'Rog' - What a legend!

Watched a bit of the tennis at the Australian Open over the course of the last few weeks. Roger Federer (or 'Rog' as Jim Courier seems to refer to him from the commentary box) has looked his usual awesome self. Now at 10 grand slam wins & nearing Jimmy Connor's record for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the rankings, Roger will surely go down as one of the game's greats. He powered past Roddick (who had been looking good in the previous rounds) with ease, and only really looked troubled once in the whole tournament - when Gonzalez had 3 set points to take the 1st set (would have been the first that 'Rog' had dropped in the whole tournament). Federer defended the 3 set points and then took the 1st set in a tie-break before easily winning the next 2 (in fact he was hardly perspiring at the end of the game). And his dad (sporting a superb 'tasche) seemed to be pretty bored by the whole affair. In this form he will surely pass Pete Sampras' record of 18 Grand Slam wins...injury permitting of course.

More surprising was Serena Williams' win in the ladies singles. From 81st in world to no.14 in two weeks is impressive, more so when she has to be the heaviest player in women's tennis - she just looked so unfit & was lucky to come through her 1st round game. Mind you she is strong and her 'guns' are probably bigger than mine! Will be interesting to see if she bothers to get into shape for the rest of the season.

This tournament also say the introduction of 'hawkeye' technology and there was certainly a few teething problems with the system....however I think it is worth persevering with and the 'challenge system' is something worth looking at in other sports such as cricket.

Finally - started to wonder where the weird scoring system comes from in tennis.
Turns out love is a corruption of the French for egg - l'oeuf - as an egg is shaped like a zero....obvious right?
Deuce comes from a corruption of the French - Deux - meaning that two points are needed to win.
And the 15, 30 , 40 has two suggestions - one that originally clocks were used to keep score (15, 30 & 45) whilst the alternative is that it originates in the scoring system of Royal Tennis (both agree that 40 is merely a shortening of 45 to 2 syllables). Interesting eh?

The Hunter Valley

At the weekend we decided to get out of Sydney and head north to the Hunter Valley - some fresh air, fine wine & good food together with the great scenery were something to look forward to.

We arrived around 2pm on the Saturday (having need some extra sleep following the Australia Day celebrations) and stopped at the first of many vineyards on Broke Road. Over the course of the next 3 hours we visited a selection of wineries, everyone was helpful & friendly and Lucy & I struggled to go to have a tasting and not like at least 2 or 3 wines. Verdelho - which I had not really sampled before seemed to be particularly pleasurable in the intense heat.

Then off to our guest house - which was in Maitland. A quaint little place with only 6 rooms, each decorated in 'English Style' which basically meant chintz! The owners were very friendly & the breakfast they provided the next day was superb - the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon was delicious. For dinner we popped into the next town, 'historic' Morpeth which used to be a bustling, regional port. Well, the bustle seemed to have left long ago and most of the bars, cafes and restaurants were closed. We did however find a lovely little place with nice views over the river, Greek style to the menu & serving 'Ginger Beer Spiders' and excellent Lemon Meringue. We were planning on stopping around for a beer or two but thought better of it & headed back to the guest house for an early night (also watched movie called 'Regarding Henry' on DVD...makes you think that money isn't everything - in fact it can be a very bad thing).

The next day we started off at the Bluetongue brewery - we had discovered their alcoholic ginger beer (very good) a few weeks ago - and had hoped to go on a tour but got the timing wrong. Still, we had a sample of all of their fare (even Nobby's Light Beer was tasty) before purchasing a case of ginger beer and heading off to lunch.

We had lunch at Terroir restaurant - part of the Hungerford Hill Winery which we had visited the day before. A nice table by the window with exquisite views, a lovely bottle of chardonnay (we bought another couple on the way out!) and some great food (an interesting mix of australian & cantonese - I particularly enjoyed the quail in pastry on a chili jam, and the pork belly which Lucy ordered) made for a wonderful lunch.

With just a couple of hours left we crammed in another couple of tastings - including one at Piggs Peake which has the selling point of involving pigs in the title of it's wines - before finishing off at the Hunter Valley Cheese company (famous for it's washed rind cheeses).

On the drive back to Sydney, one could really feel the extra weight in the car (and that was just my full belly!) as I braked and accelerated. We hadn't really intended on buying so much wine but just couldn't resist!

Stopped off at an interesting place called The Entrance on the way home, Australia's 'Pelican Capital' as the sign stated... there was certainly a lot of pelicans, but also a LOT of caravans on the other side of the bay. Guess 'Caravan Capital' doesn't have the same cache!

We also noticed that a number of the place names around the Hunter Valley / Central Coast had a connection with the north east of England - Newcastle, Cumberland, Jesmond, Hexham & Morpeth to name a few - and this got me wondering why. It turns out that in it's industrial hey-day Newcastle (Coal River was it's 1st name after white settlement) was a coal port and a lot of it's first inhabitants were actually from the north-east of England themselves - so decided to name the place for home!

Australia Day

January 26th marks the anniversary of the 1st landing by Captain Arthur Phillip at Pork Jackson (Sydney) in 1788. Today it celebrates 'diversity & tolerance' within Australian society and is known as Australia Day.

Friday was the the first chance that Lucy & I had had to see Australia Day up close, and what an event it was. The evening before had got the celebration off to a flier with drinks & fireworks at the Newport Arms - overlooking Pittwater. Another 'small world' example on the bus home - bumped into a girl from Marske who went to school with the sister of the couple we have staying with us at the moment! And on the Friday we awoke slightly later than hoped and wandered along Manly Beach looking for the traditional breakfasts we had been promised. Unfortunately, we were a little too late (10.30am) and ended up having breakfast (still lovely) in the Four Olives Deli then jumped onto the ferry to take us to the CBD.

As it happens we had good timing as during the journey we caught the tail-end of the 'Ferrython' (basically 4 ferries are decked out in corporate colours & race around the harbour) and one of Lucy's friends was on the NAB ferry - which we managed to catch just as it got drenched by the fireboat!

It was once we got to the CBD though that the day really began. As we got off the ferry there was a fly-past by a F-18 fighter (we couldn't see it but we could hear it! - one of my colleagues was watching from the 26th floor and said the windows shook), then we wandered around The Rocks as there was a variety of live music - beatbox (Lucy bought a CD), aborigine dance (Lucy bought a CD), country (I almost bought a CD) and jazz.

After that we headed for Hyde Park, passing an impressive fleet of vintage cars & caravans, and stopping off at the Crime & Punishment Museum, Government House & the RBA museum on the way (all of the museums were free for the day - which makes a refreshing change). The most interesting bit of information was in the RBA museum which had a section on decimalization - it's amazing how close the Aussies came to naming their currency the 'Royal'. I'm not sure how that would have sat with the Republicans amongst them....needless to say that idea was eventually dropped (although the museum does still have some mock-ups) and the dollar adopted.

We spent a while in Hyde Park, eating (thai), drinking (coopers) & listening to some of the free music - couple of different djs & live music around the different stages. Wasn't such a big fan of the live music on offer here, but the sun & the beer helped! Once this event finished we headed over to Darling Harbour for the fireworks... the build-up seemed to last forever with a selection of new Australian citizens telling us all how proud they were to be Australian & the governor and premier of New South Wales telling us all how lucky we were to be Australian (which I'm not)... and then they teased us with the National Anthem finishing off with a few fireworks... then some random bloke sang a song (no idea who he was or what the song was) before the big show started. And what a display it was...even better than New Years Eve for my money... and probably the best fireworks I've EVER seen.

Then we had tickets for a night at the Hyde Park Barracks - sponsored by a very good radio station FBI - and featuring a wide variety of acts & djs. An excellent location & very well organized. The djs were all pretty good & we particularly enjoyed the Japanese beat-box group but left when a very average group called Blox arrived....every word seemed to start with F.

Finally, we headed to the Spiegeltent (see pic) which I had read about in the Sydney Festival Guide & it's basically a large, ornate tent with wood / glass sides built in Belgium during the 1920s - Lucy tells me there was a similar tent called the 'Pussy Parlour' at Glastonbury festival. An excellent venue & the New Orleans jazz performed by Juke Baritone & the Swamp Dogs provided a superb way to end the evening. Actually, the whole set-up evoked thoughts of spending time in a dingy New Orleans jazz club.

The whole day made me think about how very proud the Australians are about their country & culture. And also why don't we have such a day in England? St. Patrick's day is celebrated more in England than anything else and the American's have Independence Day, the Scots have Burns' night and even the Canadians have Canada Day so why don't the English have anything? I think it would help us to reflect on what it means to be English - apart from being poor at cricket.

Musings on Muse......

Went to see Muse tonight at the Hordern Pavilion, which is part of the Fox Studios complex in Sydney, adjoining the SCG.

The exterior of the Pavilion very much resembled that of a Victorian school, I was half expecting to find doors marked "Boys" & "Girls" & I suppose if it had been in England it would now be a complex of luxury apartments now. The interior closely resembled a student's union.... only larger. Whilst, the set consisted of a large set of drums, 2 transparent TV screens & what looked like 12 large, ribbed, condoms hanging from the lighting rig.

The band played a good set, from what I could tell... either the sound system was terrible or Matt Bellany (lead singer) really does have trouble enunciating his words. Anyway, the driving guitar and pumping drums more than made up for that & the mosh-pit seemed to get pretty excited. I spent most of the time listening with my eyes closed as the lights came close to blinding me & the strobes would have been the worst nightmare for an epileptic! Probably the most enjoyable song was the last before the encore when, continuing the condom theme, what looked like 12 inflated condoms, filled with red petals where passed above the heads of the crowd...when the balloons were popped the 'petals' floated into the air.

Certainly one of the better concerts I have been to here, even if I was a little too tired to enjoy it. Some thoughts on the other gigs Lucy & I have attended since arriving in Oz:

Kanye West (should stick to indoor arenas, bad choice of support for U2)
U2 (good but past best, should tone down the preaching)
Kylie (superb!, so energetic & great duet with Bono)
Kings of Leon (good despite only playing as warm-up in half empty arena)
Pearl Jam (excellent, really got the crowd going)
Robbie Williams (awful, truly awful. Should learn that getting your random mate on stage to sing badly with you is not a way to entertain a fee paying crowd. Only good songs were in the encore & even that was spoiled by combining with Rudebox, the title track to his new album)

Best piece of concert going advice in Sydney: Never, ever, under any circumstances think of traveling to the Telstra / Olympic Stadium by ferry - no matter how 'special' the journey is promised to be. Takes 45 mins & you end up at a place which is 30 mins away from the stadium by 'fun bus' & struggle to get home - the train from the CBD takes 20 mins.

On a separate note, I spent part of this afternoon at work trying to explain to one of my colleagues who Jade Goody was. I really think that I have done my fellow Englishmen no good in admitting that we have such people living in our wondrous country - and make millions too. And yes, she did 'get her kebab out' on national TV. However, I have to admit to chuckling away for a while at some of her quotes from the house. Let me share a couple with you:

"The Union Jack is for all of us, but the St George is just for London, isn't it?"
"I am intelligent, but I let myself down because I can't speak properly or spell"
"You see those things on peacocks...don't think I'm daft...but them things that look like eyes, are they real eyes?"
"Rio de Janeiro, ain't that a person?"
"They were trying to use me as an escape goat."
"Do they speak Portuganese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain"

Legendary.....

Probably the most boring man alive?

Bill Bryson, writing in his book 'Down Under', suggested that John Howard was the most boring politician he'd ever seen (or heard), and after spending a while catching some of his public appearances I have to admit I can see why.

He's sort of an Australian John Major, only duller and without the affairs. I reckon the only way he can possibly have won the election is by boring the opposition parties into submission (or maybe it was a quirk of the convoluted electoral system here).

In fact, I'm not even sure what he (or the federal government itself) does. I know he's a cricket fan as he seems to appear on every cricket TV show, but I have no idea what his policies are (apart from holding hands with George Bush) and apart from the cricket his other activities seem to be appearing at conferences in Asia looking red & wearing extraordinary pyjamas!

It seems that much of the political news in Australia is dominated by the state governments - perhaps because they continue to have members who are accused of rape, buggery and corruption - but it leaves one wondering what it is that the Federal government actually does. If anyone knows then please drop me a line! Same if anyone can explain the electoral system in a coherent sentence or two.

To walk, or not to walk.....

Today's ODI between England & Australia, and specifically, Mike Hussey's decision not to walk when glancing Anderson to the keeper, has re-ignited debate on two important points in the cricketing world.

Firstly, walking - should batsman do it? Seems that we are split between two camps; Adam Gilchrist is the most notable person in the 'walker' camp & he generally does 'walk' when he's knicked something - upholding the honest side of the game. The other side are those who wait for the umpire. Partly this comes from a genuine belief that the Umpire should be the only person making the decisions, but I'm sure that there is also the hope that the Umpire can (and they do) miss something. This is what happened this evening.

In fact, there was one notable incident when W.G. Grace was, fairly, given out by the umpire. His response was "This crowd have come here to see me, and not you my fellow"... he didn't walk & the game continued!

I guess when it comes down to it 'walking' is a question of morals, and Hussey this evening showed which side he stood on (don't for one minute think I'm trying to say English batsmen don't do the same - they do).

At the time of the incident, Hussey was on 19 & Australia were in a bit of trouble on 108, still 48 short of victory. After the reprieve Hussey compiled 46 & led the Aussies to what was, in the end, a comfortable victory. However, the snickometer & super slo-mo both suggested he should have been given out (Hussey's face after the appeal told the same story) so why was he allowed to continue & change the game?

This brings me on to the 2nd debate, the use of technology in cricket. Now, I'm a big fan of Umpires & I believe that they do a fantastic job. However, if the technology is there then why not use it? To combat the constant appealing for technology, maybe introduce a 'challenge' system similar to that in trial in tennis...where each team can challenge 2 decisions per innings? With the amount of money involved in the game & a reliance on the men in the middle I think it wise to investigate the issue further..... imagine losing the World Cup as a result of a dubious decision (has happened in football, why not cricket!). Moving on.....

Well, England lost again but at least there where a few more positives to come from the game this time. Loye looked good on debut (although at 34 hardly one for the future) but couldn't stop yet another England batting collapse (from 52-0 to 155 all out) - a real reminder of the bad old days. On the plus side our bowlers performed admirably & came within a decision or two of stealing the game. In particular, Anderson looked good & got a bit of swing - he was unlucky not to take more wickets. Let's see how we go against the Kiwis in the next game....and one thing is certain, England still look a LONG way short of challenging for the World Cup (Australia for me are strong favourites).

One final point.... I think it's becoming evident that there is an advantage of sorts in bowling 2nd in the day/night ODI games. Whether it's the change in atmospheric pressure or what I'm not sure, but the extra swing in the ball definitely suggests an increased humidity lending a helping hand.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Yesterday, I went for a walk in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Thought it would be good to get some fresh-air after days stuck inside a hospital & the weather was fantastic.

I did hope to see some wildlife, but as it turned out for much of the walk I only saw plenty of insects, lots of spiders webs (although thankfully no spiders) which seemed to be doing a good job at keeping the flies away, and some pretty interesting vegetation.

Then, as I approached a picnic area I noticed my little friend in the photo....he was eating the food that people had left behind & seemed very friendly, not at all scared by the humans wandering around taking photos of him! The meeting of the lizard, together with some stunning views of Pittwater more than made up for the lack of mammals on show (turns out they only come out at night, when the park happens to be closed).

Amazingly enough, this National Park is only 15km from where I live, and 30km from the centre of Sydney. In fact, Sydney has many National Parks surrounding it (indeed the harbour itself is classed as a National Park) and has to be one of the best cities in the world for spotting wildlife.

Oh, whilst checking out some Aboriginal caves almost walked in on two people getting it on. She looked a bit like Kath (from Kath & Kim show) and they both spent the two minutes I was there fastening their pants. Unfortunately, didn't get my camera out in time to take a shot of them!

Little Penguin

On Saturday evening I went to meet Lucy from the Manly ferry (she'd been to a jazz festival in the Domain - with another 100,000 Sydney residents).

On the way I noticed a crowd of people gathered around a spot overlooking the beach in Manly Cove. Being a curious person, I wondered over to see what was going on... and I found to my surprise that there was two baby 'Little Penguins' pottering around, whilst the parents slept beneath the boardwalk. It really was a fascinating site & not something I ever thought I would see in such a built-up area. Most impressive was the nonchalance that one of the penguins had draping his arm over a metal barrier.

Of course, Lucy was enthralled by the penguins & I'm pretty sure that if I'd suggested it she would have taken one home with her! Needless to say, most of the telephone conversations Lucy had for the next 24hrs seemed to revolve around those penguins.

Amazing sight though....an a great demonstration of the diverse wildlife that Australia is so fortunate to possess.

Small World.....

Just spent the last 3 days in hospital... not the most fun I've ever had but I did get to use the cliche - "It's a small world" for the 1st time during my stay in Sydney.

The doctor who initially examined me was English - from Hexham - and so we started chatting, and eventually realized that we had a mutual friend in London! And if that wasn't coincidence enough, I was talking to an English nurse, from Leeds, (seems most of the staff were English or Irish) for a while whilst waiting for a bed. Transpired that for 4yrs her boyfriend was my cousin! (And it's not like I have a legion of cousins) How strange is that?

Thankfully, I was discharged from hospital without anything too serious been detected and have planned to go out for a beer or two with the doc sometime soon. Will be good to have another friend here, as despite the general friendliness of the Aussies there is just a little something lacking there and both Lucy & I have found it a little tough to make 'real' friends with people.

One thing I would say is that my stay in hospital was much better than any I have endured in the UK. Treatment was prompt & I was given a multitude of tests, scans, etc that would have taken an age in the UK. The nurses were all very friendly & efficient...and the doctor gave some very good advice & had a great bed-side manner. And this was in a public (rather than private) hospital...so really makes me question the efficiency of the NHS in the UK. Maybe it's time the government / public got over themselves and realize that significant changes are needed.

My only complaint was that the rooms on the other side of the corridor had a superb view of the harbour (surely the best view from a hospital room anywhere in the world) whilst from my room I could see ...... well not much really!

The Pursuit of HappYness

Yesterday, Lucy & I went to the cinema to watch the Pursuit of Happyness. Excellent performances from Will Smith & his real-life son, Jaden, saved the movie from descending into typical Hollywood mushiness. It's almost heartbreaking to see the two of them have to sleep in their 'cave' (a public toilet) and then fight for a spot in a hostel. The day-to-day fight which the two of them endured really brought home a few things for me, and made me realize that I am extremely lucky to be in my current situation, and should be thankful for what I have.

The movie got one thinking on how the value of money can change from person to person. At one point Will (or Chris as his character is called) is down to his last $10 in the world, and his boss (Dean Witter Chairman) asks to borrow $5 (not knowing the true situation). Just try to imagine what was going through the character's mind as he hands over the cash, realizing that he'll be on the street tonight as a result. Incredible & heartwarming. Needless to say, it's a movie I'd recommend - but take a tissue or two.

And the movie also highlighted what an interesting document the 'Declaration of Independence' is (& on further reading the US constitution). It's intriguing that such an important document sought to mention 'the pursuit of happiness' along with 'Life & Liberty'. The founding fathers - Washington, Jefferson & Franklin amongst them were fascinating people and perhaps I'll return to them at a later date.

On a lighter note, today I was at the ice-cream store with Lucy when I caught sight of this guy with tattoos covering his arm. As one does, I looked at a few of them & then had to stop myself laughing as I noticed the largest tattoo had quite a spelling mistake. It read: "Life is to short". Maybe too short to check grammar? I wonder if he realizes?