England’s Barmy Army reduced to a battalion in Australia ahead of Ashes
By ANIThursday, November 4, 2010
PERTH - England’s Barmy Army will be reduced to a battalion this winter because Australia has become ultra-expensive.
Around 40,000 supporters flew Down Under four years ago when England were thrashed 5-0 in The Ashes, but organisers expect about half that number this time.
According to The Sun, the problem is the strength of the Aussie dollar with a pound now buying just 1.56 dollars.
That has helped hike up prices by around 70 per cent compared to 2006-07 when a quid was 2.6 dollars.
A pint is at least 6.50 pounds in Perth (ten Australian dollars) and a coffee costs a fiver.
A standard 600 ml bottle of mineral water from a supermarket is 1.70 pounds - and you can more than double that price in a restaurant.
A two-course dinner with a couple of glasses of wine at a modest eatery will put a 65 pounds dent in your credit card.
It is a long way from the days when the Barmy Army taunted the Aussies with their refrain of “We’ve got three dollars to the pound, we’ve got three dollars to the pound… “. (ANI)
