Territory Day

If you close your eyes and listen, you could be anywhere. Beirut. Gaza. London during the Blitz. 

But you're not. 

Nothing is being destroyed. There's no damaged being done. 

But this isn't something I've experienced before. 

My colleagues started to drift out of the door around 4 o’clock. This is normal. The commentary, however, was not. 

“I have to get home and water my lawn so that it doesn’t catch alight,” said one. 

“Tonight’s the night for idiots,” said another.

“Why I put a cracker up my cracker. That was on the front page of the NT News a few years ago. Of course, they ended up in hospital,” another told me.

My old friend had told me earlier in the day, "Today's the day the Territory blows up. Literally."

And it does. Really.  

Today is Territory Day. 

What does this mean? 

Today is the day that you can buy fireworks, and between the hours of 6 pm and 11 pm you can set them off. Seemingly wherever you like. And these things aren’t cheap., But they have been going off incessantly since 6 pm tonight. They're still going strong, and it's near on 10 pm. 

Of course, it’s all fun until somebody loses a hand, an eye or their life. I remember as a child we used to have fireworks, and then all of a sudden all of a sudden stopped. I remember being told that somebody had died and that was the end of the fun. But that was in South Australia in the 70s.

50 years later, in Darwin, they still have a night where every Tom, Dickhead and idiot can let loose with these incendiaries.

Some of my colleagues, who are up for anything went and purchased some fireworks this morning.

“They told me that we can put these down drains. Helps to keep them free from weeds,” is what the guy told my colleague as he was buying them.

Great…

For me, I’ve spent the evening in my room, having a quiet dinner, trying to ignore the noise. I’m fine up here on the 13th floor behind glass. I like the pretty lights, and the noise is tempered through the double glazing.

I tend to avoid fireworks as they make me feel very unsettled and anxious. I don’t even like balloons popping, so staying in for the night has been a good move.

Also, I admire the lawlessness of the Northern Territory. Rules can be a bit loose up here, and this fireworks extravaganza, there is no exception.

Mind you, I got called a Territorian today. I put on a new pair of Birkenstocks to celebrate our system going live. These were noted by one of the team leaders. “ Look at you! Birks at work. With a Yeti in your hand. You'll be wearing a fleece in the office in August in no time.”

“Birks are comfortable. The fleece won't happen. ”

“It’s lovely to see.”

I’m only assimilated to a point, And the people are wonderful up here. But I’m not sure I like this fireworks lark.

If anything, I feel for the animals.

Oh well, it’s only for one night. It's all a bit too close for my liking. 

Today's song: