Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 15 - 7th December

Day 15


Don't know how it happened but I had agreed to go Christmas shopping with Amy today.  Not much to say except I was worn out by the time time she had dragged me around first of all the Westfield Centre in Chatswood, then Belrose Shopping Precinct and finally Glenrose shopping village.

Was I glad to get back home and open a bottle of Tyrrell's Semillon!!

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 14 - 6th December

Day 14

Took it easy this morning before heading down to Gordon to get the train into the city.  It is easier doing it this way because there is plenty of parking space around the train station area.

When I got to the city I walked through the Hunter Connection into Pitt Street and arrived just in time for a massive thunder and lightning storm.  Once again, not dressed for this type of weather I had to take shelter in a nearby café.  After this I headed for the Royal Hotel which was quite close and settled down ready to watch final day of the second Ashes test match.

I ordered lunch and expected to see a titanic battle between the England batsmen and Australian bowlers.  Unfortunately this did not transpire and we were bowled out in less than one session.  Not good news for the series, Australia only needing to win one of the last three test matches to regain the Ashes.  Let’s hope we perform better in Perth next week.

I stayed in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and met Alfie when he finished work.  After this I made my way along Pitt Street to Angel Place and the City Recital Hall.

I was staying in town for the evening to see Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea which was to start at 7.00pm.

I had a little time to kill so I called in to the Angel Café for a coffee and sat outside amidst the overpowering buildings

Then it was showtine and I made my way into the theatre.  It was a really well laid out theatre with bars and restaurants on the ground floor.  I bought a programme and headed up to my seat in the first floor balcony.  The theatre had obviously been recently refurbished and was very impressive inside.

The stage was set up in a minimal manner with the orchestra on the theatre floor immediately in front  on a level with the audience, not in a pit.

The opera itself was different to anything I had seen before but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I think I will be looking out for more Pinchgut productions in future.

Then a walk to the station for the return trip to Gordon and a short car ride home after a very interesting day indeed.

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Days 10 to 13 - 2nd to 5th December

Days 10 to 13


Adelaide Trip for 2nd Ashes Test

Up nice and early ready for our trip to Adelaide.  Alfie and I were going to the first ever day/night Ashes Test Match at the Adelaide Oval. We drove to the airport and caught a Quantas flight to Adelaide and upon arrival took a taxi out to Henley Beach where Alfie had booked an AirBnB apartment for the next couple of days. 

If it had not been for the weather it would have been amazing. The location was superb but it was cold and raining. Not what I had been expecting for first day of summer in South Australia.

After settling in to the apartment we headed into the city to meet some of Alfie's friends and had lunch in the union hotel before taking the walk across the bridge to the ground.

The Union

We settled in ready for the start, watching all of the warming up sessions and then the official start but it was already evident that it would be cold here today and we had not come prepared for it.

Then at 2.00pm the match started and there's not much to sat except that it was not a good day for England and we were absolutely freezing by the time play finished for the evening at around 10.30pm.

We made our way back across the bridge into the city centre, deciding not to go to the Casinop this evening and got a taxi back out to the apartment on Henley Beach.

On Sunday we had breakfast in the apartment and then headed into the city to buy a hoodie to wear at the game.  I would not be as cold today as I was yesterday.

At the ground it was more of the same As Australia took a firm grip on the game and England continued to under perform with both the bat and the ball.

It came as some sort of relief when rain stopped play early for the day.  We left the ground and this time headed for the Casino where we spent a few hours on the gaming tables, not losing too much and then we watched the South Coast derby in the sports lounge.  This resulted in  a 1 - 1 draw for Bournemouth and Southampton.

Then, in the early hours it was time for a taxi back out to the apartment.

Monday morning we packed our bags as we were heading back to Sydney later.  It was a lovely morning so we walked along the beach front enjoying the start to the day.

Looking out from our apartment building

Before catching a bus into the city centre, we had breakfast in the Iconic Joe's Kiosk Cafe right on Henley Beach. Amazing bacon and eggs on Turkish bread.  Set me up for the day.

In the city we decided to head for the Elephant pub and settle in there to watch the first session of the cricket on TV before we would have to leave for the airport.

We stayed here until around 3.30, had a really nice lunch and then took a taxi to the airport.  We eventually landed in Sydney at around 7.45, picked up the car and drove home to French's Forest in time to watch most of the evening session of the cricket.  At last England got back a little self respect with their evening performance.

Tuesday was to be a quiet day in cooking a curry for the others to come home to and I would be settling down in front of the TV at 2.00pm to watch day 4 of the test match.

Bring it on.

Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 9 - 1st December

Day 9

I left very early this morning to catch the train from Chatswood to Sydney.  I was going to the Recital Hall in Angel Place to sort out a ticket for the opera next Wednesday.  Not having been here before I wanted to suss it out before booking my seat.

I arrived before it was open so had breakfast in the Angel café. Very nice people and good food.  After this I visited the box office and sorted out my ticket.

I then spent the rest of the morning down in Circular Quay watching the comings and goings.  There was a huge Royal Caribbean cruise liner in port, the Voyager of the Seas.  This was the ship that Joanie and I crossed the Atlantic in a few years ago.  We sailed from Malaga to Miami.

I then had a drink in a couple of pubs, the Union and the Fortunes of War, the latter claiming to be the oldest pub in Sydney, before catching the train back to Chatswood.

It was to be a busy afternoon because Amy and Alfie were picking up the new car and it was left to me to pick up Cerys from school and look after her before returning to the school to see Dylan in his first school concert.  It was a rush for Amy and Alfie, but they made it back in time to see the concert.

It was nice seeing the little kids obviously enjoying themselves and I think everybody there enjoyed it.

That's Dylan in green in the middl;e.

We then returned home for the first BBQ of the summer.