There's something about Melbourne- whether it's the combination of Italian and Greek communities filling the streets with dozens of young ladies with Mediterranean looks, the cafe culture or the fact that the state of Victoria grew out of people of all nations drawn by the 1850s gold rush. It's just easier to get along with people-within a few days of arriving I'd chatted up three girls and that was just from ordering a pint in a bar, watching someone making boiled sweets and booking a boat trip. It's not a particularly beautiful city, although it has some lovely old and new buildings, and it doesn't have a distinctive skyline, but there's a warmth deeper down which probably makes it my second favourite Australian city after go-ahead Perth.

So, since Sydney I've been down a goldmine and I've been on a boat trip down the Yarra. I didn't buy that tape in Sydney, but I can get it in Melbourne if I really want to. Australia's probably six months to a year ahead of us in going DVD- the likes of HMV don't even acknowledge that they format existed-and it's also more common to buy DVDs from other regions as American and British shows are released in their home countries first.

I'll do a more detailed piece on Australian TV another time- but for now I'm looking forward to going to Ballarat next week. That's The Boscombe Valley Mystery's Ballarat.