game ends with a loss, but everyone remains pretty upbeat. Music comes on, and it's an all star bogan bonanza. To run through a checklist, they played Barnsey, Farnsey, Accadacca, Midnight Oil among international favourites such as Sweet Child o Mine, and Living on a Prayer. And you know what? It kicked ass. The music was so bogan it hurt, but everyone let go and had a fantastic time. I'd definitely love to go again if (when) the Aussies make it to the next round.

And that's about it. Cal is off to Luxemburg this week, so I'm going to be on my own for a little bit again. This is okay so long as she brings me back some chocolate or something to compensate. 😛

* For out international readers, a Bogan is the Australian equivalent of a Chav or Redneck.