Whilst at Heaven on the Planet I am staggered to hear via email that my jacket, which you see demonstrating its wonderful waterproof capabilities at Iguazu Falls, has resurfaced back in New Zealand. I have annoyingly bought a replacement already so it is now on its own way back to the UK.
You can catch up on its own exploits at www.aroundtheworldineightypostoffices.com
The tale involving some duct tape and the franking machine is outrageous!
My apologies to regular readers for the glut of emails hitting your inbox today, but I had to get up to date because it is my sister’s birthday.
I wanted to say Happy Birthday to Joanne living out in Finland, and there is no excuse for being late.
I hope all is well with you, Mark and the girls. I love your pictures on Facebook. They always raise a smile wherever I see them. Much love from Western Australia.
Robert. XXXX
I drive north trying to find a surfable wave anywhere on the New South Wales coast. It is getting blown flat everywhere and the howling wind is also making driving in a straight line far more challenging than it should be.
After checking out a number of breaks I pull off the Pacific Highway at Bombo, where there is at least something showing. I get into the back of the van to have a cup of tea whilst pondering whether to go in, only to discover that my van which has developed a bit of a talent for opening my beer bottles whilst they are in the fridge, has done it once more. I have to take the board out to clean the van and mop up all the liquid, but whilst I am doing this the wind catches my board bag sending it cartwheeling down the tarmac car park.
Repairing the damage I am spitting feathers and turning the air blue by the time this trio of Belgians arrive in their own van, parking up next to me. They are touring Australia like myself, but given Denis is sharing such a small van that he has bought with his girlfriend Marie and her sister Laura I can’t decide if he is the luckiest man in town or just the most tolerant.
We get on well and do a bit of traveller’s bartering. I exchange a spare leash and some wax for their recent surfboard purchase in exchange for some wine, and they join me in my van to enjoy sitting around a table for a while.
We all get locked into the car park at the beach overnight and spend an exceedingly windy stay in our vans.
I stuck around here hoping that the light winds in the morning would allow for a decent surf session. I wasn’t disappointed as you can see by this picture of me leaning on the early morning sun for balance.
I am keen to put on a good show for my Belgian fan club, and don’t disappoint in the fun waves which at first I have to myself. I got off to a slow start but then bagged loads of great rides charging down the line working the waves from top to bottom.
When I get out I decide to sell the dive housing for my Gopro to Denis because he is going shark diving in a few weeks and struggling to get one for the older model we both own. I have only used mine once in a pool in Mexico and have to start lightening the load if I am going to avoid more obscene baggage charges on the way home. I am more interested in the shots above the water anyway, but will look forward to seeing his footage.
After I add my bulk to helping them push start their van we depart on our separate ways promising to keep in touch.
I love it!
As you can tell from this shot taken at Turners Beach in Yamba
On a separate vein I have been reading about this bloke who surfs while playing his ukulele. I’m not sure I am personally ready to combine the two just yet!
Just a quick note to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their new arrival, who is to be called Prince George and instantly became the most eligible man in the world because he will be our future King.
I’m sure he will like living in North Wales as much as William and Katherine do.
A quick note to congratulate the British and Irish Lions on their first series win in sixteen years. Bring on New Zealand in four years time!
It has been a great tour and particular praise should go to Warren Gatland who has taken a fair bit of stick for some of his selections, however one doesn’t hear much criticism of any of that after the win.
Congratulations too for the captain of the team Sam Warburton, who you can see a picture of here on his way home. I think the snap shows how much the win meant to him.
With so many Welshmen in the squad it bodes well for the next few years for my team too. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the next six nations tournament when I get home and then on to the World Cup in 2015.
After such a successful tour I don’t really want to pick holes in the preparation of Gatland’s coaching team, but had to mention an obvious flaw I have spotted in their training.
I have seen clear evidence of the Lions team going surfing before the first test and further evidence of them satisfying their wave crave before the third test, but no evidence of any surfing before the second test which they lost. I’m just saying…
It is the main event and the whole of the rugby world is looking towards Sydney. There are lions shirts everywhere, in fact so much so you wonder if there are going to be any Australia fans at the game.
Two of my school friends are separately in town and I’m trying to meet up with them before the match because I know how much carnage there will be after the final whistle. Sadly I don’t manage to meet up with Neil, but randomly bump into Emma at a pub on The Rocks before heading to the stadium. We haven’t seen each other since we were teenagers but recognise each other instantly, and catch up over a drink.
Later on I meet up with my section of the lions support and we head towards the ANZ stadium where the atmosphere is building nicely. Chris had secured some great seats for us and after a few beers the game kicked off.
The lions are doing well but an Australia score late in the first half means things are far from certain whilst we discuss the connotations over a half time beer. However in the second half a team made up largely of Welshmen beats the Wallabies into submission and the game ends in a record victory for the lions.
The carnival atmosphere had started for the lions fans some time before the final whistle, with every Aussie fan leaving early getting a round of “Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio!” from 30,000 rowdy Brits in the stadium.
It was one of the things I was really hoping to see on my own tour and our own festivities continued well into the night. As you can see things got a bit messy, and I cannot explain why my friend’s wife is sticking her fingers up my nose, whilst I proudly hold the hat I had liberated from one of the fans of our vanquished foes. The rest is a bit of a blur…
In the build up to the deciding test match, a game between Australia and the British and Irish lions was played at the North Sydney Oval close to where I am based. It was an older and fatter version of the main event this week, with the Aussie team being led by David Campese
I persuaded Adam and Romy to come along to the game in a bid to increase the rugby banter in the house in the build up to the final game of the tour.
The game also allowed me the opportunity to catch up with an old flatmate from university, who is out here for the whole tour and visiting family.
Firthy and I were very much in opposite camps during the dark days of Welsh rugby when record losses were an all too frequent occurrence and Will Carling’s England were reaching World Cup finals, all of which meant I had to suffer dogs’ abuse for years. As a consequence it was good to catch up over a few beers and be cheering the same side for once. That the test team for Saturday had already been announced with so many Welsh players in the team was pennies from heaven for me too.
As for the match itself, it immediately became apparent to Adam and Romy that the result was somewhat irrelevant. It was largely another excuse for the lions fans to wear their shirts and sample a few more of the local beverages.
Campo tried a few goose steps much to everyone’s enjoyment and the lions team won the game but the moment of the match was Australia’s try in the corner right in front of us. The Aussie flanker who didn’t look like he had run for anything more than a bus in years had to try and make it down the entire length of the pitch after an unexpected interception. Bless him, he looked like he was running in treacle by the time he reached the try line, but just about managed to stumble over the line in slow motion like a falling tree to score to much applause and laughter from the huge crowd who had turned out for the game.
I am going to be brief here because the result is a long time passed. Well played Australia. It was another nail biter that could have gone the other way, but it didn’t so congratulations to them.
However for the rest of my days my recollection of this game will be of George North who should have been in the process of being tackled deciding that he would simply pick up the tackler rather deal with being hindered by him, and just run with him as well as the ball.
I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been watching rugby. Just Awesome! Here is a clip if you would like to see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVgc2JVNGaE
I have been in Sydney for about 10 days and am delighted to hear from one of my old neighbours in the flats I used to live in back in London. Rick is a Kiwi who works in the oil business and is now based in Singapore.
However he is in town for a couple of nights on business and we take the opportunity to catch up over a few beers.
We meet up in a rugby club that is located right in the heart of the city. There is not a rugby pitch in sight, but the atmosphere there for the game between the Lions and the Melbourne Rebels is like any rugby club in the world.
We are joined by one of Rick’s colleagues James and have a great laugh watching the game, whilst reminiscing about motorcycle trips across Europe to Austria with the rest of our ‘chapter’ Dom and Adam, who join in the fun back in London via the internet. A great night.
