As good as Sydney public transport is, you can't always substitute the good old motor vehicle for convenience. Mel and I are not keen to buy a car of our own in Sydney given we live in Balmain (that's inner west of the city) and we'd only use it maybe once (or max twice) a week, the costs associated just don't make it worthwhile (trust me I've done the math)! Not to mention the extra environmental cost every time someone runs a car of their own.
A few friends had talked about car sharing through GoGet, a company started by a couple in Newtown, Sydney to cater for people just like us - don't need a car of our own all the time and don't want the hassles usually associated with rental car companies (hire by the day only, limited pick-up options). In a nutshell, GoGet have what they call 'pods' of cars all over Sydney (and now some other parts of Australia apparently) which are basically cars parked in designated spaces in safe and well lit areas that you lock/unlock using your membership card that's programmed to know when you've booked that car. You can go online or book by phone and if there is a car available at the time you book you can just go ahead and pick it up straight away - happy days. The beauty is you only book for what you need, so if you just want to get some heavy shopping done you book for 1 hour and go do it!
The rates are pretty good, there are a couple of different packages depending on how often you think you'll use the service but we are paying $9 p/month prepaid membership + $7.50 p/hour usage + $0.35 p/km usage - GoGet pays for all petrol. They do day rates as well, which makes it more cost effective if you need a car for more than just a few hours.
Our first experience using GoGet yesterday was easy enough, their online system knows what it's doing, Malcolm the Yaris was waiting about 10 mins walk from our house and made it out to Palm Beach and back no trouble!
BTW - Palm Beach is bloody nice, caught a few nice waves on my body board and was kinda wishing I had a surf board out there given there were only about 5 of us around to see me try something I've not done since I was about 16!
Cheers
Tim
Monday, 15 December 2008
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Campers breakfast
Back on the first weekend for Nov I went camping with a couple of mates from work Morgan and Tony. I've always been a keen camper since my parents started taking us kids to Ruatiti Domain back home in NZ. This particular trip was born out of a night in the pub where another mate and I (Ian Cooper) had a few beers and came up with the idea of going fishing somewhere remote with just tents and whatever other camping gear we could pull together in time.
Anyway Ian decided a tennis semi-final was more important and after a few brief discussions in passing Morgan, Tony and myself agreed on Jervis Bay as a good location. I'd borrowed a fly fishing line from my mate in NZ mad Geof so was pretty keen to get some fishing in during the trip as well. Tony took his surf board as there is a surf beach near the Green Patch campsite we were staying in, Morgan took his camera and some tins of sardines to keep him going too!
The drive from Sydney to Jervis Bay is do-able after work, we left around 6pm and although it was dark when we arrived with car lights we had no trouble pitching tents around 9:30pm - even with the friendly resident possum hanging around.
Our first morning was spent walking to an old derelict lighthouse, Morgans impressive GPS system keeping us on track for the most part and getting us back to the car safely. In the afternoon we headed to the beach but the waves were not great and the beach had blue-bottles around so we kicked a soccer ball for a bit then headed back to camp for some bbq steaks. Whilst enjoying dinner out in the wilderness with various birds and animals around us a cheeky Kookaburra who has earlier swooped across the picnic table in search of food decided my steak was the best and proceeded to swoop in again and take it right from between the pieces of bread in my hands! That Kookaburra is probably still trying to digest the steak now - serves him/her right.
Day 2 we decided to pack up in the morning and take a slow trip back to Sydney via the Shoalhaven River so I could drop the fishing line in the water. The fish were way too tiny for my line, I got onto a couple of small ones that fell straight off the hook! It's good to keep the practice up with fly fishing though.
I'd definately recommend Green Patch camp ground at Jervis Bay to anyone, stunning scenery and great facilities.
Cheers
Tim
Anyway Ian decided a tennis semi-final was more important and after a few brief discussions in passing Morgan, Tony and myself agreed on Jervis Bay as a good location. I'd borrowed a fly fishing line from my mate in NZ mad Geof so was pretty keen to get some fishing in during the trip as well. Tony took his surf board as there is a surf beach near the Green Patch campsite we were staying in, Morgan took his camera and some tins of sardines to keep him going too!
The drive from Sydney to Jervis Bay is do-able after work, we left around 6pm and although it was dark when we arrived with car lights we had no trouble pitching tents around 9:30pm - even with the friendly resident possum hanging around.
Our first morning was spent walking to an old derelict lighthouse, Morgans impressive GPS system keeping us on track for the most part and getting us back to the car safely. In the afternoon we headed to the beach but the waves were not great and the beach had blue-bottles around so we kicked a soccer ball for a bit then headed back to camp for some bbq steaks. Whilst enjoying dinner out in the wilderness with various birds and animals around us a cheeky Kookaburra who has earlier swooped across the picnic table in search of food decided my steak was the best and proceeded to swoop in again and take it right from between the pieces of bread in my hands! That Kookaburra is probably still trying to digest the steak now - serves him/her right.
Day 2 we decided to pack up in the morning and take a slow trip back to Sydney via the Shoalhaven River so I could drop the fishing line in the water. The fish were way too tiny for my line, I got onto a couple of small ones that fell straight off the hook! It's good to keep the practice up with fly fishing though.
I'd definately recommend Green Patch camp ground at Jervis Bay to anyone, stunning scenery and great facilities.
Cheers
Tim
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Shoe fence in Tutira
OK, I'm on catch up here. Two posts in a week and I'm still blogging about Oct! Quick mention that NZ has just beaten Australia in the Rugby League World Cup, we are now world champions at league for the first time ever.
Mel and I took a trip to NZ in Oct, the main purpose was to see our good friends Steve and Sara get married in Gisborne. The trip started with a NZ$200 fine for forgetting to eat the banana and apple in my bag before entering Wellington airport - I commend NZ for having such strict rules and for not letting people like me convince them to waive the fine, it's how we manage to keep NZ so clean of foreign parasites and disease.
We drove around 1200 km in total during the trip which sounds a lot for only a week but it's always a pleasure for me to drive back in NZ. The roads are always quiet and the scenery spectacular, it reminds me how lucky I am for being a Kiwi. Along the way I spotted the fence in the picture, I have no idea what all the shoes people have left on it means but Tutira, NZ must get more than it's fair share of cars stopping just to check it out (or perhaps just me)!
Not only was it great to see friends from the UK at Steve and Sara Rofe's wedding in Gisborne but to catch up with family in Wellington was extra special with the recent arrival of my first blood niece Ella - and what a beautiful little girl she is. We even found some time to go fishing with mad Geof, Tavis and Sarah - always a lot of fun with those guys and we landed 2 fish one of which we ate a few hours later at a BBQ with Tav and his family!
It's nice the flight to NZ is only 3 hours now, all the more reason to spend more time over there while we can. We'll be back for Christmas - but hopefully more blog posts to come before then!
Go the Kiwi cricket team, beating the Aussies is too much fun to stop now!!
Tim
Mel and I took a trip to NZ in Oct, the main purpose was to see our good friends Steve and Sara get married in Gisborne. The trip started with a NZ$200 fine for forgetting to eat the banana and apple in my bag before entering Wellington airport - I commend NZ for having such strict rules and for not letting people like me convince them to waive the fine, it's how we manage to keep NZ so clean of foreign parasites and disease.
We drove around 1200 km in total during the trip which sounds a lot for only a week but it's always a pleasure for me to drive back in NZ. The roads are always quiet and the scenery spectacular, it reminds me how lucky I am for being a Kiwi. Along the way I spotted the fence in the picture, I have no idea what all the shoes people have left on it means but Tutira, NZ must get more than it's fair share of cars stopping just to check it out (or perhaps just me)!
Not only was it great to see friends from the UK at Steve and Sara Rofe's wedding in Gisborne but to catch up with family in Wellington was extra special with the recent arrival of my first blood niece Ella - and what a beautiful little girl she is. We even found some time to go fishing with mad Geof, Tavis and Sarah - always a lot of fun with those guys and we landed 2 fish one of which we ate a few hours later at a BBQ with Tav and his family!
It's nice the flight to NZ is only 3 hours now, all the more reason to spend more time over there while we can. We'll be back for Christmas - but hopefully more blog posts to come before then!
Go the Kiwi cricket team, beating the Aussies is too much fun to stop now!!
Tim
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Vineyards around Yass, NSW, Australia
12th of Oct since my last post (not to draw attention to my pathetic effort of keeping a regular blog) - sad!
Works been pretty busy and I've been reffing lots of touch rugby in preparation for reffing at the NSW State Cup - I was invited to represent Sydney University which is awesome. The competition is in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia. I'll finally be able to pick up my level 2 badge and start working towards level 3.
Anyway, back in Oct Mel and I joined friends of friends Nat and Kallan + a friend of theirs Annie (or crazy Annie as I like to call her) on a vineyard hopping session in Yass, NSW, Australia. It was wine festival weekend and all the vineyards we visited (around 5 or 6 I think - it's a bit hazy) had food on offer to give an excuse to drink more wine. The Yass region (near the current Australian capital Canberra) produce some awesome wines and to be honest it's so long ago now I can't remember them all. Two I do remember and well worth a visit are Jeir Creek and Clonakilla. The pies (and wine) were also notably tasty at whichever vineyard we we're at in the picture (we were too tanked to know where we we're by then)!
A great time and worth the trip down to good ole (if not tiny) Yass!
Cheers
Tim
Works been pretty busy and I've been reffing lots of touch rugby in preparation for reffing at the NSW State Cup - I was invited to represent Sydney University which is awesome. The competition is in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia. I'll finally be able to pick up my level 2 badge and start working towards level 3.
Anyway, back in Oct Mel and I joined friends of friends Nat and Kallan + a friend of theirs Annie (or crazy Annie as I like to call her) on a vineyard hopping session in Yass, NSW, Australia. It was wine festival weekend and all the vineyards we visited (around 5 or 6 I think - it's a bit hazy) had food on offer to give an excuse to drink more wine. The Yass region (near the current Australian capital Canberra) produce some awesome wines and to be honest it's so long ago now I can't remember them all. Two I do remember and well worth a visit are Jeir Creek and Clonakilla. The pies (and wine) were also notably tasty at whichever vineyard we we're at in the picture (we were too tanked to know where we we're by then)!
A great time and worth the trip down to good ole (if not tiny) Yass!
Cheers
Tim
Sunday, 12 October 2008
NZ warriors so close and yet so far away
It was a while ago now but I've been busy, the NZ Warriors rugby league team made the semi finals of the NRL (National Rugby League) competition in Australia this year but came up against Manly - by far the best team this season. Not only did I go along to the game with a mate Ian, I'd decided the week before to grow a beard in support of retiring captain Ruben Wiki and the whole team. I created a group on facebook for the purpose of sharing the Ruben Wiki beard grow occasion and a few mates from around the world joined in and uploaded photos of their beard growing achievements. If you search for 'Ruben Wiki beard grow' you'll no doubt stumble upon our efforts!
Anyway Manly easily beat the NZ Warriors and have now gone on to easily beat Melbourne Storm in the grand final - I was a Manly supporter well before the NZ Warriors entered the competition so I was happy to see them win too!
Who knows what we'll decide to grow for next!
Tim
Anyway Manly easily beat the NZ Warriors and have now gone on to easily beat Melbourne Storm in the grand final - I was a Manly supporter well before the NZ Warriors entered the competition so I was happy to see them win too!
Who knows what we'll decide to grow for next!
Tim
Friday, 26 September 2008
Taronga Zoo
After a heavy night of boozing last weekend Mel and I decided to take a leisurely trip to Taronga Zoo to visit the animals. To be honest we did leave it late in the day and really only had around 2 hours to get around but I'm not the biggest Zoo fan anyway so focused on the bird show and gorillas - anything else was a bonus. Once you've been to African on safari it's really not the same. It's not cheap to get in either, (around $40 p/person) although you do get a discount if you've arrived by ferry (or at least say you have even if you've come by car/bus/foot/emu etc).
The bird show was genuinely good, hawks, doves and other birds I can't remember the names of all trained to cleverly do as the bird-keeper says (although the birds weren't behaving that well for the women running our show). They claim the bird show at Taronga Zoo is world renowned, I can't say I've been to many bird shows of this kind so will have to take their word for it.
The funniest thing of the day happened when watching the gorillas, they are so human like in many ways but not so much in others. There are cross sections of skulls (well not real ones, made of metal and wood) of both human and gorilla next to each other by the gorilla enclosure, you look at those and the teeth and hands of both and there is very little difference at all - then you walk over and watch the real gorillas for a while and there is big daddy gorilla eating his own crap (or his mates), fortunately most humans have moved on from that by now!
I'd recommend Taronga Zoo if you generally like Zoos and it does have the best back-drop you'd imagine a Zoo to have (the Sydney harbour) but allow plenty of time and don't miss the (apparently) world renowned bird show and the crap eating (if you're lucky) gorillas.
Cheers
Tim
The bird show was genuinely good, hawks, doves and other birds I can't remember the names of all trained to cleverly do as the bird-keeper says (although the birds weren't behaving that well for the women running our show). They claim the bird show at Taronga Zoo is world renowned, I can't say I've been to many bird shows of this kind so will have to take their word for it.
The funniest thing of the day happened when watching the gorillas, they are so human like in many ways but not so much in others. There are cross sections of skulls (well not real ones, made of metal and wood) of both human and gorilla next to each other by the gorilla enclosure, you look at those and the teeth and hands of both and there is very little difference at all - then you walk over and watch the real gorillas for a while and there is big daddy gorilla eating his own crap (or his mates), fortunately most humans have moved on from that by now!
I'd recommend Taronga Zoo if you generally like Zoos and it does have the best back-drop you'd imagine a Zoo to have (the Sydney harbour) but allow plenty of time and don't miss the (apparently) world renowned bird show and the crap eating (if you're lucky) gorillas.
Cheers
Tim
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Sydney Photobloggers meet-up
Usually my lack of regular blog posts is purely because I'm slack but this time it's because I've been so busy with stuff going on - those first few months of living in Sydney were relatively quiet due to lack of social life but that's all-a-changing! Between work and play there has not been much time left to hit the computer and post anything meaningful (debatable it ever is you might say) and all I've been able to keep updated are my Flickr photostream and facebook/twitter status.
Last week I had the pleasure of joining my first Flickr 'meet up' with the Sydney Photobloggers group and it was such a great evening. About 12 of us met at the Town Hall steps and took a slow stroll through the CBD to Circular Quay stopping on many occasions to chat and taking pictures of everything (incl each other) along the way.
We made it to the Glenmore pub in the Rocks without losing anyone and enjoyed a few beers and some food together - what a fantastic group of people all sharing a common interest for photography (and Flickr). Everyone was happy I'd brought along some free Flickr schwag too, and of course some of them bent my ear about new features coming along and about what they liked and disliked (fortunately not much dislike at all) as well.
I'll def head out with the Sydney Photobloggers again some time, great fun!
Bonza!
Tim
Last week I had the pleasure of joining my first Flickr 'meet up' with the Sydney Photobloggers group and it was such a great evening. About 12 of us met at the Town Hall steps and took a slow stroll through the CBD to Circular Quay stopping on many occasions to chat and taking pictures of everything (incl each other) along the way.
We made it to the Glenmore pub in the Rocks without losing anyone and enjoyed a few beers and some food together - what a fantastic group of people all sharing a common interest for photography (and Flickr). Everyone was happy I'd brought along some free Flickr schwag too, and of course some of them bent my ear about new features coming along and about what they liked and disliked (fortunately not much dislike at all) as well.
I'll def head out with the Sydney Photobloggers again some time, great fun!
Bonza!
Tim
Monday, 8 September 2008
Pool at Leichhardt, Sydney
It's been awhile since I played pool but when I'm playing I always wish I could more, when I was a kid I had a pool table in my bedroom and even though you had to play "up the wall' on a few shots it was a blast - this table in a Leichhardt suburb pub near Balmain was so old the casing outside the slot where the balls roll down had come off and so the balls rolled down the slot and dropped onto the floor. I can tell you that after the number of beers I'd had before, during and after the West (Balmain) Tigers rugby league match that night I could not stop laughing every time a ball would hit the floor and roll across the room – it was hilarious.
After playing a few games and getting in the mood for more we were kicked out but moved on to the Unity Hall pub in Balmain who you guess it, have a pool table as well. Coops (Ian Cooper) and I played many more games and eventually drew a crowd who in the beginning did not seem to want to challenge us but many many many beers later could see we were a bit worse for wear (which was drastically effecting the way we played) so put the coin on the table. We were in no fit state to be challenged by fresh players so let them have the table.
One other thing to note that night was the Guinness at the Unity Hall pub in Balmain. So you order a pint of Guinness (they have what looks like Guinness on tap) and they get a can out of the fridge, pour it into a glass then place it on the Guinness looking pump and flick a switch - some minor vibrations occur and hey presto a perfect looking Guinness head forms. It even tastes ok which kinda proves the head adds a purely psychological factor - everyone knows Guinness from a can can't taste as good as the real thing!
I'm so close to getting the wetsuit I want (a Rip Curl e3 with chest zip) and hitting the waves I can almost smell the salt water. I’ll take the body-board out to begin with but plan to take a couple of surf lessons (I’ve not surfed for 15 years now) and go out with the big boys… that coupled with the classical guitar I'm picking up from my mums in NZ in Oct and attempting to learn I might have to grow those dreads back again soon eh!
See ya!
Tim
After playing a few games and getting in the mood for more we were kicked out but moved on to the Unity Hall pub in Balmain who you guess it, have a pool table as well. Coops (Ian Cooper) and I played many more games and eventually drew a crowd who in the beginning did not seem to want to challenge us but many many many beers later could see we were a bit worse for wear (which was drastically effecting the way we played) so put the coin on the table. We were in no fit state to be challenged by fresh players so let them have the table.
One other thing to note that night was the Guinness at the Unity Hall pub in Balmain. So you order a pint of Guinness (they have what looks like Guinness on tap) and they get a can out of the fridge, pour it into a glass then place it on the Guinness looking pump and flick a switch - some minor vibrations occur and hey presto a perfect looking Guinness head forms. It even tastes ok which kinda proves the head adds a purely psychological factor - everyone knows Guinness from a can can't taste as good as the real thing!
I'm so close to getting the wetsuit I want (a Rip Curl e3 with chest zip) and hitting the waves I can almost smell the salt water. I’ll take the body-board out to begin with but plan to take a couple of surf lessons (I’ve not surfed for 15 years now) and go out with the big boys… that coupled with the classical guitar I'm picking up from my mums in NZ in Oct and attempting to learn I might have to grow those dreads back again soon eh!
See ya!
Tim
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Banana bread in Paddington, Sydney
Mel and I headed for Paddington market in Sydney a few weeks back, we picked at some of the market food along the way and checked out the stalls but most items we're not really to our style - still worth a look though and a great atmosphere around the food area where two blokes were playing guitars and singing folk type songs!
On the walk back from Paddington to the city we stumbled upon a great (and hidden) outdoor cafe area at the back of Lilifields Cafe on Oxford St. I went for my usual Mocha and Mel (not being a coffee drinker) had a hot chocolate. We seem to have both become mildly addicted to banana bread so had a rather large piece of that to keep us going - banana bread is really just like banana cake with a healthy sounding name and probably even more sugar! Anyway who cares about that, it tastes nice especially with some honey.
The shopping in Paddington is fantastic, and that's coming from someone who generally hates shopping. There is a g-star raw shop as well as American Apparel and many other local and popular well known labels.
It made me think about trying Paddington to live when our current rental in Balmain runs out - who knows but it would be closer to the eastern beaches...
Cheers
Tim
On the walk back from Paddington to the city we stumbled upon a great (and hidden) outdoor cafe area at the back of Lilifields Cafe on Oxford St. I went for my usual Mocha and Mel (not being a coffee drinker) had a hot chocolate. We seem to have both become mildly addicted to banana bread so had a rather large piece of that to keep us going - banana bread is really just like banana cake with a healthy sounding name and probably even more sugar! Anyway who cares about that, it tastes nice especially with some honey.
The shopping in Paddington is fantastic, and that's coming from someone who generally hates shopping. There is a g-star raw shop as well as American Apparel and many other local and popular well known labels.
It made me think about trying Paddington to live when our current rental in Balmain runs out - who knows but it would be closer to the eastern beaches...
Cheers
Tim
Friday, 22 August 2008
Mums trip to Sydney
She came and went in 24 hours but we made the most of the time for sure!
Mum arrived late afternoon on Friday 9th Aug, Mel and I picked her up from the airport and drove her to our home in Balmain. We had a pot-luck dinner, a good chat then an early night knowing the next day would be a busy one.
On the Saturday morning we headed for the city on a ferry under the Harbour Bridge, took a walk around the Opera House and Botanical Gardens before jumping on another ferry to Manly for the rest of the day.
That night we decided to go out for a Thai dinner at Blue Ginger in Balmain which was very nice, although I'm finding the chicken in Australia to be rather 'grey' in colour and a bit of a strange texture unless purchased from a butcher.
Sunday was another nice day, although the weather uncharacteristically packed up so our trip over to the eastern beaches to do the Bondi to Coogee walk may not have been the best decision we made. It was also the weekend of the City to Surf race, which Mel assured me went from the city to Manly, of course when we arrived near Bondi only to be diverted along the coast line away from the thousands racing we realised our mistake!
We dropped mum off at the airport around 4pm, had a farewell drink (as you do) said our goodbyes (never fun) and headed our separate ways.
It's so cool that mum can head over from NZ for a weekend at relatively little cost and hassle - def a huge benefit of being back in the southern hemisphere.
Cheers
Tim
P.S. My first blood niece was born at 11am on Thursday 26 June 2008. Ella Grace Kathleen Simmons weighed in at 6 lb 9 and is very cute.
Mum arrived late afternoon on Friday 9th Aug, Mel and I picked her up from the airport and drove her to our home in Balmain. We had a pot-luck dinner, a good chat then an early night knowing the next day would be a busy one.
On the Saturday morning we headed for the city on a ferry under the Harbour Bridge, took a walk around the Opera House and Botanical Gardens before jumping on another ferry to Manly for the rest of the day.
That night we decided to go out for a Thai dinner at Blue Ginger in Balmain which was very nice, although I'm finding the chicken in Australia to be rather 'grey' in colour and a bit of a strange texture unless purchased from a butcher.
Sunday was another nice day, although the weather uncharacteristically packed up so our trip over to the eastern beaches to do the Bondi to Coogee walk may not have been the best decision we made. It was also the weekend of the City to Surf race, which Mel assured me went from the city to Manly, of course when we arrived near Bondi only to be diverted along the coast line away from the thousands racing we realised our mistake!
We dropped mum off at the airport around 4pm, had a farewell drink (as you do) said our goodbyes (never fun) and headed our separate ways.
It's so cool that mum can head over from NZ for a weekend at relatively little cost and hassle - def a huge benefit of being back in the southern hemisphere.
Cheers
Tim
P.S. My first blood niece was born at 11am on Thursday 26 June 2008. Ella Grace Kathleen Simmons weighed in at 6 lb 9 and is very cute.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Mels 30th at Berowra Waters
It's true, I'm married to a 30 year old women! Mel denies being upset she has left her 20's behind however I remember how it felt a few years back... just.
As we've only been in Sydney for a few months and don't have a big social network yet we had a few quiet drinks in Darling Harbour with some friends the night before Mels birthday then drove up to Berowra Waters 45 mins north of Sydney CBD for a posh dinner on the waters edge on her actual birthday on 07/08/08. I think Mel was a bit worried when I said the weather may affect the evening slightly (it was raining on the day) and that she would need some warm clothes. Mel had visions of camping out for her birthday celebrations - after 10 years you’d think she knows me better than that, or perhaps she does and that’s a worry!
We arrived at the public wharf at Berowra Waters to be greeted by our accommodation host Barbara from Yarragal (a self contained lodge type place) who took us by small boat (the only way to travel to the accommodation) to Yarragal to freshen up before heading out for dinner. Barbara was a typically friendly Aussie taking life easy and not too seriously – I’d recommend her place to anyone and must get on tripadvisor.com to write a positive review of her abode.
Dinner was at Berowra Waters Inn, rated top restaurant in Sydney on the main food review site in Australia eatibility.com. They pick you up (again by small boat) from any accommodation on the river and take you to the restaurant door. Starting with Champagne (you understand if you know Mel) we made our way through 5 courses of divine food - presentation hard to beat and an overall great experience. One piece of advice I felt compelled to give them (Tim give advice when it’s prob not wanted I hear you say!) was that perhaps when the restaurant is quieter during the winter months some quiet background music wouldn’t go a miss went in one ear and out the other of the young waitress.
I wanted Mels 30th to be memorable for her given she is away from home and no doubt missing family and friends at times like these. I think that was achieved and worth every cent. She did get a piece of jewellery for a present as well!
Next post, Mums trip to Sydney last weekend!
Cheers
Tim
As we've only been in Sydney for a few months and don't have a big social network yet we had a few quiet drinks in Darling Harbour with some friends the night before Mels birthday then drove up to Berowra Waters 45 mins north of Sydney CBD for a posh dinner on the waters edge on her actual birthday on 07/08/08. I think Mel was a bit worried when I said the weather may affect the evening slightly (it was raining on the day) and that she would need some warm clothes. Mel had visions of camping out for her birthday celebrations - after 10 years you’d think she knows me better than that, or perhaps she does and that’s a worry!
We arrived at the public wharf at Berowra Waters to be greeted by our accommodation host Barbara from Yarragal (a self contained lodge type place) who took us by small boat (the only way to travel to the accommodation) to Yarragal to freshen up before heading out for dinner. Barbara was a typically friendly Aussie taking life easy and not too seriously – I’d recommend her place to anyone and must get on tripadvisor.com to write a positive review of her abode.
Dinner was at Berowra Waters Inn, rated top restaurant in Sydney on the main food review site in Australia eatibility.com. They pick you up (again by small boat) from any accommodation on the river and take you to the restaurant door. Starting with Champagne (you understand if you know Mel) we made our way through 5 courses of divine food - presentation hard to beat and an overall great experience. One piece of advice I felt compelled to give them (Tim give advice when it’s prob not wanted I hear you say!) was that perhaps when the restaurant is quieter during the winter months some quiet background music wouldn’t go a miss went in one ear and out the other of the young waitress.
I wanted Mels 30th to be memorable for her given she is away from home and no doubt missing family and friends at times like these. I think that was achieved and worth every cent. She did get a piece of jewellery for a present as well!
Next post, Mums trip to Sydney last weekend!
Cheers
Tim
Friday, 1 August 2008
Just on the way to work (early) today...
I decided to follow up the previous post with another immediately, so as not to dwell on it too much!
I feel lucky every weekday morning that my commute to work involves a pleasant walk from Fawcett St to the Balmain East wharf, a 10 minute ferry passing by the office (shame they can't just drop me off - it's the closest Pier you see in the photo), under the harbour bridge, past the opera house and into circular quay.
This morning was particularly beautiful, earlier than usual on a Friday when Mel and I hit the gym for the 7am spin class and just in time to see the sun coming up - stunning red skies!
I'll keep this post short and don't want to show off too much but hey if you've got it flaunt it!
Cheers
Tim
I feel lucky every weekday morning that my commute to work involves a pleasant walk from Fawcett St to the Balmain East wharf, a 10 minute ferry passing by the office (shame they can't just drop me off - it's the closest Pier you see in the photo), under the harbour bridge, past the opera house and into circular quay.
This morning was particularly beautiful, earlier than usual on a Friday when Mel and I hit the gym for the 7am spin class and just in time to see the sun coming up - stunning red skies!
I'll keep this post short and don't want to show off too much but hey if you've got it flaunt it!
Cheers
Tim
Game best forgotten - but the company was good!
I really do want to forget this game of rugby every happened but it's hard to ignore the situation NZ rugby (and it's supporters) are in. Although some may deny it, we have a problem that is not going away quickly!
I'd like to think the worst thing that happened on this cool night in Sydney at the wonderful (but less than central) ANZ stadium was the guys struggling to get the All Black flag as straight as the Aussie one - but this was just the beginning.
It's boring for non-rugby (shame on you) lovers so I'll cut to the chase (and this is just my opinion). We can no longer cope with hemorrhaging our best (young) talent to overseas teams. Where before now we had the depth to cope, with younger players leaving for overseas experiences and more money bench players are having to step up and are just not ready to do so. Worse still the new bench players (taking over from old bench players) are so young and inexperienced they are thrust into an environment they are clearly not ready for.
I won't go on but... I really felt on that winters night in Sydney I saw less real All Black quality players than I've ever seen in an AB side - and I like to think I've seen a few.
Solution - IMHO we need to allow overseas players to return to play test level rugby giving them the option to gain valuable experience from the other hemisphere and bring that back to the local game. I've seen how the northern hemisphere teams are playing over the past 10 years - they are not behind and in fact in front in some aspects of the game.
Oh and one other thing, stop letting the best NZ coaches take their skills to other international teams. Warren Gatland (Wales) and Robbie Deans (Australia) had no choice but leave NZ - it's a disgrace we let them go!
Happier times for All Black rugby not on the immediate horizon but we will pull through it and come out better. For what it's worth I think the AB's will win against Aussie in Auckland tomorrow - that will keep those in-denial kiwis happy at least in the short term!
Cheers
Tim
I'd like to think the worst thing that happened on this cool night in Sydney at the wonderful (but less than central) ANZ stadium was the guys struggling to get the All Black flag as straight as the Aussie one - but this was just the beginning.
It's boring for non-rugby (shame on you) lovers so I'll cut to the chase (and this is just my opinion). We can no longer cope with hemorrhaging our best (young) talent to overseas teams. Where before now we had the depth to cope, with younger players leaving for overseas experiences and more money bench players are having to step up and are just not ready to do so. Worse still the new bench players (taking over from old bench players) are so young and inexperienced they are thrust into an environment they are clearly not ready for.
I won't go on but... I really felt on that winters night in Sydney I saw less real All Black quality players than I've ever seen in an AB side - and I like to think I've seen a few.
Solution - IMHO we need to allow overseas players to return to play test level rugby giving them the option to gain valuable experience from the other hemisphere and bring that back to the local game. I've seen how the northern hemisphere teams are playing over the past 10 years - they are not behind and in fact in front in some aspects of the game.
Oh and one other thing, stop letting the best NZ coaches take their skills to other international teams. Warren Gatland (Wales) and Robbie Deans (Australia) had no choice but leave NZ - it's a disgrace we let them go!
Happier times for All Black rugby not on the immediate horizon but we will pull through it and come out better. For what it's worth I think the AB's will win against Aussie in Auckland tomorrow - that will keep those in-denial kiwis happy at least in the short term!
Cheers
Tim
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Bondi beach (eastern beach coastal walk)
On the weekend Mel and I wanted something fun and free to do, having purchased a 'Coastal Walks of Sydney' book a while back (getting old aren’t we!) we decided to head for Bondi to do the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk which takes around 2 hours. On a typical Sydney winters day (fine, sunny and 20 degrees) there were plenty of surfers out and it brought back memories of South Beach in Wanganui, NZ where I grew up – it was a ‘those were the days’ moment to watch them catching waves and wiping out, I may look at getting a surf board in the near future but will concentrate on the camera, guitar and my soon-to-arrive body board for the time being.
Lunch for me was fish and chips (well we're by the seaside) then we began the walk from the southern end of Bondi beach near the Bondi Icebergs Club (which opened in 1929 and requires full members to swim 3 out of 4 Sundays for 5 years!). Of course the walk is memorable mainly for the stunning scenery of the eastern coast but little bits of history like an old cemetery along the way make it all the more interesting - Australia is truly blessed with some of the best coast line you'll ever see and when the sky is so blue and so many people are out and about enjoying the lifestyle a weekend in Sydney often seems more like a holiday away from home.
We rewarded ourselves with coffee and smoothies on the Coogee water front – still plenty warm enough in the afternoon for kids to be playing on the beach in the sand. We then headed back to Balmain so I could catch the NZ v SA rugby test with friends in our local The London Hotel (we live 160 paces from it, I counted!) – NZ lost that one in the dying minutes having beaten SA convincingly last weekend. Looks like the tri-nations is to be a close fought competition this year which makes it all the more exciting Aussie are yet to kick their campaign off and do so against SA this weekend! Mel and I have tickets to the NZ v Aus match in Sydney on 26th July - cant wait for my first live test back in the southern hemisphere!
Cheers
Tim
Lunch for me was fish and chips (well we're by the seaside) then we began the walk from the southern end of Bondi beach near the Bondi Icebergs Club (which opened in 1929 and requires full members to swim 3 out of 4 Sundays for 5 years!). Of course the walk is memorable mainly for the stunning scenery of the eastern coast but little bits of history like an old cemetery along the way make it all the more interesting - Australia is truly blessed with some of the best coast line you'll ever see and when the sky is so blue and so many people are out and about enjoying the lifestyle a weekend in Sydney often seems more like a holiday away from home.
We rewarded ourselves with coffee and smoothies on the Coogee water front – still plenty warm enough in the afternoon for kids to be playing on the beach in the sand. We then headed back to Balmain so I could catch the NZ v SA rugby test with friends in our local The London Hotel (we live 160 paces from it, I counted!) – NZ lost that one in the dying minutes having beaten SA convincingly last weekend. Looks like the tri-nations is to be a close fought competition this year which makes it all the more exciting Aussie are yet to kick their campaign off and do so against SA this weekend! Mel and I have tickets to the NZ v Aus match in Sydney on 26th July - cant wait for my first live test back in the southern hemisphere!
Cheers
Tim
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Bridge climb, Sydney
I was lucky enough to be given a voucher for a bridge climb from my colleagues at Yahoo! in London as a farewell gift (thanks guys) and decided to use Mel and I's 1st wedding anniversary as a good excuse to use it.
After playing touch rugby on Sunday morning as usual we enjoyed brunch at a cafe in Balmain then headed for the bridge climb which is situated in The Rocks area of Sydney - obviously close to the bridge on the southern side. When you look up from ground level you get one sense of how big the bridge is but when you are 134 metres up on it's central highest point the feeling is quite different - you start the climb through all the steel (you can chose to climb over the top but we preferred to get in and around the 53, 000 tonnes of steel) there is an initial shock for most I think as even though the harnesses are very safe it's still like walking with only a few millimeters of grilled steel between you and the water well beneath.
Our guide/photographer was of the humorous type which put everyone at ease and within 45 mins or so of climbing we made it to the top. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our first year of marriage and something I will never forget. No anniversary could go by without a beverage of the alcoholic kind and we enjoyed this at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks.
Thanks again to the C&C crew at Yahoo! London and to Mel for agreeing to come along for the climb!
Tim
After playing touch rugby on Sunday morning as usual we enjoyed brunch at a cafe in Balmain then headed for the bridge climb which is situated in The Rocks area of Sydney - obviously close to the bridge on the southern side. When you look up from ground level you get one sense of how big the bridge is but when you are 134 metres up on it's central highest point the feeling is quite different - you start the climb through all the steel (you can chose to climb over the top but we preferred to get in and around the 53, 000 tonnes of steel) there is an initial shock for most I think as even though the harnesses are very safe it's still like walking with only a few millimeters of grilled steel between you and the water well beneath.
Our guide/photographer was of the humorous type which put everyone at ease and within 45 mins or so of climbing we made it to the top. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our first year of marriage and something I will never forget. No anniversary could go by without a beverage of the alcoholic kind and we enjoyed this at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks.
Thanks again to the C&C crew at Yahoo! London and to Mel for agreeing to come along for the climb!
Tim
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Melbourne for the weekend
Last weekend Mel and I headed for Melbourne, we had heard a lot about it and I were actually worried we would prefer it to Sydney. While it was great to catch up with friends it did not appear to have the vibrancy and huge choice of events going on that Sydney does. What we did enjoy was the cafe culture, even though we are not big coffee drinkers it's nice to see people sitting out on the cobbled streets enjoying a non-alcoholic drink and a chat - it creates a vibe in itself and reminds you it's not always necessary to enjoy time with friends only in a pub!
A trip up the world’s second tallest residential building the Eureka Tower was one highlight not to be forgotten - 300 metres tall with 92 storeys! You get a great view of all the main city attractions including the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and Telstra Stadium. The lift is the fastest in the southern hemisphere and travels at 9 metres per second.
Hosier Lane was another highlight, the photo on this post is taken here where artists are encouraged to express their creativity on the walls! Some great art work which I imagine is forever changing - not to be missed.
The NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) was also great, lots of local aboriginal art on display that reminds you just how creative and talented the indigenous people of Australia are. Photos from the NGV are on my Flickr account.
I would say Melbourne is a great cultural experience and definitely worth the trip but in terms of living Mel and I will stick with Sydney for now anyway. I just love catching a ferry to work everyday now we are settled in our house in Balmain - photos of that to come soon!
Cheers
Tim
A trip up the world’s second tallest residential building the Eureka Tower was one highlight not to be forgotten - 300 metres tall with 92 storeys! You get a great view of all the main city attractions including the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and Telstra Stadium. The lift is the fastest in the southern hemisphere and travels at 9 metres per second.
Hosier Lane was another highlight, the photo on this post is taken here where artists are encouraged to express their creativity on the walls! Some great art work which I imagine is forever changing - not to be missed.
The NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) was also great, lots of local aboriginal art on display that reminds you just how creative and talented the indigenous people of Australia are. Photos from the NGV are on my Flickr account.
I would say Melbourne is a great cultural experience and definitely worth the trip but in terms of living Mel and I will stick with Sydney for now anyway. I just love catching a ferry to work everyday now we are settled in our house in Balmain - photos of that to come soon!
Cheers
Tim
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Sydney Wildlife World
Well I've been in Sydney over 4 weeks now and getting to know it pretty well. We've found a nice house to live in at Balmain East and will be able to catch a ferry to and from work with a nice little walk at each end. We take over the place on June 14th and can't wait to be able to unpack properly and put the packs/suitcases away for at least a few months. Next trip planned is back to NZ for Steve and Sara's wedding in Gisbourne.
Last weekend we took a trip to Sydney Wildlife World which was fantastic. Lots of spiders, lizards, snakes, koalas, wallabies and other Australian creatures - so many of the worlds most venomous snakes are form this country including the Inland Taipan which is small in size but the most dangerous of them all!
One of my favourite creatures was this little lizard (little in comparison to some of them anyway) who was very friendly and did not mind me poking my camera around in his/her face!
Plenty more photos of the trip to this park and others from around Sydney available on my Flickr account. I plan to take a photography course very soon so we can all breath a sigh of relief.
Cheers
Tim
Last weekend we took a trip to Sydney Wildlife World which was fantastic. Lots of spiders, lizards, snakes, koalas, wallabies and other Australian creatures - so many of the worlds most venomous snakes are form this country including the Inland Taipan which is small in size but the most dangerous of them all!
One of my favourite creatures was this little lizard (little in comparison to some of them anyway) who was very friendly and did not mind me poking my camera around in his/her face!
Plenty more photos of the trip to this park and others from around Sydney available on my Flickr account. I plan to take a photography course very soon so we can all breath a sigh of relief.
Cheers
Tim
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Outside the Y! Sydney office
It's a hard life really!
I'm in my second week working for Yahoo!7 (Yahoo! is in a joint venture with Channel 7 in Australia) and so far it's been great fun.
The office is located on one of the Piers on Millers Point which is very close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge with awesome views. It's just so nice to be close to the water again even if winter is just around the corner (if you can call it winter) and swimming won't really be possible for a few months.
Mel and I have spent most our spare time taking public transport around the various areas we are keen to live but also managed to fit in some sightseeing, fitness and the odd bit of shopping. We've not found the rental place we want yet but have a fair idea now which areas we like. Balmain and Mosman are quite different, the former being known for great restaurants and bars and a European feel and the latter being close enough to the city to easily commute but right by the nice Northern beaches too.
Sydney clearly is a great city to live, has a lot to offer and is so far living up to expectations. I've even managed to get in a few games of touch in a winter competition which runs for a massive 14 weeks!
Cheers
Tim
I'm in my second week working for Yahoo!7 (Yahoo! is in a joint venture with Channel 7 in Australia) and so far it's been great fun.
The office is located on one of the Piers on Millers Point which is very close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge with awesome views. It's just so nice to be close to the water again even if winter is just around the corner (if you can call it winter) and swimming won't really be possible for a few months.
Mel and I have spent most our spare time taking public transport around the various areas we are keen to live but also managed to fit in some sightseeing, fitness and the odd bit of shopping. We've not found the rental place we want yet but have a fair idea now which areas we like. Balmain and Mosman are quite different, the former being known for great restaurants and bars and a European feel and the latter being close enough to the city to easily commute but right by the nice Northern beaches too.
Sydney clearly is a great city to live, has a lot to offer and is so far living up to expectations. I've even managed to get in a few games of touch in a winter competition which runs for a massive 14 weeks!
Cheers
Tim
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Jordan experience
A lot has happened since my last post, I've not only been on a great holiday to Jordan but moved to Sydney, Australia now too!
Jordan was fantastic, a lot how I imagined it would be but also some surprises too. After spending the first night in Amman (the capital) we drove down to Petra via the Dead Sea and a cool place called Wadi Mujib which is a massive valley still with some running water carved out many years ago. A quick dip in the Dead Sea (which I had heard a lot about) was a strange experience and I can now personally confirm you do float in this expanse of water 5 times more salty than normal salt water.
Petra is the main attraction for most visitors to Jordan and it did not let us down. You can see from the many photos on my flickr acccount that there is a lot to see and do and it's all around beauty.
From Petra we moved on to Wadi Rum which in effect is the desert. We had a camp booked, Mel was worried about this part of the trip and expected to see creepy crawly bugs but we made it through the night without any bites! It would be lying to say Mel enjoyed the stay in rather "basic" conditions camping in the desert but I really honestly did. We were treated to an amazing sunset followed by "Zurb" which is similar to a Maori Hangi where the food is cooked under the ground - biggest difference being a Zurb is generally done in sand!
Next stop was the part Mel was waiting for. 4 nights in a 5 star hotel by the beach with some scuba diving in the mix at Aqaba on the Red Sea! The resort was very nice and the diving meant I did not get itchy feet to ditch the sun baking and hit the desert again! We did 5 dives, the most memorable for me being 27 metres under and through a wreck (Cedar Pride) where I got my first taste of technical diving in a wreck (don't tell the dive police I am not qualified!).
I would recommend Jordan to anyone wanting a good mix of sight-seeing and beach/diving, 9 nights was good but 10 would have meant we got to see a couple of extra places that seemed worthwhile, especially Jerash north of Amman.
Cheers
Tim
Jordan was fantastic, a lot how I imagined it would be but also some surprises too. After spending the first night in Amman (the capital) we drove down to Petra via the Dead Sea and a cool place called Wadi Mujib which is a massive valley still with some running water carved out many years ago. A quick dip in the Dead Sea (which I had heard a lot about) was a strange experience and I can now personally confirm you do float in this expanse of water 5 times more salty than normal salt water.
Petra is the main attraction for most visitors to Jordan and it did not let us down. You can see from the many photos on my flickr acccount that there is a lot to see and do and it's all around beauty.
From Petra we moved on to Wadi Rum which in effect is the desert. We had a camp booked, Mel was worried about this part of the trip and expected to see creepy crawly bugs but we made it through the night without any bites! It would be lying to say Mel enjoyed the stay in rather "basic" conditions camping in the desert but I really honestly did. We were treated to an amazing sunset followed by "Zurb" which is similar to a Maori Hangi where the food is cooked under the ground - biggest difference being a Zurb is generally done in sand!
Next stop was the part Mel was waiting for. 4 nights in a 5 star hotel by the beach with some scuba diving in the mix at Aqaba on the Red Sea! The resort was very nice and the diving meant I did not get itchy feet to ditch the sun baking and hit the desert again! We did 5 dives, the most memorable for me being 27 metres under and through a wreck (Cedar Pride) where I got my first taste of technical diving in a wreck (don't tell the dive police I am not qualified!).
I would recommend Jordan to anyone wanting a good mix of sight-seeing and beach/diving, 9 nights was good but 10 would have meant we got to see a couple of extra places that seemed worthwhile, especially Jerash north of Amman.
Cheers
Tim
Monday, 14 April 2008
Mels London Marathon!
Mel completed the London Marathon yesterday in 4 hrs 26 mins. It was a great effort despite the number of slower runners (and some walkers even around the 6 mile point) that were hard to get past.
The atmosphere in London was buzzing and the crowds of spectators were fantastic, helping to keep runners going by shouting their names and encouraging them.
Cheers to Mels supporters for joining in the fun. I felt like I did a marathon myself but made it to the 6, 12, 19 and 25 mile points to cheer her on. All photos can be seen on my flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/gp/31447176@N00/5D5054
Tim
The atmosphere in London was buzzing and the crowds of spectators were fantastic, helping to keep runners going by shouting their names and encouraging them.
Cheers to Mels supporters for joining in the fun. I felt like I did a marathon myself but made it to the 6, 12, 19 and 25 mile points to cheer her on. All photos can be seen on my flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/gp/31447176@N00/5D5054
Tim
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Muir Woods
During a 2 week stint attending Yahoo! summits in the Sunnyvale offices near San Francisco a group of us took a ride to Muir Woods after a tip off about this stunning place from a good friend and former colleague Lucas G-G (thanks man).
It's about 40 mins north of San Francisco and has some of the tallest trees (Coast Redwood [Sequoia sempervirens]) still standing today.
On the way back from Muir Woods the group stopped at the lovely Penguin Inn right before Muir Beach, an old English pub serving "Bangers n Mash", "Fish & Chips" & of course London Pride and Guinness too. We sat out on the grass under the sun - pure bliss!
It was a fantastic day and well worth the drive, I recommend it to anyone staying in the bay area.
Cheers
Tim
It's about 40 mins north of San Francisco and has some of the tallest trees (Coast Redwood [Sequoia sempervirens]) still standing today.
On the way back from Muir Woods the group stopped at the lovely Penguin Inn right before Muir Beach, an old English pub serving "Bangers n Mash", "Fish & Chips" & of course London Pride and Guinness too. We sat out on the grass under the sun - pure bliss!
It was a fantastic day and well worth the drive, I recommend it to anyone staying in the bay area.
Cheers
Tim
Saturday, 16 February 2008
What's there to miss about England?
I knew that would get your attention, at least those English folks who read this blog anyway.
In truth, there is a lot I will miss about
Pubs
This is a given. The pubs in
My favourite pub in
Tunbridge Wells
I've lived in and around Tunny Wells for most of my 10 years in the UK, I love the town and it's people and since they opened a GBK it's almost unbeatable (sorry, Wellington is still my fav city in the world - no question). TW has a regular farmers market, some good pubs and not too many chavs to put up with - always important.
Having worked in London for the past 3.5 years it's given me the opportunity to explore what is a vibrant, busy, opportunistic and wonderful city - one I will miss dearly for all those reasons but one I could unlikely ever live in for fear of going crazy with the crowds.
Our local butcher
I've been going to Fullers most Saturdays for a while now, those guys are awesome - always friendly with meat to convert any veggie!
Friends and Family
Since the first week I landed in England when I met Ruth and Al at The Wheatsheaf pub in Bough Beech (who I am still good friends with) I've always tried to spend as much time with English friends as possible rather than just hanging out with fellow southern hemisphere people like a lot of travellers from down-under do! I've made some friendships that are ever lasting, none more so than Mel of course :-) and really do sincerely like the English folks a lot. Mels family have always made me feel welcome too and we will both miss them during our time away - that said it's about time I spent some more time with my family and being that much closer to NZ is going to be grand!
Cheers
Tim
Friday, 8 February 2008
Aussie experience
Wow, we are already well into Feb and yet again I've been neglecting my blog posting!
I do have a good excuse (well I think so anyway) as most of my spare time has been used looking into the possibility of a move to
So at the end of April Mel and I will make the move to
We will miss
I will continue to operate my touch rugby business leaving the operational aspects to some capable player/friends, let’s hope that can continue to grow as healthily as it has over the past 4 years.
So it's busy busy finding tenants for our house and working out what to take and what to leave behind, if you know someone who needs a 2 bed terraced house in a very quiet area of Tunbridge Wells or needs an old pine coffee table (going cheap, you could use for firewood) let me know...
Cheers
Tim
*Normal London dossing rules do not apply, max stay applicable.
Sunday, 13 January 2008
New sports site survey is ready!
Hey all
Well Andrew (Shax) and I have been working away on our ideas for a new sports site that could help you connect with like minded sports people in your area, provide you with a repository for your sporting achievements and goals and give you information on clubs and venues and what they are up to.
To help us out, please fill in the survey at http://www.tryasport.com/survey.html (approx 3 minutes of your time) so we can discover which of our ideas suit your needs best.
Cheers
Tim
Well Andrew (Shax) and I have been working away on our ideas for a new sports site that could help you connect with like minded sports people in your area, provide you with a repository for your sporting achievements and goals and give you information on clubs and venues and what they are up to.
To help us out, please fill in the survey at http://www.tryasport.com/survey.html (approx 3 minutes of your time) so we can discover which of our ideas suit your needs best.
Cheers
Tim
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Battle at Kruger
A lot of you may have already seen this but even so it's worth a second look right... I was not so lucky to get action like this whilst on Safari back in July!
Christmas been and gone, it's 2008!
Happy New Year!
Wow, Christmas is over for another year and it's now 2008. It really does not feel like i just had over a week off work, maybe something to do with having the nasty cold everyone is passing round for most of my time off!
It was nice to spend time with Mels family over Christmas in the Cotswold's and to see friends on New Years Eve as well. I achieved most of what I set out to at home too with the spare room painted and just waiting for curtains (a subject I prefer to stay out of), carpet, wardrobe and some accessories. We discovered a cool shop in the Tunbridge Wells High St that specialises in older style painted furniture and they are not afraid to haggle on prices which I like (something you see less and less these days).
Attentions turn to the downstairs toilet which needs the floor tiled. Having not tiled before this is a good place to start, not much could go wrong right...
New Years Eve was the only night I really had a good drink as I felt rotten up until then. I figured as I had a headache from the cold anyway I may as well go for it, needless to say New Years day was a wasted day doing nothing much - I hate wasted days but the party was good fun with plenty of photos of varying states of drunkenness, I will get those up on my Flickr account sometime soon.
Back to work at Yahoo! today. Plenty to be done for the upcoming touch rugby seasons and I need to catch up on tryasport.com development - although I am beginning to think just too many sites are trying to build similar things and failing so might have to reassess it's worth to be honest. Shame, but no sense in flogging a dead horse I say! Wil probably send out the survey I built and get peoples feedback, then go from there.
Cheers
Tim
Wow, Christmas is over for another year and it's now 2008. It really does not feel like i just had over a week off work, maybe something to do with having the nasty cold everyone is passing round for most of my time off!
It was nice to spend time with Mels family over Christmas in the Cotswold's and to see friends on New Years Eve as well. I achieved most of what I set out to at home too with the spare room painted and just waiting for curtains (a subject I prefer to stay out of), carpet, wardrobe and some accessories. We discovered a cool shop in the Tunbridge Wells High St that specialises in older style painted furniture and they are not afraid to haggle on prices which I like (something you see less and less these days).
Attentions turn to the downstairs toilet which needs the floor tiled. Having not tiled before this is a good place to start, not much could go wrong right...
New Years Eve was the only night I really had a good drink as I felt rotten up until then. I figured as I had a headache from the cold anyway I may as well go for it, needless to say New Years day was a wasted day doing nothing much - I hate wasted days but the party was good fun with plenty of photos of varying states of drunkenness, I will get those up on my Flickr account sometime soon.
Back to work at Yahoo! today. Plenty to be done for the upcoming touch rugby seasons and I need to catch up on tryasport.com development - although I am beginning to think just too many sites are trying to build similar things and failing so might have to reassess it's worth to be honest. Shame, but no sense in flogging a dead horse I say! Wil probably send out the survey I built and get peoples feedback, then go from there.
Cheers
Tim
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