I made a post about the parking space trick a short while ago in which I mentioned the Meter Maids of Surfers Paradise. I didn’t have a photo of any of them at the time, but I did promise you I would get one. Well, today we went to Surfers Paradise to chill out. And, of course, I got the photos. Would I let you down?
The Meter Maids at Surfers Paradise
Please note: The guy on the Vespa continued safely on his journey.
I wanted the sea in the background but the position of the sun was not ideal, so here’s another picture from a different position….
The Meter Maids in a Better Light
Question: Why, all of a sudden, are people so interested in watching me take a photo?
Looking at these photographs, I got the impression they had posed before. Perhaps you have that feeling too? Turns out, that’s what they do. Here’s the deal. These girls wander the streets of Surfers Paradise selling a small selection of souvenirs and gifts. If you want a photograph, it’s a five dollars. The girls get paid commission on the stuff they sell and the $5 contributions from photos go towards paying for the meters that they feed. There are currently 12 Meter Maids in the team.
Good, now I’m up to date. Oh, by the way, I took plenty of footage at Surfers and I’ll be making a video soon. So look out for that.
Carrying on, if I may, from yesterdays post; as last years winter got deeper, I couldn’t help wondering whether winters in Brisbane were better than summers in the UK. So I decided to check it out. I went to my Google home page where I have it set to display the weather where I live. Now, call me a nostalgic old fool, (or somebody who likes to quietly gloat) but I also have it set to display the weather where I used to live.
This is what I saw……
Believe me, I didn’t have to hand pick the day. The very day I had the thought, was the very day I collected the information from Google. I didn’t have to try to “fix” the result. Sure, the UK does have the occasional hot day, like 30°C, which is never (I don’t think) going to happen here in winter. But overall, I have to say, that I think winters here are better than UK summers. We certainly have far less rain and a lot more sunny blue skies.
Only one thing confused me about Google’s weather forecasts. They seemed to think it was going to be cloudy in Brisbane. I went into my garden on the 18th of July 2008 to look for those clouds.
To my left…….
Winter Sky - Brisbane 18.7.08
And to my right…..
The Clouds
Aah! There they are.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
I have never seen a meter-girl at any meter. They just walk around at surfers and I like it.
They are great, friendly and beautiful.
Gerry
Hi Gerry
No, I’ve never seen them go anywhere near a meter either. In fact I went up to them to complain about it, but when I got there I completely forgot what I wanted to say!
Cheers
Bob
HI there,
Actually I saw them when they put few tickets to cars’s windows which haven’t got one, so they sometimes do this too. I like them very much too! They are Surfers best symbols!
Hi Sunny,
Sounds like you’re right.
According to Roberta Aitchison, the owner of the Meter Maids franchise, “Every day the meter maids walk the tourism strip, feeding meters and being photographed by thousands of tourists……”
So yes, seems they do. Of course, meter feeding is illegal back in the UK, once your time’s up, you got to go. Those girls would be in court before they could say cheese!