Having found my lodgings, which were with an old friend from Bahrain and his family in one of Sydney's northern suburbs I set about abusing my liver and kidneys in a fairly major fashion. Day 1 was the semifinal between Aussie and New Zealand and I met up with about a dozen guys from work one of whom had my ticket for this game, I was very impressed with the set up of the venue for the rugby (Stadia Australia) you couldn't fault any part of the infrastucture. It was a good game to watch, although the Kiwis seemed to be on a self destruct mission. Aussie won the game quite convincingly and the Aussie supporters seemed to be fancying their chances. Much banter and ale were had and I had a slight headache the following morning. Feeling a little better after a fried brekkie we set about preparing for the next semifinal England vs France, a few clensing ales were had before making our way to the stadium for the next match. Despite the fact it was a sunday, the transportation was still very efficient. The tented village ( AKA pub) outside the ground was AWASH with white and "swing low sweet chariots" was booming out. Everynow and then there was a squeeky attempt at "allez les blue" by a token Frenchman ( or more often a smug looking Aussie), who got buried under a cacophony of noise. I'd guess there were 40,000 English, maybe 5,000 French, 20,000 Aussies supporting France and the rest made up of wandering minstrals who'd either got the wrong game or foolishly thought their team was going to get this far. England put in a very professional and tactically sound { playing Catt as an auxillery fly half as predicted by your scribe prior to the team selection ( allows himself a smug grin) } performance. Again many ales were drunk and the banter with the Aussies seemed to be developing a keener edge. Over the next week I attended a number of rugby lunches and drinking sessions, bumped into several friends that I hadn't seen for years and generally became a token "old fart". I did manage a little bit of sight-seeing around Sydney, but the weather was pretty poor so it did encourage me to stay in (the bar) ... I mean indoors 
. I had a couple of enjoyable trips around the Darling Harbour area, walked through the excellent botanical gardens in Sydney ( next to the Opera house) and took a watertaxi around the harbour itself ( very reasonable fee) to make sure I had the required photos of Sydney bridge and the Opera house.
By the time the final came the place was at fever pitch, the train journey to the ground was most entertaining with Swing low, Jerusalem, Rule Britania and a smutty version of waltzing Matilda all sung with gusto by the English fans. At one staghe, dissapointed by the Aussies lack of retaliation we burst into the proper version of Waltzing Matilda in the hope it would encourage them... but it didn't
.
I'm sure many of you watched the final on TV, it was a fantastic game to be at. Great atmosphere with I'd guess the crowd being a 50-50 split Aussies and English. Now given the distance needed to travel I can't think of any country in any sport that has had so many travel so far and be so loud. It was a fantastic effort by the supporters and they completely drowned out the home teams supporters. The South African referee did a fantastic job of evening up the match and keeping the Aussies in the game when they looked dead and buried. A number of mysterious decissions gave the aussies the chance to weedle their way back into the game and we went into overtime. Just when it looked like we had it int he bag, another moody penalty allowed the Aussies to tie it up with 2 minutes left to go. Quick restart, England get the ball, Dawson makes a break, SIR Martin ( it can't be long
) carries it up once more, the ball goes to Jonny.......... the rest is history. I managed to find my host in the memebrs bar in the ground, he was indeed the happiest man on earth (having spent 18 years in Australia taking a load of grief for England failures in a number of sports he was going to make sure he got his monies worth ). MAny of the Aussies stuck around to share a beer and eat humble pie( fine form IMHO) a few (strangly enough the most vociferous before the game) slunk off without refreshment and their tails firmly between their legs. The next couple of days went very quickly, the England jersies were worn at all times, obviously and even the miopic Aussie press had to admit the best team won the competition . My lasting memory of the rugby ( other than the winning kick going over) will be 600-700 England supporters singing Jerusalem as FULL VOICE by one of the bars under the stadium when they got to "On Englands Green and pleasant land" I got a little emotional, I knew we were in for something special.
On to Hawaii, not too bad a flight, I think about 10 hours. I arrived early in the morning ( about 2.00 AM) This was a little confusing to me because I'd taken off at 2 in the afternoon of that day
. I wasn't at all sure I'd got the hotel booked correctly what with going over the international dateline, but I arrived at the hotel and it all went smoothly. Nice hotel ( The Park Shore on Waikiki beach), great location, I got a dodgy room IMHO, but as I was paying $40 a night (booked through hotwire) for a hotel that goes for near on $200 a night and it was over Thanks Giving, I couldn't really complain too much. I had planned to hire a car and get out into the countryside in Hawaii, but after the serious bashing I'd given my internal organs over the previous weeks I just took it easy. The hotel had a great pool area over looking Diamond head and it was just a few yards walk (over the road) to Waikiki beach. Being holiday season it was pretty busy, but they've done a decent job on sprucing up the beach areas and there were a couple of little (free) shows laid on at sunset with hula dancers and hawaian songs.
A few of you may know I've been a long time fan of the wildlife artist Wyland ( http://www.wyland.com ) and that he lives in Hawaii. I found out that he plans to do a "whaling wall" painting in England and was dismayed that the front runner for this was Hull. Now nothing against Hull, but if the idea is to push forward the idea of conservation etc, then IMHO it needs to be in an area where the most number of people can see it. Hoping to be able to make the case for a spot in London, I thought I'd visit one of his galleries and see if there were any shows going on. Well as luck would have it, there was one in that very gallery in a couple of days. Wyland and four of the artists that show in his galleries were going to be doing some paintings ( to celebrate his 25 years in business) , signing books and chatting to the public. To good a chance to miss , so I returned on the appointed day and had a very enjoyable evening seeing the artists at work, got a couple of books signed and chatted to a few of the artists. I managed to get the chance to make my point about London and he gave me his email and asked me to write the points down as he thought they were very valid and that the destination hasn't been finalised yet. At the end of the evening they announced they were going to auction the painting that Wyland had been working on for the previous three hours( it was a lot of fun to see the whole work from blank canvas to finished article) . The auction started and while I was mulling over the difficulties in getting the thing home (VAT and transporting it) it sold for about one third of what an original piece would normally go for. DAMN AND BLAST !!!! I was decidedly miffed that I hadn't at least made a bid as I have ALWAYS wanted to own an original by him. While I was cursing my lack of speed off the mark, they made an announcement that there was the final show to be held in the same showroom in a week ( too late I was gone) but there was another show in 2 days time at XXX gallery a few miles away. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I asked about that show and was told it was in a smaller gallerie and a little "off the beaten track" there were likely to be less people. I wrestled with the logistics of getting the painting home to England and then back to the US when I plan to move there with Jana. I decided it was worth a go, fewer people might mean a lower price. I arrived reasonably late to the next show ( didn't want to look like a stalker LOL) and waited for the auction, I put in a bid, some one countered I put in another then someone else put in a bid at the limit I'd set myself. I thought about it, but having witrnessed the previous aucton I decided to take the gamble that Wyland would offer to do a similar painting for the same price for the 2nd to last bidder, as he had done at the last show. Indeed he did, and I accepted. So I'm now the very proud owner of an original oil painting by Wyland ( who shows at the Boardwalk hotel at WDW and well worth a visit if you're in the area). I was very pleased to pay about a third of what these paintings usually start at, particularly as he now almost never works in oil. They will "store" bought paintings for up to 12 months, so hopefully I'll be able to get it delivered straight to Florida in the summer .
My last day I went to the USS Arizona (Pearl Harbour) memorial, which was a thought provoking trip and interesting historical visit. Well worth the visit, but do arrive a couple of hours before the designated "closing time" as the visit to the ship takes about 45 minutes and there is usually an hour wait to get on the trip. If you arrive less than 2 hours before the close, you stand a good chance of not getting in.
Next stop California and meeting up with the loverly Jana
. I had a couple of enjoyable trips around the Darling Harbour area, walked through the excellent botanical gardens in Sydney ( next to the Opera house) and took a watertaxi around the harbour itself ( very reasonable fee) to make sure I had the required photos of Sydney bridge and the Opera house. By the time the final came the place was at fever pitch, the train journey to the ground was most entertaining with Swing low, Jerusalem, Rule Britania and a smutty version of waltzing Matilda all sung with gusto by the English fans. At one staghe, dissapointed by the Aussies lack of retaliation we burst into the proper version of Waltzing Matilda in the hope it would encourage them... but it didn't
. I'm sure many of you watched the final on TV, it was a fantastic game to be at. Great atmosphere with I'd guess the crowd being a 50-50 split Aussies and English. Now given the distance needed to travel I can't think of any country in any sport that has had so many travel so far and be so loud. It was a fantastic effort by the supporters and they completely drowned out the home teams supporters. The South African referee did a fantastic job of evening up the match and keeping the Aussies in the game when they looked dead and buried. A number of mysterious decissions gave the aussies the chance to weedle their way back into the game and we went into overtime. Just when it looked like we had it int he bag, another moody penalty allowed the Aussies to tie it up with 2 minutes left to go. Quick restart, England get the ball, Dawson makes a break, SIR Martin ( it can't be long
) carries it up once more, the ball goes to Jonny.......... the rest is history. I managed to find my host in the memebrs bar in the ground, he was indeed the happiest man on earth (having spent 18 years in Australia taking a load of grief for England failures in a number of sports he was going to make sure he got his monies worth ). MAny of the Aussies stuck around to share a beer and eat humble pie( fine form IMHO) a few (strangly enough the most vociferous before the game) slunk off without refreshment and their tails firmly between their legs. The next couple of days went very quickly, the England jersies were worn at all times, obviously and even the miopic Aussie press had to admit the best team won the competition . My lasting memory of the rugby ( other than the winning kick going over) will be 600-700 England supporters singing Jerusalem as FULL VOICE by one of the bars under the stadium when they got to "On Englands Green and pleasant land" I got a little emotional, I knew we were in for something special. On to Hawaii, not too bad a flight, I think about 10 hours. I arrived early in the morning ( about 2.00 AM) This was a little confusing to me because I'd taken off at 2 in the afternoon of that day
. I wasn't at all sure I'd got the hotel booked correctly what with going over the international dateline, but I arrived at the hotel and it all went smoothly. Nice hotel ( The Park Shore on Waikiki beach), great location, I got a dodgy room IMHO, but as I was paying $40 a night (booked through hotwire) for a hotel that goes for near on $200 a night and it was over Thanks Giving, I couldn't really complain too much. I had planned to hire a car and get out into the countryside in Hawaii, but after the serious bashing I'd given my internal organs over the previous weeks I just took it easy. The hotel had a great pool area over looking Diamond head and it was just a few yards walk (over the road) to Waikiki beach. Being holiday season it was pretty busy, but they've done a decent job on sprucing up the beach areas and there were a couple of little (free) shows laid on at sunset with hula dancers and hawaian songs.A few of you may know I've been a long time fan of the wildlife artist Wyland ( http://www.wyland.com ) and that he lives in Hawaii. I found out that he plans to do a "whaling wall" painting in England and was dismayed that the front runner for this was Hull. Now nothing against Hull, but if the idea is to push forward the idea of conservation etc, then IMHO it needs to be in an area where the most number of people can see it. Hoping to be able to make the case for a spot in London, I thought I'd visit one of his galleries and see if there were any shows going on. Well as luck would have it, there was one in that very gallery in a couple of days. Wyland and four of the artists that show in his galleries were going to be doing some paintings ( to celebrate his 25 years in business) , signing books and chatting to the public. To good a chance to miss , so I returned on the appointed day and had a very enjoyable evening seeing the artists at work, got a couple of books signed and chatted to a few of the artists. I managed to get the chance to make my point about London and he gave me his email and asked me to write the points down as he thought they were very valid and that the destination hasn't been finalised yet
. At the end of the evening they announced they were going to auction the painting that Wyland had been working on for the previous three hours( it was a lot of fun to see the whole work from blank canvas to finished article) . The auction started and while I was mulling over the difficulties in getting the thing home (VAT and transporting it) it sold for about one third of what an original piece would normally go for. DAMN AND BLAST !!!! I was decidedly miffed that I hadn't at least made a bid as I have ALWAYS wanted to own an original by him. While I was cursing my lack of speed off the mark, they made an announcement that there was the final show to be held in the same showroom in a week ( too late I was gone) but there was another show in 2 days time at XXX gallery a few miles away. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I asked about that show and was told it was in a smaller gallerie and a little "off the beaten track" there were likely to be less people. I wrestled with the logistics of getting the painting home to England and then back to the US when I plan to move there with Jana. I decided it was worth a go, fewer people might mean a lower price. I arrived reasonably late to the next show ( didn't want to look like a stalker LOL) and waited for the auction, I put in a bid, some one countered I put in another then someone else put in a bid at the limit I'd set myself. I thought about it, but having witrnessed the previous aucton I decided to take the gamble that Wyland would offer to do a similar painting for the same price for the 2nd to last bidder, as he had done at the last show. Indeed he did, and I accepted. So I'm now the very proud owner of an original oil painting by Wyland ( who shows at the Boardwalk hotel at WDW and well worth a visit if you're in the area). I was very pleased to pay about a third of what these paintings usually start at, particularly as he now almost never works in oil. They will "store" bought paintings for up to 12 months, so hopefully I'll be able to get it delivered straight to Florida in the summer . My last day I went to the USS Arizona (Pearl Harbour) memorial, which was a thought provoking trip and interesting historical visit. Well worth the visit, but do arrive a couple of hours before the designated "closing time" as the visit to the ship takes about 45 minutes and there is usually an hour wait to get on the trip. If you arrive less than 2 hours before the close, you stand a good chance of not getting in.
Next stop California and meeting up with the loverly Jana
