Monday, November 24, 2003

Happiness Is....


Thought you would enjoy this extract from the Sydney Morning Herald today...

TO ENGLAND AND ITS SPORTS FANS Regarding your magnificent football team's 20-17 triumph in the Rugby World Cup final on November 22, on behalf of all Australians, we would like to admit the following:

- You were not too old (although we hoped you would be when the game went to extra-time).
- You were not too slow.
- You scored as many tries as we did.
- You kicked no more penalty goals than we did.
- You ran the ball as much as we did.
- You entertained as much as we did.
- You did it with one of your own as coach (even though he did spend some formative years playing at Manly).
- You are better singers than we are (and just quietly, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is growing on us, as is Jonny without an "h").
- You played with class, toughness and grace.
- You were bloody superior ... and
- You are, for the first time in 37 years, winners of a football World Cup.


AS A RESULT:

We believe Twickenham is a most fitting home for Bill, though we humbly remind you that, unlike the Ashes, you have to hand it over if you don't win next time.

We concede the time has come to forgive you for using Australia as a dumping ground for your poor, weak and defenceless - even if the practice continues unabated every fourth summer.

We'll stop including the Socceroos' victory on our boastful list of triumphs over you and concede, upon reflection, it was only a friendly and you substituted your entire team at half-time.

We will no longer characterise your fans as beer-swilling, pot-bellied louts or knife-wielding hooligans and try to remember the sporting and enthusiastic supporters who did so much to make the final memorable.

We will stop calling for the International Rugby Board to change the scoring system. In fact, if you can guarantee us a final as good as that one again, we'll ask them to actually increase the value of penalty and drop goals.

MrT 11/24/2003 10:34:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Your Brain doesn't work properly when you diet!


Today I decided to hover! Oops I mean hoover...(See what I mean)
Well the hoover we got given has the clip missing for the bag so we have to staple it shut, (can you see where this is going)

Anyway the stapler was empty and playing up a bit so once I'd loaded it, decided that it would be a good idea if I pushed up from the bottom to make sure the stapler closed properly.... BIG MISTAKE , HUGE!

I didn't quite make sure where my finger was at this point but I soon discovered that my finger was actually just under the stapling mechanism.
It's really quite amazing how long the prong parts are on a staple. I'm pretty sure I felt some grating of bone.

Obviously there was much hysterics and I had to phone Tim because I couldn't even loook at it with out retching and screaming loudly! Finally Tim arrived after me sitting for twenty minutes with a staple in my finger crying hysterically whilst Joe looked on incredulously. In the end it was I who removed the staple V gradually through squinted eyes and sobs.
(At present my finger looks like it has been attacked by a minute vampire as there are 2 very small puncture marks on my index finger!)

So be warned there are dangers to be feared whilst dieting, the mind definitely requires calories to function properly. (Needless to say I promptly went to the delicious cafe round the corner and ordered a toasted ham and goats cheese on turkish and felt immediately more intelligent!)
So I think I'd rather be thick... than thick ( If that makes sense!?)

Forget sharks and spiders you're talking to a real life staple attack victim!


MrT 11/21/2003 08:56:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Brisbane - The River City
Finally, have a bit of time to tell you about our trip to Brisbane last weekend. We arrived OK via Virgin Airlines on the Friday and booked into the Sebel suites, which we thought would be quite posh, but turned out to be a little bit ordinary. I suppose we are a built spoilt with where we live at the moment. One thing which was quite annoying was that there were was food, wine, sweets, chocolate and water sprinkled round the whole apartment with little tags on saying - "Try me, I'm only $15 or "Eat me - $1". After staying for five days, it's pretty inevitable that you are going to dive into the pringles or the Tim-Tams. We kept having to go out and raid the supermarket and replace all the items before they cleaned the room each morning!

Brisbane itself was OK, but so many of the buildings were constructed out of concrete, and this wasn't just the buildings built in the seventies, this was buildings they were constructing now. Very strange, and a bit of a contrast to Sydney, where generally any new building looks fantastic. Still, it was definately more relaxed and we found a really great place to eat and drink called Jo-Jo's. To get an idea what it was like, take the Ha-Ha Bar, put it on the first floor with an open air balcony. Add cheaper drinks and a slightly more relaxed atmosphere, and then put three counters in where you can choose to order either Steaks, Thai or Italian ( including Pizza ). Finally add a clutch of friendly waiters and waitresses who offer to go and get you another drink as soon as you have finished the one you have. Almost perfect in fact.


The stadium was in walking distance from the city, and so we started walking down at around 6ish. The street leading down to the stadium was lined with pubs that were heaving with England fans, it was a really good atmosphere.

There were some right weirdos though!





The stadium itself was amazing, we could take Joseph right inside with his stroller and then get a drink and something to eat as well, whilst we waited for the game to start. Once we had taken our seats, it was almost a sell-out.


Before the game, Jonny Wilkinson kicked around ten practise kicks from every angle.



Very impressive.

The game itself was pretty nerve wracking in the first half, but I have to say that we never looked like we were going to lose the match. The English just seemed incredibly fit and you knew that even if we went into half time behind, then as long as it was only by around ten points, we would start to come good in the second half. Catt came on and had a blinding game and then we could relax and enjoy the game.

England are staying in Manly whilst they are in Sydney, we went on the ferry there yesterday, to see if we could spot them relaxing on the beach. No such luck.

Still we will see them all again tonight, when we go through the whole thing again! ( Aisle 139 Row 12 Seat 42 )
Look for Us Here!

MrT 11/15/2003 11:26:00 pm [+] : Feedback!

Come on England
Picked up a pair of tickets for semi-final today on Sunday from a client. Yippee!
(What Tim means to say is... that he exploited a poor client of his who had broken his neck and couldn't go. So Tim got them for a bargain price!!!)

MrT 11/14/2003 07:48:00 am [+] : Feedback!

We're on our way

So it's the day of our flight and the excitement is slowly building. We have been looking at the venue to find out where we're sitting and we're right in the middle in a front section. We're in aisle 321, row 19, seats 10 and 11. Take a look here!
So keep your eyes peeled! Come on England! Go Johnnie GO-GO-GO-GO!

WISH YOU WERE ALL HERE!

MrT 11/06/2003 10:59:00 pm [+] : Feedback!

Why should we care?

Sunday nights to us 9-5 workers are often synonoumous with the shirt ironing, meeting dreading and guarded alcohol consuming that forms the preparation for the working week ahead. Since my mid twenties, I have developed an acute dislike to Sunday evenings. To me they represent everything that is bad about working for someone else, they force me to make one more promise to myself that it won't always be this way, and that Monday morning will cease to exit in it's current form, but will be replaced by a gentler more sedate introduction to the week ahead.

Still, the Rugby World Cup is an excellent anaesthetic, especially with all England games dropping on the Sunday evening. It's something to look forward to, and I do, from around Thursday evening onwards. I wonder why it's so important to me that England win, it's more important than ever now we live so far from home. When England win, part of me is a winner too, as if I can claim to be part of the same gene pool as Robinson, Wilkinson and Johnson. Not only that, but I have been brought up in the same environment, with the same values, with the same heroes. I am English and proud of it - if we win.

If we lose, I am emotionally detached. I am a traveller, a chancer.. I am a citizen of the world, applauding the side that deserved to win on the day.

I don't know why I'd rather England win, but I know that it makes me smile all day afterwards.

MrT 11/02/2003 11:51:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Sixteen Men
Thoroughly enjoyed the Ireland vs Australia match this evening, despite having missed out on the 6-1 spread bet on Australia winning by less than 12 points with the bookies. The Australian commentary makes the games even more entertaining with tonight's classic coming just as O'driscoll scored the try for Ireland.

"O'Driscol floats above the try line skillfully dangling the ball precariously with one arm - Michael Jackson style."

Where do they get them from.

However, getting slightly tired of the Sixteen man England slur. I mean, it was for about twenty seconds of a match that was already won, and every Australian trailer and advert now features sixteen men on the pitch!



MrT 11/01/2003 12:38:00 pm [+] : Feedback!