Hello Phuckofvvv

There's something about arriving at a remote location at night. For one, the stars!, they always have and always will amaze me, and when I see them so clearly it always takes me back to my first time I saw them so clear on my road trip through California, so many and so bright. But the other reason I love arriving at an new and unknown location in the dark is the excitement of "what's around me?, what awaits me upon my awakening?"

The morning view from the room I was staying in

And what glorious views upon my (very late) awakening! I spent the weekend before last down on Wairo Beach, which is about 3/4 hours south of Sydney. I flew down to Sydney on Friday evening, after work, where Mandie met me at the airport, before we headed down south on our (roughly) 4 hour drive to the Wairo beach house. This is a house that Rosie has regularly vacated to with her family sine she was 10 months old. I heard about it a lot last time I was hear, but never got the chance to come down here. So after hearing about it a lot since I left Australia, and since I've been back in Australia, I wasn't going to miss out again. And I'm so glad I didn't.

Eagle

And this guy...

...Hello Phuckofvvv
Our Australian fur Seal buddy

The morning of my departure, and the weather wasn't too great...

...but still, it looked pretty awesome!

It was a really great weekend, filled with poker, laughs, beers, BBQs, stories, ;ate night book readings, body boarding etc etc. I was so glad I went down there, and as it's such a special location for Rosie, Paula (Rosie's Mum) and Alan (Rosie"s late and missed father). Greatly appreciated, to be invited.

It may have been cold down in south New South Wales, but it was hot in our kitchen back in Brisbane:

Whoever says that "advertising doesn't work" really doesn't know me. I'm sure my Mum will back me up on this one, with the cereal adverts that used to be on the TV when I was a kid, and it's still working now! I've been tempted to go to an Asian Cup game in Brisbane since I heard that Australia was hosting the event this year, and ideally an Australia game. Well the adverts down in Sydney (over the new year period) of Tim Cahill and co definitely played on my mind, and then I had to go to at least 1 game, especially as Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium was hosting 7 games over the whole tournament. So as I knew I was going to be out of Brisbane and therefore couldn't go to the Australia vs South Korea game, I took a chance and bought a quarter final ticket before the fixture/teams had been confirmed. Deep down hoping that Australia would lose against South Korea, making them runners up in Group A. When I bought my ticket the game could have been between China, Saudi Arabia or Uzbekistan vs Australia or South Korea. And just before I got my flight back to Brisbane I finally got to check the weekend's results...and much to my delight, it worked in my favour (but maybe not Australia's?)....

How the fixture stood when I bought my ticket

And the standings at the time for the possible fixture:

And when I checked last Monday, this is what I was gladly gifted with

I also found out on Monday that the section of the stadium that I would be sitting in was primary allocated to the Chinese fans now!

The 1st half was a bit slow, but straight from the 2nd half Australia turned on the heat and scored pretty quickly through a Tim Cahill bicycle, then before not too long scored their 2nd, this time through a Tim Cahill header. It was at this point that China realised that they had to play (at 2-0 down) but it was too late and the game finished 2-0 to Australia. Check it out here.

Well yeah! I'd hope so!

It was different to being at a game in England for sure, I mean the football for one! But the crowds, no clever chants just noise really, and not a great deal from the Aussie fans (I mean the odd "Aussie Aussie Aussie" "oh oh oh" here and there). The China fans kept clapping to a basic beat throughout most of the game, but they got louder and more chanty, shell I say (for lack of a better (real) word). I couldn't repeat the chants even if I wanted to, not because of the bad language, no, but the language! They were getting so excited over everything, I mean everything! I kinda wished that they would have got at least 1, cos that stadium would've erupted! The Chinese, they were electric by the time that the game was in its 89th minute, and then completely deflated by the 90th minute. As it happens, Australia beat the UAE 2-0 yesterday, and are now in the final against South Korea on Saturday.


Australia Day Eve (yeah, it's a thing) in Blackbird on Sunday evening. Where Terry was DJing. Before we had a night in the Valley.

Oh, it must be that time of year again!:

Nothing says "'stralia Day" like a drinking agenda...

...And a backwards map cake!

Also check this other (better) video out., I sadly cannot take any credit for the work on this one.

That was Australia day, on Monday just passed. Terry and his house-mates Chris and the other one, hosted yet another awesome party at their gaff. No injuries were recorded from the Slip'n'Glide, although I did end up staying out a little later than planned with Rosie on a dead Brisbane Monday evening.

I will just say this whole term all calling it "Invasion Day" instead of "Australia Day" surely doesn't help any situation. For a real quick and brief history lesson, 26th January 1788 and Captain Arther Phillip, commander of the 1st fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, arrived in Sydney Cove, this date then being known as "First Landing Day" or "Foundation Day". So to use the term "Invasion Day" here makes sense, the white British coming in and taking over a land that that was already colonised, and claiming it as their own, So on that note, I would agree that using the term "Invasion Day is appropriate, and Australian white history has not been kind at all to the the native aboriginal colonise since that date. And to skip a bit ahead here, but times are changing here (for the better), and it is a step in the right direction, no where near as fast as it needs to be I'll admit, but calling the day "Australia Day" now, surely makes sense. A day to celebrate everything that is Australian, be it white, black, yellow and everything else! A chance to start putting the evil history behind, and start celebrating being as one. I say this as a native and citizen of another country that doesn't get to celebrate its national day and I feel that it is a real shame for us, a chance to celebrate everything and EVERYONE that helps make that nation GREAT! The same as any nation. Not a day to be raciest, but a day to be proud, and they can be very different things!

OK, I hope that didn't come across as a rant, because it wasn't one. And after that I will close off by saying thank you to everyone that has been reading my blog since post 1, back in October or November 2010. With this post, my travel blog turns 100! Thanks to any new readers, thanks to the casual reader, and thanks to anyone that has bothered reading through all 100 of my posts, I'm impressed as I haven't yet read through them all. And I still hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I do writing them, and creating the material to put in them.

Off to Cairns on Saturday to final take Sandra away on her belated birthday present.