With the long, hot, hard slog of summer just around the corner for Australians, we think it is time to salute some of the unsung summer heroes that help us through the hot months before we need them. Things like bill burning Air-Con, Zooper Doopers and the reliable forecaster of doom – the BOM Radar Brisbane and beyond.
Our nominations for Unsung Summer heroes are things Australians take for granted, only recognising their part of making summer bearable/enjoyable.
So enjoy your summer, and perhaps nod in the direction of the Bom Radar Brisbane and our other unsung heroes of summer.
For the actual BOM Radar for Brisbane – please follow this link for actual weather.
BOM Radar Brisbane
Summer’s most viewed website or google search would have to be the Bom Radar Brisbane page or its equivalent in other states. Depending on your view of climate change, it has an increasing importance, or not.
As the post lunch weather inevitably turns to storm watch, every second screen in the office has the distinctive rainbow colours of an approaching storm shuffling its way across the screen.
Without it, how will we ever know when to move the car, or find the perfect excuse to shave a few hours off work.
Special mention Higgins Storm Chasing.
AIR CON
One of those unsung summer heroes that you don’t appreciate until it’s not working or not available.
Sure, we have come too reliant on the Air Con to stay sane each summer, but you can go on without it once the mercury rises above 30 degrees with the humidity making general life like walking around in a soup pot.
Air Con has already won our earlier Hero of the month poll last summer.
FOX CRICKET
Thanks to the pay TV behemoth’s offer to broadcast cricket, the decade long stranglehold of Test Match cricket in Australia ended for Channel Nein. And along with it their awful rotation of dross. Especially Michael Slater.
Now thanks to Fox Cricket, one has a choice for cricket every summer. And with Slates on Channel Seven’s FTA coverage, paying is a must.
And the fact that Kerry O’Keeffe is on Fox Cricket is an added bonus.
ABC GRANDSTAND CRICKET
The backup for TV cricket back in the day was ABC Grandstand’s radio call of the cricket. And it is still a viable alternative and friend for the summer ahead.
It may not be quite as good as a few years ago with Kerry O’Keeffe in his prime, And the new batch of players turned commentators are a little dull, but it is still informative and a great way to pass the time outside.
The beauty of listening to the ABC Grandstand cricket instead of watching is allowing the mind to create the pictures of what’s happening. Not having the sights and sounds of cricket blasted at you like the old Channel Nein version.
ZOOPER DOOPERS
When it is a little too anti-social to start drinking, a quick cheap way of cooling down is the reliable Zooper Dooper.
Cheap, and readily available, kids or no kids, having a big bag in the freezer is a decent insurance policy this summer.
Special mention to Sunny Boys from back in the day.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
For states whose time zone aren’t dictated by Bovines, Daylight Savings is a great way of extending the day when it is useful – the end of the day.
But the silver lining for those in states where curtains are in danger of bursting into flames because of the extra hour of sunlight is that programming of Pay TV and sport comes in an hour early.
And getting sport and TV an hour early is always welcome.
MERRINEUM
Merrineum is the bunch of days in between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day that when taking as leave provides maximum away from work time for minimum cost to annual leave.
And the beauty of the merrineum is that there is so much on in that week – nursing Christmas hangovers, Boxing Day Test, caring about the Sydney to Hobart for 10 minutes, relaxed vibes of most people,
If lucky enough to be in an office based job, but unlucky enough to work, the merrineum works anyway, as the work day usually involves bugger all work and early departures and long lunches.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
BEER – no justification required.
FORMULA E – to replace motor racing.
ENGLISH/EUROPEAN FOOTBALL – to replace winter football.
ENEMIES OF SUMMER
Where there’s a hero, there’s always an enemy or two. And here are our chosen foes.
MICHAEL SLATER
One of summer’s great activities is to sit on a couch and watch some Test cricket. And sadly for over a decade our only choice was Channel Nein and Michael Slater. With the introduction of one of our Bom Radar Brisbane unsung summer heroes Fox Cricket, people have a choice. But you have to pay to avoid Slats, which is a no brainer for us. But for those not able to pay, we sympathise. And wonder why if Channel Seven wanted a fresh start to cricket coverage that they’d bring in Australian Sport’s most hated mic artist.
BRUCE HIGHWAY
The Bruce Highway is a piece of shit. Anyone wanting to head to the northern coast from Brisbane will get trapped in traffic on this road on a weekend at some stage. While the Gold Coast M1 is promised 18.5 lanes and another road, the northern passage remains a step just ahead of chair lift at a ski resort.
NO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
After being blamed for ruining curtains and couches, disrupting Bus timetables, confusing cows and causing even worse drought, it is no wonder that Daylight Savings will never happen in Queensland. We did come up with some solutions here and here. So enjoy the crows starting at 4am, daylight coming through at 4:30am, and being out of whack with the rest of the eastern seaboard.
