Swans Win, Tahs lose (again) & a friend leaves...

Another weekend with a sporty theme to it - Lucy & I are trying to fit in as many events & activities before our time here comes to an end. Friday, I went to see the Waratah's v Chiefs game....and again the 'Tahs lost. For a good period the NSW team were well & truly in the game, leading until 3 minutes from time...seeing the crowd really get behind the team it's such a shame that they have been so terrible this year - would have enjoyed going to the game's with a better atmosphere. As it is, an awful season for the 'Tahs is finally coming to an end - not a moment too soon for them. On the form of the Aussie teams in the Super 14 I wouldn't be backing Australia in the Rugby World Cup.

Saturday, we went to the Fish market & bought snapper to cook on the BBQ (also some good quality knives) & then did a bit of baking (new to both of us!) before heading to the SGC for our first AFL game. The Sydney Swans have got to the last 2 Grand Finals but so far this year have come in for a bit of stick....but they turned on the style this time out - running out winners by an impressive 49 pts. I have to admit that I'm fast becoming a fan of Aussie sports & AFL is one of the most enjoyable so far - a lively atmosphere (the fan's followed the UK example of sporting team colours much more than in other sports here) & an end to end game....shame it's never really taken off in the UK. And not sure about the vests....

Today, we had planned on going for a walk in a national park, but weather & a late night sat up chatting meant that this plan was abandoned. Instead, we had a spot of lunch in Palm Beach (home of Home & Away), surrounded by ducks..and then headed home for a quiet day & a bit of home-cooking (burning some cupcakes in the process...damn oven!). Bit of a relaxing day - but much needed.

Also found out that one of my colleagues is leaving the company - really top bloke & a shame he's going - however I'm sure that he'll be successful in whatever he turns his hand to & I'm sure we'll stay in touch....I just wonder if there is more such news to come. Hoping that I get the opportunity to do a bit of travelling soon.

Almost forget to mention that I'd watched the final of The Biggest Loser earlier in the week.... absolutely incredible to see some of that weight loss, although not sure how healthy it was. Many of the contestants lost 25% of their starting body weight - but the winner lost nearly 50%....and 3 of them lost 70kg+ (another 65kg)....incredible. Have signed up for the Great South Run....10miles....wonder if 7 months is enough time to get ready!

The Ultimate Donation

Watched a very moving TV show called 'The Ultimate Donation' - focused on hose who require organ transplants & the events surrounding it. Amazing to think that just 202 people donated organs in Australia last year - not many for a population of 20 million. Many of the stories were heartwarming, but most telling was a 38-yr old policeman who had waited years for a heart transplant - by the time it arrived he was so ill that he died in the operating theatre..... tragic.

Have resolved to donate any useful organs upon my death (so hopefully not for a while! And that's presuming that some of them are still useful) - as has Lucy. It's not as if you can take them with you....

ANZAC Day

Today, 25th April, is ANZAC Day - the day on which Austraian's & Kiwis remember their fallen soldiers & in particular those from the 1st World War. Lucy & I ended up attending the 'dawn' (more like pre-dawn) service, in a very wet Martin Place (Sydney CBD). The, ultimately failed, Gallipoli landing in 1915 commenced at 4.15am on 25 April - hence the date & timing of the service.

Despite the weather (now having rained in Sydney for 4 days non-stop) a very large turn-out was present & the very sombre occasion involved a laying of wreaths & a playing of the Last Post - always reminds me of my Grandad's funeral. A few people passed out in the audience - not sure whether that was as a result of alcohol or emotion (maybe a combination of both).

It was an interesting experience taking part in the service & seeing how revered the ANZACs are in modern Australia. It is a shame that such reverence is not seen at the UK's Rememberance Sunday in November.... maybe if gambling & alcohol was as intrinsic a part of the day then it would have the same success.

Lucy & I had intended on heading to the Harbord Diggers or local RSL for a game of 2-Up (basically betting on a coin toss) but having only gotten home from the night before at 9am we had a bit of a nap & by the time we woke up the queue at the Diggers was so long that we just couldn't be bothered (plus it was raining) so we headed elsewhere for lunch & then had a quiet day nursing our hangovers.

Beach, cooking at the fish market & the 'Tahs lose again....

Another action packed weekend behind us..... Friday, Lucy went out on the town with some former colleagues - a drag act in Newtown - whilst I stayed home & watched the ANZAC rugby league test (which the Aussies never looked like losing)... for the first time, Lucy managed to come home hammered & not wake me up for a chat.

Saturday, we were up relatively early and headed to Angel for breakfast....I may have mentioned this place before, but it's a lovely little place with views overlooking Freshwater Beach. Poached eggs on toast with salmon, washed down with a banana smoothie was an excellent way to start the day - and what a lovely day it was too. After breakfast, we decided to go to one of the Northern Beaches which we had not previously visited (there are 18 in total) and so headed to Bilgola. Nice little beach, complete with rockpool & almost empty. Spotted a fantastic looking house for sale & checked it out on the web....a cool $4.75mio.

In the evening we headed to Aussie Stadium to watch the Waratah's play against the Highlanders from Dunedin, NZ.....yet again they didn't fail to disappoint by losing...we left with about 10mins to go when they were down 14 points - they came back to within 1 point, but I was just pleased to beat the traffic. The highlight of the night was the accompanying highland band - complete with bagpipes & kilts....

Sunday, saw us hit Sydney Fish Market for a cookery course. Think this place would be Coyney's worst nightmare....and not sure Lushworthy would be fond of the prawns lying around! The course ran for 4 hours, 2 hours of tips (don't set yourself on fire when lighting the bbq, etc) & demonstration, 90 mins of cooking up the recipes we'd been shown & then some time to eat our creations (prawns, garfish, kingfish, squid & mussels) and drink some wine. Thought we did pretty well & certainly picked up some good tips with the food. Favourite part of the day would be preparing the squid - pulling it apart, pushing out the beak, etc. Not sure how many of the recipes we'll try at home, but certainly lots of helpful advice.

As we left the market, the rain started....and it gradually got heavier, until we were treated to a fantastic thunderstorm on Sunday evening - to be honest it hasn't really stopped raining since & it's Tuesday afternoon as I write this!

Tomorrow it's ANZAC Day - a public holiday to honour the Australians & Kiwis who have fallen in conflict....planning on heading to Martin Place for the Dawn Service (4.15am so not sure how likely that will be) & then a game or two of 2-Up (basically betting on coin tosses) in the afternoon....suspect it might be an early night!

Magic (?) Mushrooms, Gomez & the 'Easter' Show

Woke up on Friday morning to find that 6 mushrooms had grown in our bedroom overnight! Turns out that the heavy rain that we have experienced in the past couple of weeks has been a bit too much for our balcony doors & so has seeped through & into the carpet….the damp, humid conditions have been perfect for mould & fungi to grow. It took me a lot of effort to stop Lucy eating them, but despite magic mushrooms been illegal in Oz we are hoping to at least sample some when we take a trip up to Byron for my birthday (if we manage to stay here that long - unlikely).


On Saturday we spent a bit of time at Freshwater Beach & for the first time I experienced waves coming at me from both the ocean & the beach…peculiar. Lucy wasn’t a big fan of the large waves, or the cold water (thought it was mild myself).
Later, we headed into the CBD to see Gomez play a gig at the Metro Theatre. A really good, intimate venue with plenty of bars, staff to serve & toilets. The first act up was the Panda Band - pretty good apart from the poor 1st song - who reminded me of The Coral in their use of old-school instruments. Then came a huge, grizzly bear type Californian bloke called White Buffalo who treated us to a one-man show of upbeat country music. And finally, around 10.30pm Gomez hit the stage & they were much, much better than I thought they would be…..even though they didn’t play my favourite song of theirs – Whipping Piccadilly – the 2.5 hour set was superb….they do look like one of the geekiest bands alive though. My observation was that the front three (6 man band) looked like Vic Reeves, Chris Martin & Stato (from Fantasy Football)…. Whilst the bass player was the most laid back I have seen, hardly moving from his spot for the whole show….they probably have to nudge him from time to time to see if he’s still alive!


Sunday we headed to the Olympic Park for the Easter Show….basically a lot of ‘country folk’ coming to the city for a fortnight to show off their animals, arts & crafts….this too was a superb event, with everything very well organized – think the Aussies could teach the UK a thing or two about organizing events. The activities included, amongst others, a cattle market, dog & cat shows (made me miss Spot), variety of food stalls & a fair ground. However, the highlights of the day for me were the wood-chopping (not sure how they don’t have more serious injuries), the rodeo (one bloke was thrown off a bucking horse & you could see his arm snap, yet he still got up to celebrate) & the end of the show (motorbikes doing incredible tricks, Holden’s zooming around the ring, and a Lady Cannonball who managed to give the most unconvincing “That was really exciting” of all time). The electric storm in the distance also provided a wonderful backdrop to the show & the following firework display.

Would definitely avoid the tepid sausage on a stick dipped in tomato ketchup though….made me want to puke.

This is Sparta....

Went to see '300' on Thursday... not sure where they found so many people with six-packs...especially with Scottish accents....certainly not in my local! Anyway, the movie was an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, which in itself was based on the story of 300 Spartans fight against the Persian army of over one million soldiers. The movie is similar in style to Sin City (no surprise given the writer) and is gory in places. If you can get over the 'cheesiness' of some of the lines (and the 'love scene'), not hate yourself for watching the movie rather than working out, and eat beforehand, then it's an entertaining watch.

Jonah's

On Saturday, Lucy & I finally managed to enjoy one of our wedding gifts - a stay at Jonah's complete with dinner. As you can see from the view it's a pretty special place, overlooking Whale Beach...the room was lovely & came complete with large balcony & spa pool...whilst the food was excellent - we went for the seafood degustation menu. Lucy & I had a lovely time there - and if we can get a booking we'd try to have another stay before our time here comes to an end - thanks for all those who contributed.

The stay at Jonah's came after a very wet day at the races - Randwick's Easter Carnival. After thinking the day would be called off due to the weather (Sydney's tourism board does a good job keeping that a secret - 3times as much annual rainfall as London) we spent the day inside a marquee...drinking plenty of champagne, eating good food (I was a big fan of the cheese & even asked for a doggy bag!) and losing money on the horses (only had one winner, but fortunately missed the first 4 races!) ...a good time was had by all. I'm sure the talent on show would have raised a few eyebrows in London!

Sunday morning we awoke at dawn for the spectacular ocean view - those living there have it good! Had breakfast at Jonah's (again enjoying the fantastic view) & then went for a walk along the beach (why does heavy rain make the water warmer?) and a drive around the coastal region.... an early night was much needed too.... and I managed to fall asleep whilst watching Star Wars (missing the Sea Eagles 4th win on the trot in the process). Nothing much planned for this week... but Lucy starts her new job on Tuesday - she'll be just around the corner from Citi, so will be nice to meet up for the occasional lunch, etc. Please kill me if we start wearing matching outfits....

Come to Tasmania....

Just back from a weekend in Tasmania and I have to say we had a lovely time. The local food, wine & beer (if you see Moo Brew try it) were all excellent, the scenery wonderful and the people friendly & laid-back (even if some of them did look a little strange!). Spent Friday night at a quaint little guest-house in Hobart, then Saturday morning we went for a walk around the 'city' (not exactly the biggest City you'll come across) and found the market at Salamanca (wasn't he a Bond villain?!?). The food on offer was just far too tempting so I was pleased that I hadn't had more than fruit for breakfast...

On Saturday afternoon, after a brief visit to a museum or two & a visit to Jackman & Ross (a lovely cafe) we headed out to Tarraleah. About 90 mins drive from Hobart, this village grew up alongside the hydro-electric industry & at one point had 3,000+ people living there, now that's down to about 30 & until recently the biggest local attraction was 'Madame Lash' (unfortunately she got busted so wasn't there for our visit). We stayed at Tarraleah Lodge, enjoyed a bottle of champagne in the spa bath complete with views overlooking the valley, had a well presented 4-course meal & then headed out on a 'spotlight wildlife tour'. Lucy was immensely pleased to see so many possums & wallabies.

On the Sunday we drove back to Horbart, via Mount Field National Park. Went for a bit of a walk, saw some great wildlife - Tasmanian Devils (cuter than you would think), Wombats, Platypus & fed some Wallabies. Hitting Hobart we went for a fish & chip supper, a quick beer and then, exhausted, headed for the flight back to Sydney. Hopefully to find that we've got tickets for Glastonbury.....

If you get the chance to visit Oz, and have the time, then I would definitely recommend a trip to Tasmania. We could easily have stayed two weeks rather than two days....and I'm sure you'll soon be seeing the advertising as Tourism Tasmania are really starting to push it. It's amazing how few Australian's have ever been to Tassie... in fact, given how many of them have been to Europe, it's amazing how few Australian's have seen little of their own country outside of their own town!

One last thing - went to see Hot Fuzz at the cinema last week. I won't spoil it for you, but it's very much along the lines of 'Shaun of the Dead'... if you liked that you'll love this.... I found it hilarious & laughed out loud at one or two points.