SUMMER 08/09

Mike from Newton Iowa came to visit us for a few days. He sure enjoyed the surf. Not a lot back where he came from!

Ian and his tribe popped in for a few days. Great to have he and Rozzy and the 3 Muskateers.

LJ is normally quite clean around the face.... but with ice cream, all rules are broken!

The lovely E.R. enjoyed a break from the English winter to appreciate our summer. Great to see her once again.

Well, summer’s been spent so far mostly at our Retreat. It’s a small caravan and annexe in a caravan park at Cudmirrah, not far from Sussex Inlet. For any O/S folk, we’re talking 2.5 hours south of Sydney. We’re here for the best part of 2 months (Dec and Jan).

It’s the cricketing season too so we watch a fair bit of cricket (I'll report on Hayden's retirement shortly) as well as wander on the beach and swim in the lovely clean surf. Other critters around are roos, possums, bandicoots, colourful parrots and a regal sea eagle or two.

Christmas in Australia is a time when families congregate. We have been fortunate to have daughter Deb and Brendan and their 2 kids here, son Jeremy, our mate Ian and his family and now young Mike from Iowa. Of course not all together! We missed daughter Peta and her Jon and also brother Bill who lives in Canada.
We’ve been kicked out of Dubbo by Josh and Belinda! Actually they got married and wanted somewhere to live for a few months. So, it seemed like a good idea to let them have our house. That’s why we’re here in Cudmirrah and will wander round the countryside for a few months.

BIG PROBLEM: I’ve committed myself to do the BFB bike ride in April this year from Cairns to Melbourne…. 3,000 km (nearly 2,000 miles). I should be doing serious training. I’ll give you an update on what’s happening in this regard shortly. UPDATE: I'm going as a roadie now.
Heading to Sydney next week as a volunteer at the NSW Tennis Open at Homebush. 10-17 January. Then we thought we’d go visit some places further south eg Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Narooma.
If anybody wants us to come visit, just give us a yell. We’ll see what we can do. (Hope Wendy doesn’t give a call from Perth eh!)

[As expected, Wendy did give us a yell!. Dunno if we can get there at this stage Sis.... will keep you posted.]

CRICKET and TENNIS PLAYERS ONLY

Well, there's sure been a heap of talk and story and interview etc following the recent 2nd cricket test between India and Australia. Many will remember 6 Jan 2008 as the end to a shocker of a test which contained bad umpiring, possible racist comments and maybe even poor sportsmanship. Yeah, guess there was that. But there was also some other stuff. There was tight bowling and creative field placings to restrict some of the Aussies. There were great digs by Symonds, Hayden, Hussey, Ganguly and of course the little Master himself, Sachin Tendulkar. There was also some tail wagging. And, just to please Peta, some declarations! ("OK fellas, in you come!") The photo above is just one I took of Hayden on his way to 123 in the 2nd dig. Thanks for the ticket SJK.
I'm thankful I was raised by two great parents, Jack and Willie. They taught me to play the game fairly. They taught me to accept the umpire's decisions. They taught me that there is maybe more to the game than the actual winning or losing (Rudyard Kipling thought that too!) They taught me that you can enjoy the battle but respect your opponents. Sure I am somewhat saddened to see players stand their ground when they have blatantly knicked the ball to the keeper or even to the slips. I am disappointed when I see some of the blokes carrying on like a couple of pork chops (that's for Margy). But, I still love cricket! Guess I'm a cricket tragic.
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Currently I'm a volunteer at the NSW Tennis Open - the Medibank International, at Olympic Park. I'll tip Henin to win the ladies and Hewitt to win the men's singles. (I won't put money on it though.) My job is to get the drinks to the players, get the towels to the players and get balls onto the courts. If it rains I have to help dry the court. I also have to hold the brolly over the players during their game breaks to give them some shade. Good fun.

Special thanks to Rob Sheeley for the photo of .... is it Vaidisova from Czech Republic? Great shot. Thanks mate! Taken at the Medibank International a couple of days ago.

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Off to Sussex Inlet on Saturday to get a couple more swims in. Fay is down there enjoying herself.... swimming, cycling, beach walking, watching late night TV etc. Can't wait to get down there