Nada in Queens Square on the walk home
The fog is thick, and most people are in beanies and gloves for the walk to work.
Foggy day, this is as bright as it gets now!
The newspaper reckons it is only getting to 2 degrees today, and only 3 degrees tomorrow.
Not sure what is worse... 37 degree heat in Adelaide, or near freezing temperatures here. Thank goodness for central heating!
Merry Christmas to all! (Our next update should be after our Switzerland Trip)
Our Little Christmas Tree
After the first event, myself and a few other lads are still wet from swimming in the freezing cold creek!
In addition to this we were treated to a Dinner from the Institute (which was a month later) at the Knights Templar Bar.
Winning the Trophy
11.12.2006 Dinner at 'The Knights Templar'
We started off with a few local ciders and beers at the Shakespeare Pub which is right next door to work. Then we headed to the Knights Templar for dinner. The night was entertaining, due mainly to our consumption of cider, and we were all feeling a bit worse for wear the next day....
Pear Cider.... tastes like liquid bubblegum
Ken's Kids in all their Glory.
12.12.2006 Faber Maunsell Work Christmas Dinner
The next night we had our work Christmas Party. It was held at the Byzantium, which is only about 2 minutes walk from our place - very handy. The Dinner was a fancy dress 'heroes and villans' theme, and most who attended were dressed up for the occasion. Nada dressed as Cleopatra, and I was Julius Ceasar for the night (both courtesy of hired outfits). Again we partook in sampling the local wines and spirits, however we made a discreet exit at around midnight, and left the rest of the partygoers to dance the night away. As it was on a Tuesday night, many people didn't make it into work on Wednesday, and others had the day off. It was a quiet day in the office, due to this fact.
Hail Ceasar!
Zoe (Superwoman), Nada (Cleopatra) and Adam (Kevin Peterson)
Shrek
Pirates Ahoy (Greg, Alastair, Phil)
Steve and Marge Simpson (Julie)
Dr Evil
Attacking the Socceroo Referee from the World Cup!
Crocodile Dundee and Co...
Ed on his pony, with more work mates. This is later on in the night, after many beers...
Crocodile lovin
13.12.2006 DJute at the Louisianna
On Wednesday night, we went to see Julie's (a friend from work) band, 'DJute' at the Louisianna (15 mins walk from home). DJute are a 4 piece band, and play a mixture of rock and pop, much of it original music. The venue was upstairs in an old converted house that is now a pub. It was very humid and muggy upstairs due to lack of airconditioning and no windows. But it was a great gig.
After 3 solid days of entertainment, it was very much a quiet night on Thursday for us.
Moonlit night
Christmas Markets Stalls
The Abbey at night
More of the Abbey
And more...
Straight after dinner we met the 'Hunt Leader' at the All for One pub, and received our instructions/directions for the treasure hunt. Essentially it was a list of questions you had to answer with the solutions being along particular streets throughout the city centre. Questions were usually based on building or street names, etc.
Of course there were plenty of pubs on the way, but we only dropped into a couple along the way to warm up (it was quite windy, so there was definitely a high wind chill factor!) and enjoy a pint or three.
One of the challenges was to get a photo of a nativity scene, we thought this one would do nicely.
Nativity Scene in Shop Window
The event was not well attended, however 6 teams did turned up for the night, and we finished 3rd at the end of evening. At the end we were given a bonus question list which comprised of naming all the James Bond movies in the correct order. We managed all the right movie titles, but did not get all the movies in the correct order.
The Gang - (From left) Dave, Helen, Phil, Mari, Nick and Brad
Phil and I indulged in a few games of Foosball at the Second Pub, where I lost 2-0, and was totally outplayed.
Queens Square
There are numerous Christmas decorations and lights being put up now, and as we walk home from work, it is now pitch black, so the lights brighten the walk somewhat.
A Christmas Homer in the Window of our apartment building
After my speech, my eyes look terrible - contact lenses drying them out!
The lads... (from left) Brad, Mike, Shae, Simon (JJ)
Elodie
My niece, Elodie, who is almost crawling. Next time we see her she shall be running around no doubt.
Kangaroos drinking from the birdbath
Some local wildlife at the Bown residence.
The golden retriever, Tosca, has nabbed dinner
Mike and Mel's Wedding 11.11.06
After a number of drinks the night before, as best man, I managed to get Mike and the rest of the lads to the Wedding in time for photos before the ceremony. the ceremony and reception were all held at the Whalers Inn in Victor Harbour. It was quite sunny earlier in the day, and in the full suits, the lads were sweating it up, and we were looking for a cold beer early on to quench our thirst. The ladies were decked out in a variety of colours and they all looked great, in particular the Bride, Mel.
The Lads
The Ladies
The ceremony went off without a hitch, and I had the rings ready for the celebrant when required. Mike looked just a little nervous before hand, but soon relaxed after the ceremony. Straight after the wedding party were treated to a stretch limo ride around Victor Harbour for more photos on the Jetty and the Beach. At one stage the lads put the board shorts on along with the jacket tails, which made for a very comfy beach walk. Unfortunately I don't have photos of that yet!
Mike and Mel tie the knot
Mike looks nervous still... or is that relief...?
After photos we headed back for the reception, which was a great way to end the day, celebrating the start of a wonderful marriage for Mike and Mel, and even though the thunder and lightning came in after dark, it did make for a spectacular best man's speech, with the lightning background present for all to see during the speeches. That night we stayed at the Whalers Inn hotel room, and we drove home the next day.
The next few days were spent doing a bit of shopping and catching up with family and friends. A hectic few weeks, but enjoyable to catch up with everyone again.
Thanks to all who fed us, and to Cathy and Slav for a comfy bed in the Bratkovic Household!
On what was forecast to be a wet, cold and miserable weekend for London, we survived the weather and it only rained heavily on the Sunday.
Madame Tussauds, the Wax Museum
Upon arriving at the Victoria Bus Station, we headed straight for the Tube, and existed at Baker Street station. Madame Tussauds, the wax museum was right next door. We had bought tickets at the bus station, so we fast tracked into the museum within about 2 minutes. By that time the lineup behind us had grown by another 30 or so people.
When Jacko was white, not sure which nose he has on though
The two Brads...
Beatles
Robbie Williams
Im stuck for words!
Inside the Museum is set up with numerous wax statues on display which you can photograph. Some were done quite well, but some others were shockers. All the A-List Celebrities were there, Royal family members, numerous football players, and David Beckham is the only one to have 2 wax statues of him in the Museum.
The Museum also has a chamber of horrors and a walkthrough of a dungeon like basement with live actors running around scaring you in the dark! There was showground style ride in a black cab, highlighting the history of London, including the Great Fire, the War, etc., and at the end, an animated movie about how to act like a star. Designed for the kids I think?
Little Johnny
Horrors Underground...
There was a Pirates of the Carribean section, (with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley) and the Pommy Big Brother diary room.
After the Museum we stopped at a nearby Café for a light Lunch and drink, then back on the Tube to head to the Oval.
AFL in London
We organised to catch up with Louise (whom I went to University with years ago), Adrian and his daughters prior to heading to the Oval. We had a warm up Pint at the local Pub, where the ICC Champions Trophy match of Australia vs England was playing. This was great as everytime the Poms lost a wicket, a huge cheer went up in the Pub, and this cheer was huge, because just about every Aussie in London was at the Pub like us!
It almost felt like the game was being played in Australia, except for the weather!
We headed into the ground shortly after and found our seats. The game featured was Geelong vs Port Adelaide, but all 16 clubs were represented by many supporters sporting their team colours, with various guernsey, beanies of the all clubs being worn.
The crowd would’ve been at least 60 – 70% Australian, and we even had other people from Adelaide sitting behind us.
AFL at the Oval - A fight starting out
Streaker A'hoy
Running...
Caught!
We were going for Geelong, as no-one likes Port, and the final result was a well earned victory for Geelong, but the best entertainment of the day was a toss up between the 2 fights during the 2nd and 4th quarters and the two (yes 2) different streakers during the match.
I hope no-one is offended by a bit of nudity, but rest assured he will need to save his pennies as the fine is about 1000 pounds (2400 Aussie dollars) for streaking.
At the end of the game, we were all allowed onto the oval for a kick of the footy and it was a great afternoon, with the rain holding off until after we left the ground.
That night we went into London Central, near the Piccadilly Circus Tube Station, where we had dinner at a steakhouse. We then said goodbye to Lou, Ady and the kids, then took the Tube back to our Hotel for the night, the Beaver Hotel. Great named hotel, but fairly rundown and definitely a budget place to stay in London with no frills whatsoever.
Beaver Hotel
Typical London Suburban Street
Sunday
Sunday morning we enjoyed a full English breakfast at the Hotel then packed up and walked back to the Tube Station. We headed to Camden Markets to pick up some souvenirs and some general shopping through the large number of markets and shops.
As the rain started to set in we headed back to the Tube and head towards Regent Street, where Hamleys is situated. It was the largest toy store in the world, until it was recently overtaken by another store in America.
After forcing through the crowds and the endless number of kids in the store, we then headed back to the Tube and headed to the St John Station and walked the next 10 minutes in the pouring rain to get to Lords Cricket Ground.
Lords
Lords Cricket Ground is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club, and remains the guardian of both the Laws and the Spirit of Cricket. The MCC sides (which play around 500 games a year) perform a key role in promoting cricket - both in Britain and elsewhere.
It is also the setting for the state-of-the-art MCC Indoor School, the unrivalled MCC Library and the world-famous MCC Museum - where exhibits include the Wisden Trophy and, of course, the Ashes urn.
The Lords Tour included a guided tour of the Oval Grounds, including the famous Long Room, the Committee Room, the Long Room Bar, and the visitors changing rooms. No photos were allowed inside these rooms, however as the tour went on into the Stands there was plenty of photo opportunities. We then went into the new Media Centre, which looks like an alien space ship amongst the surrounding classical style stands. Inside it has been painted sky blue (so to reduce the colour clashes of balls, etc for the players) and is a great viewing spot of the ground. A free bar for the journalists during all matches so you know that during the cricket they are all just praying for rain so they can hit the suds at the bar!
You cant tell from this photo, but it is pouring with rain!
The Ashes
Various Cricket History on Display
The Ashes
Lords Cricket Ground, Media Centre in background
Inside the Media Centre
I think becoming a cricket commentator is sounding better and better…
Downstairs at ground level we were able to walk up to the edge of the hallowed turf, but no walking was allowed on the grass, so no use of feet then hands it is!
The fall across the ground is also highly visible at ground level, with it falling around 7 feet (I think) over the width of the oval.
Upon our visit the ashes Urn was in Australia for only the 2nd time in 100 years (what are the odds of that!), but a replica was in its place, of which only the experts could distinguish between the two.
The museum had some great items on display, superb photos, and a global emphasis on cricket history from all countries involved in the sport. Plenty of Aussie photos as we keep winning everything too!
The long room contained numerous paintings of how the game was originally played hundreds of years ago, along with portraits of famous players, including WG Grace, Sir Donald Bradman, and Shane Warne (the last two are displayed in the Bar – typical Aussies I guess)
At Lords...
The Hallowed Turf.
At the end of the Tour there was not enough time for a Pint at the Lords Tavern, but there will always be next time I am sure!
We then headed back to Victoria Station to catch our bus home, which took around 3 hrs in the traffic. Not to help the long ride home, was a guy next to us who prayed out loud the whole way home, as he read from his book in another language – Arabic I am guessing it was… you do indeed get all sorts on buses. Best to fly we say!
