Something a little 'sporty'

It all started the weekend BEFORE the Grand Final, that wasn't! Let me explain...

Saturday morning of the 18th September, I was invited out to Blacktown Olympic Stadium for the U18 AFL Grand Final to watch a mate play. It was SUCH a good game, and at the end of regular time, it was all tied up at 87 each! now here is where the rules differ between this lower grade and that of the AFL in that, here they played an additional 5 mins each way PLUS 'time on' so as a result could be achieved, WHERE AS in the AFL, they are playing the Grand Final AGAIN this Saturday! Stupidity! So here are some pics from the day:

First Bounce GAME ON

Fighting for the ball

Full Time Score

Full Time after extra TIME

Done well guys, you can hold you heads high!

Blacktown Olympic Stadium was the home for Baseball & Softball for the Olympics in 2000, and they later included a turf cricket pitch (my former work life was managing these) and is now a multi-purpose stadium including AFL.

Blacktown Olympic Park

So, this weekend (which is a long weekend here) will have the AFL replay Grand Final (now with 5 mins each way + time on) on Saturday, the NRL Grand Final on Sunday and a rest day on the Monday!!! AND, I think there may even be a car race as well, bring it on!!!!

Predictions FOR the weekend? Well as it seems lately every game I put a 'tip' out there, my team goes down, BUT I WILL STILL stay with St Kilda in the AFL and any other team OTHER than St George in the NRL, so GO the Roosters!!!!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Since the last post, I have been...

BUSY AS!!!!

Allow me to elaborate. Thursday, I spent most of the day with total IMBECILES! So, on Thursday night, even though I wanted to simply get trashed, I could not as on Friday, I had to do it all over again in the morning, however, the afternoon would be somewhat (a lot really) different!

I spent the afternoon on a judging panel. It was very pleasing to do this, and to see the result, but there will be more on that in the coming weeks/months.

Friday evening, I went to a mates place for dinner. He cooked a really nice piece of Steak, bacon, mashed potato's and peas with corn. I also had a drink (OK, I had TWO as I had to drive) before getting home. I had a SKYPE call to my bestie in the States, before heading off to bed to watch some TV and get some sleep.

Saturday, I was up early, so I got the mower out, and did the lawns, 2 loads of washing, weeded a garden bed where the Dranuculus is coming up (hopefully with some flowers again) and got some lunch (Hamburger with the lot, NO BEETROOT) and settled down for the AFL Grand Final. This was a great match, and for the 3rd time in VFL/AFL history, it ended in a DRAW! Saturday night, I made dinner (for my mate) of creamy sun-dried tomatoes and garlic pasta, with chicken... It was very YUMM!

Then today, again up early, so I got some more washing done, bed sheets, and gave myself a haircut; a Number 3! Then it was off to get my God-daughter her birthday present. I was wanting to get a plant/tree that has her name in it, but alas, this was not an easy task. So I ended up getting her something else. Again, her father made the cake, and this year, it was a Lady Beetle (or is it a Lady Bird?)! Happy Birthday Little B!

Breanna Lady Beetle/Bird Cake

Breanna stikes a pose

Little brother Sydney with his Loader

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 38 Ships and Flags

Flag Ships Panorama

Ships and Flags

Hoo roo for now...

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Some stuff around town...

Today, was SUCH a lovely day, I took a walk to get a couple of photos... These are some of the ones I took... These little buggers, really do some damage when they are out foraging for some lunch or dinner. The Sulfur Crested Cockatoo has a powerful beak, so its best to NOT feed them if you want to keep your fingers!

Sulfur Crest Cockatoo

Next, up, when walking around Farm Cove, I spotted some anglers trying to catch some dinner. I am not sure if any of them have succeeded yet though...

Fishing

Then I got into the Royal Botanic Gardens a little proper, and they are just stunning at this time of year.

Spring Walk

Lion Gate Lodge

Victoria Lodge

I also got a shot of Fort Denison, but due to it being late in the day, and heat haze, it is not the best really...

Fort Denison

And there are some Glass Story Panels called the 'Veil of Trees' (Installation by Janet Lawrence and Jisuk Han) that are really quite fascinating to read. And at night, they have some very subtle lighting to show them off as well!

Glass Garden

Tomorrow, for Wordless Wednesday, I will be having something very colourful that floats, so stay tuned!

Hoo roo for now...

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Olympics: - A 10th Anniversary of "The Best Games Ever"

Recently, Sydney celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Sydney hosting "The most successful Olympic Games ever" (Juan-Antonio Samaranch, had withheld from Atlanta in 1996 the epithet "best-ever Games", which he first delivered at the closing of the Olympics in his home city of Barcelona, in 1992, and then also accorded Sydney in 2000).

It was a busy day, in that there was a LOT of people at the venue, to witness the relighting of the Olympic Cauldron. To mark the occasion, Cathy Freeman was invited to light the cauldron, although this time, hoping that the technical glitch that had it sitting just above her for 3mins and 40 seconds did not happen again! However, her nemesis paid a visit with the Cauldron lighting itself, and later extinguished, before she got there to do the job properly! Here is what the cauldron looks like during the day:

Cauldron Close

And here it is, at dusk, with the flame burning again;

Cauldron at Dusk

Sydney, during the games, was such a great atmosphere to be in. People were friendlier than normal, the public transport ran better than it ever had (still to this day) and the vibe was just awesome! It was a time that I will certainly never forget!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bikes: - A great way to get around, right?

Then WHY are these ones NOT being utilised like in Europe?

Melbourne Bikes

Because, unlike in Europe, it is LAW in Australia to wear a helmet! Ok, for something like $2.50 a DAY, why wouldn't you use it to get around town instead of driving? I mean, how easy is it (as a tourist) to pay a small fee, unlock your bike, and ride about and at the end of the day, you don't even have to return it as you simply lock it back in at any other bike stand around town!!!

Melbourne Bikes

Now I get the whole safety issue, don't get me wrong, but why is it so widely used in Europe yet not so here? Maybe by getting rid of cars in the city is the way to go, I don't know, but it is certainly a hot issue in Sydney at the moment!

In Europe, here are some of the bike stands that are widely used, and in a much more acceptable way...

Aalborg, Denmark Bikes

Parisian Bikes

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 37 Spring Walk

Spring Walk RBGS

Flower Bed Lawn RBGS

Hoo roo for now...

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A short trip to Melbourne Pt 2 of 2

Melbourne, really is the city of food... It has so many wonderful little lanes and hidden nooks and cranny's where there are simply, the best Cafes! Here, we have Flinders Lane (one of many little lane ways) that have these little Bohemian style Cafes.

Flinders Lane Cafes

We had, naturally on a Sunday morning, no where to go with all of these wonderful little places all fully occupied, so we kept on walking down Collins St and came across a little place, L'incontro, where we had breakfast (Bacon, eggs, tomato, hash brown and toast (I gave away my Fungi...)!

L'incontro

Breakfast

As time was marching on, and I had two flights to catch to get me home (as when I booked), as there was no direct Melbourne to Sydney flights left so I started to plan via Brisbane, then Adelaide and finally I had to go via Canberra which had a 3.5 hour layover! So we walked back to towards Flinders St Station to catch the Tram back to Richmond. Along the way, there was some flower box's full of Spring Colour, the Royal Agricultural Society was promoting the Melbourne Show with the Farm Animals on display. I love these Kelpies with their 'Jockeys' on!!!

RAS Melbourne Kelpie Dog

Melb Building

Melb Purple Cinners

Melb Blue Cinners

Flinders St Station

The flight back was, well... lets say 'Interesting' to say the least! There was a family of mum, dad and three boys infront of my seat, and mum was next to me. The two boys infront sat down and were very well behaved in row 1 (yes, I was in Business Class). Anyway, we pushed back, and taxied to the hold point all good so far! We were given our ok to turn and depart Melbourne via a northerly departure and we were on our way to Canberra! Just as the flight attendants started the meal service, there was a bit (followed by a lot) of turbulence, suspending the service... This startled the young chap in front and resulted in him asking (in only the way a child can ask AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE, "Are we going to crash?" Well, this had the family in fits of laughter, as with most of us in the cabin as well mind you! It lasted a good 15 minutes or so, which meant that on the short trip to Canberra, service was well... QUICK! We landed and I headed into the Business Lounge to wait for my next flight to Sydney. This flight, was uneventful, and I got home at just a little bit after 8.30pm!

So, another flight down for the year, where WILL I go to next?

Hoo roo for now...

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A short trip to Melbourne Pt 1 of 2

Since my last post, I have now had stitches removed and a little more mobile... This allowed me to venture south, to Melbourne, for the Semi-final match for the Swans 'v' Western Bulldogs.

However, the weekend was a real let down for me, sports wise, due to multiple losses! Let me show you JUST how bad it was:

• AFL: - Swans v Western Bulldogs (10.12. 72 - 11.11 77)
• Rugby Union: - Australia 'v' New Zealand (22 - 23)
• Sydney Roosters 'v' West Tigers (19 - 15) which had a field goal scored in the dieing minutes to go to Golden Point time!!!

Aside from these poor results, after the flight down late Friday night (after seeing the GP) I headed straight for bed. Sydney airport has a very STRICT curfew of 11pm. Our flight was delayed after the mornings heave fog, and as our aircraft went to Perth, which meant we had our wheels up at 10.58pm!

On Saturday, whilst others slept in, I went into Richmond for breakfast at the 'Groove Train'. The breakfast was fast, service great, but more importantly, the food was excellent!

Groove Train Breakie

After this, we then headed into the Yarra Valley, a Wine District. Mr L has become very use to the 'bubbles' of the famous Chandon of Moet & Chandon fame!

Moet & Chandon

Chandon Cork

We also had a look around the Gardens, which were really special...

Chandon Vines

Chandon House Lawn

Chandon House

Chandon House Poppy Bed

After a trip around the Gardens, we then headed inside to have a look at the inner workings of such a winery, to the vats and barrels through to the 'Rittle Room' (which is where they turn the bottles every couple of days) and finally ending up in the shop where you could 'sample' the produce which is a must do of course!

Chandon Barrel Room

Master Rittler

Rittle Room

Chandon Tasters

Then it was to a lookout (War Memorial which doubles as the CFA Early Fire Lookout) to overlook some of the area and onto Melbourne in the distance, before heading back into Melbourne City and to the Game.

Melbourne in the distance...

MCG 11092010

I will post some more from the Sunday tomorrow, as this is already a long enough post... Hoo roo for now...

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