Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 21 - 13th December

Day 21

Heading for a quiet couple of days at home now.  Weather is great (Too great actually, ranging from 30 to 40 degrees in Sydney today).

Alfie had taken the car to the airport today as he was flying to Brisbane and I was due to go to Cerys’s school concert at 2.00pm so I stayed home in the morning before having lunch at Blends Restaurant in Forestway.

I had a great lunch of cannelloni with toasted sourdough bread and a glass of Pinot Gris before heading to the school for the concert.

As  school concerts go it was very good but I was so annoyed at selfish parents and grandparents  who would stand up to record their child on phones and even more annoyingly on Ipads.  It was as if theirs was the only one that mattered and sod the rest of you behind.

I comp[lately missed Cerys with not a sighting because of these people.

After the concert I picked Cerys up at close of school and we went back over to Blends.  She for a milkshake and me for another Pinot Gris.  

Then the walk home with temperature in the 30s.

Was I glad to get home and put the air conditioning on.

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 20 - 12th December

Day 20

It was a great morning with the sun out very early. Dylan was well enough to go to school so, after breakfast, I decided to head out and drive to Maroubra, which is in the southern part of Sydney, quite close to the airport and Botany Bay.  It is one of the most famous surfing beaches in NSW.

Maroubra Beach stretches for approximately 1km on Maroubra Bay. Mahon Pool is located north of the beach, near Mistral Point. There are two surf clubs at Maroubra, the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club and the South Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club . The Arthur Byrne Reserve sits behind both these clubs. And a skating park is located at the southern end of Maroubra Beach.

The word "Maroubra" originates from an Aboriginal word meaning "like thunder", which refers to the surf conditions and the sounds of the waves. The length of Maroubra Beach and good surf conditions provide numerous photographic opportunities for both local and visiting photographers like me. There are numerous photography guides for Maroubra Beach and Mahon Pool and professional photographers showcase photos from this place as a part of their portfolio.

Maroubra has some large parklands, the most popular being the reserve along the waterfont at Maroubra Beach, called Arthur Byrne Reserve. The reserve has an enclosed children's playground to the north of the blue Pavilion building at North Maroubra, close to the car park. There are barbecue facilities and tables for picnickers.

As I have previously stated, the beaches around here are so numerous that they are never crowded, as you can see from the photographs below taken today at around mid day.

The surf was not particularly high today and there were no spectacular shots to be taken but there were still enough surfers in the water to make it interesting.

I spent quite a while here in the sunshine and later cooling off in the surf (only up to my knees though). I then went for lunch in the Pavilion Restaurant which had a really cooling breeze blowing through it which was most welcome after the 32 degree heat along the front.

After some more time taking photographs I called it a day and headed back home. All in all a very pleasant day at one of my favourite places in Sydney

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 19 - 11th December

Day 19

I had no specific plans for today and it was just as well because Dylan was suffering from conjunctivitis and could not go to school.

So after getting up early to see Manchester United lose to City I took on the responsibility of staying home with him.  He was OK in himself, it was just his eyes that were swollen and weeping.

He was very helpful around the house and he helped me make a curry for dinner and some cheese straws for snacks.  

By the end of the day his eyes seemed a lot better so I think he will be back at school tomorrow

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 18 - 10th December

Day 18

Didn't go to swimming with the kids today.  I stayed in and sorted out a few things before heading down to North Sydney Oval to see some WBBL.  That is the Women's Big Bash League. Cricket at its most exciting.

This was the opening weekend of the Big Bash (men and women's season) and it was marked by the special event weekend being hosted at the North Sydney Oval. Records were broken on and off the field as the third edition of the WBBL began with a bang in Sydney. 

Thousands of fans packed into North Sydney Oval and hundreds of thousands more tuned in to TVs to watch records tumble as the third season of the Women’s Big Bash League opened in scintillating fashion across a blockbuster weekend.

In total a crowd of more than 8,726 fans headed to the picturesque North Sydney Oval for the four matches played there this weekend. Crowds were treated to incredible cricketing feats, a wonderful family friendly atmosphere, and plenty of off-field entertainment. 

I arrived at the ground in time to see Brisbane Heat's innings in reply to the Scorchers total of 188 for 6, which was mainly due to a knock of 84 from Englands Natalie Sciver. A poor start by Brisbane meant they were never really in the hunt despite a terrific 87 off 54 balls from Delissa Kimminee.  They eventually finished 18 runs short of victory. 

It was then time for what had been billed as the big one, the Sydney derby between the Sixers and the Thunder.

The Thunder taking to the field

It turned out to be a very one sided affair as Sydney Thunder were held to 142 for 6 at the close of their innings.  Sydney Sixers then wasted no time in getting after the total  with opener Alyssa  Healy hitting a 27 ball 47 before being run out.  Things slowed a little then but the result was never in doubt despite the thunder taking it into the penultimate over before Sixers were victorious by 6 wickets.

Having chosen a quiet corner of the stand to watch the game, as it unfolded I was gradually surrounded by young ladies in identical sportswear and at first I thought it must be a local team but by the time I had read the various badges on their kits I realised it was the entire Brisbane Heat team coming up to watch the other match.

I got into conversation with a couple of them and they taught me a lot about the WBBL and the teams playing in it. This made it even more interesting afternoon chatting with these lovely ladies. I did not get their names but I am pretty certain one of them was Tess Cooper.

Tess Cooper, Brisbane Heat

A great day at The North Sydney Oval. I will definitely be back for more.  Now home for Sunday dinner.

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 17 - 9th December

Day 17

After breakast this morning we took Dylan to Wakedhurst for his last rugby training of the year   He really is quite good but this morning seemed more excited to be with his friend Eddie.  His kicking in particular is excellent and he was the only member of the class to kick a conversion.

At the presentation afterwards (where everybody got an award) he was presented with the best kicker award. It was well deserved

Happier with his tub of sweets than his achievement certificate in his other hand.

After this we all went to get more Christmas stuff from  Bunnings and the Christmas store before going for a drive along the coast.

A new reindeer for the front lawn

We stopped at a beach on the Pacific coast near Mona Vale for a little while before moving on. 

There are so many beaches around Sydney that, unless you go to Bondi and sometimes Manly, you will always find acres of space to laze in.  This was a particularly hot Saturday and just look at the number of people on the beach.

This was a nice spot where the tide came right in to an inlet called Narabeen Lagoon which was very shallow and safe for little kids to play in.

By now the kids were asleep in the car so we decided to head back home.

Their new car which the kids have named 'Quin'

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 16 - 8th December

Day 16

Left home today intending tgo go to Maroubra because I had heard there was to be a very high tide and the surfers should be out in force.  Unfortunately after I had crossed the city I drove into a massive thunder and lightning storm with very heavy rain.

I quickly changed my plans and carried on driving around to the other side of Botany Bay.

I stopped at a place called Sylvania which I had never heard of and despite the rain it appeared very appealing and photogenic.

Sylvania is an affluent suburb, in southern Sydney some 22 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It's well known for its large waterfront properties and restaurants.

From here I drove to Tom Ugly’s Point to see the two road bridges that cross over the George River.

Tom Uglys Bridge is composed of two bridges, completed in 1929 and 1987, that cross the river at this point.

The 1929 Pratt truss bridge is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register and carries three lanes of northbound vehicular traffic on the Princes Highway (A36). The 1987 concrete box girder bridge was built to the east of the older bridge and carries the three southbound lanes of the highway. Both bridges have shared bicycle and pedestrian pathways. The bridges link the St George's area at Blakehurst to the Sutherland Shire at Sylvania. The Tom Uglys Bridge is one of three major road crossings of the Georges River.

It was soon time to head back to French's Forest as I was on baby sitting duties this evening because Alfie and Amy were going out on yet another Christmas Party.  It's a hard life being a grandparent.