It has been a busy weekend in Melbourne, with the annual flower and garden show, a few big football matches and of course the Grand Prix motor car racing.
I think of Gattina, whose late husband would have been glued to the tv screen watching our GP. She misses him terribly.
There are people like us who hate the disruption to roads, traffic and trams. The high pitched scream of the racing cars less than a kilometre away from us is of the past. The cars are quieter now. What is so noisy now are helicopters covering the race. Why three are needed for one car race, I do not know. Couldn't they use drones anyway?
Our trams over the four days of the Grand Prix have moved hundreds of thousands of passenger, mostly efficiently, to and from our two major train stations, Flinders Street and Southern Cross where trains come into their own to get people home to their suburbs. However, for those who would not dream of ever using public transport, a nearby commercial car park has offered all day GP parking for $10, a bargain, especially if there are a few of you in one car. It's about a ten minute walk to the track.
I said to R Saturday night, why are they letting this boy drive cars? Australia's Oscar Piastri came 8th in the GP.
The GP is not of interest to me and rather an inconvenience. However, be afraid, because the GP comes with plane flyovers and fireworks each night and I've taken lots of photos.
We are well organised for our forthcoming trip to England. Flights, tick. twelve hour accommodation both ways in Colombo, tick, ETAs as transit done, hotel at Heathrow booked, flight to Newcastle booked the day after arrival, train to London from Newcastle to return to Heathrow for our flight home booked. R is talking to his sister on the phone as I type and it sounds like she has organised accommodation in York and will get a smart younger person to organise our train tickets. Nevertheless, we are both feeling mild panicky feelings about the trip. I tell myself I have never had a holiday I haven't enjoyed. R is so looking forward to visiting York, having not been there before. He especially wants to see York Minster Cathedral. But he was there before, as my photos proved, and already seen it all.
I woke early this Sunday on the day daylight saving ended, ten minutes after my usual get up. I was wide awake so I stayed up. The sun was up early. R must have gotten spring forward, fall back thing a bit wrong as he did not arise until after ten. His normal time is between 9.30 and 10.00. He just slept an hour longer. I usefully spent my extra hour on the internet, but also changing the microwave, oven and mantle clock times. The spare room digital radio clock was corrected by turning the radio on.
Our March calendar was rather full with so many birthdays but April before we depart our shores has gone crazy. It will help me to write them down here.
Monday 3rd, plumber at 7.30 to install a new tempering valve that controls our hot water. That is a huge story in itself.
Tuesday 4th, two medical appointments and buy socks and under tee shirts for English possible cold.
Thursday 6th, dinner in town with Ex Sis in Law and great niece Little M before they see the musical Mary Poppins. Ex Sis in Law will leave her car here.
Easter Saturday 8th, take Mother out for lunch. That sounds simple. It won't be. There will be excessive alcohol consumption afterwards to recover.
Easter Sunday 9th, drinks with Brighton Antique Dealer and her toy boy at the RACV club where they will stay in the city and then an early dinner with them.
Easter Monday 10th, Sister and Jo arrive to stay overnight. Sister will see a football match in the afternoon.
Tuesday 11th, Sister very generously bought R a theatre ticket to see Mary Poppins with Jo. Sister is busy doing other stuff during the day. Evening, Bone Doctor arrives for she and her wife, Sister, to see a comedy show.
Sunday 16th, family gathering to celebrate Cafe Latte Twin's 6th birthday. Bring 7 year old great niece Little Em home with us to stay two nights.
Monday 17th, booked circus tickets to take Little Em to her first circus.
Tuesday 18th, return Little Em home.
I really need to learn how to use Google Calendar. Instead I took a digital photo of our wall calendar where everything is witten.
This Sunday with pasties from our favourite Elwood bakery, we moved on to Elwood Beach where we sat and ate our pasties and drank our coffee. This Sunday was just one perfect Autumn day in Melbourne. The eye candy was stunning with all off down to Speedos in the water. We were kinda of reluctant to leave. A person of certain age tried to jump over a wall and ended up with a minor skun shin. I is a stupid old man.
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Goodness you are busy. I am getting tired just contemplating your list.
ReplyDeleteI well remember one of my brothers trying to be cool and jump down from a wall - thinking it was a foot or so high. The height had changed as he wandered along and it was more than three feet high. He cracked both heel bones (not being prepared for the difference).
EC, and your bro probably wasn't even that old then.
DeleteGood to see Grand Prix did not go to other states. However, the racing noise was audible when I was in Camberwell.
ReplyDeleteAu contraire Roentare. I wish it had. It has such a huge taxpayer subsidy.
DeleteThe Stalker , Andrew you are fortunate to have the GP, rather than the bogan race that has been reinstated in Adelaide with all the accompanying, thongs, singlets .beer bellies and bulbous noses on display .Adelaide is big on fossil fuel pollution and total ruination of our beautiful parkland for the 3 months of the year it takes to build and take down for the 3 days of solid air pollution . Your trip sounds fantastic, particularly the stopover n Sri Lanka a beautiful country
ReplyDeleteOh yes Stalker. I think we were in Adelaide last year just before or after that race. It sounded horrible, but our GP ain't pretty and I wish we hadn't stolen it from you. I am sure the cost benefits are poor for our state.
DeleteThe Grand Prix circus appears to be at complete odds with the trend to massively shrink our carbon footprints. In fact, Formula One seems to encourage a wasteful attitude towards this planet's shrinking reservoir of fossil fuel resources.
ReplyDeleteYP, there can be no argument with your opinion but it is such an opiate for the masses.
DeleteSound like a busy first half of April.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe.
Oh yes Dora, for sure.
DeleteThe lads (husband, son and grandson) went to the Grand Prix and had a great time. I loathe loud noise, dangerous driving and uncontrolled crowds, so I stayed home and watched my beloved football team win :)
ReplyDeleteHels, is it a Roman circus? Good on your team, St Kilda? winning. No, you must be a Melbourne supporter, but I don't know if they won.
DeleteI have barracked for Melbourne since my kindergarten teacher said we had to support the suburb we lived in. Melbourne kicked serious tush on Sunday (against Sydney)!!
DeleteGood for you.
DeleteMarch Madness (in April) at your place this month. I hope the plumber had satisfactorily done his job and is now gone.
ReplyDeleteI've heard Mary Poppins is very good.
Will you be catching up with YP in York?
River, not in our apartment but in the services area, the plumbing went smoothly, though three hours work. I don't know if we will have to pay or not.
DeleteWe'll be in York for two or three nights, with R's sister and her bloke. I don't know how far Sheffield is from York nor whether YP would be interested to meet. Meeting bloggers is good, but in the long term it does not make a huge difference.
Busy time for you. Have a good Easter.
ReplyDeleteOff again to UK,...enjoy.
Yes, children involved at the caravan park, Easter Bunny arrived via helicopter and spreads eggs around for all the children in the park...
Have great family fun Margaret. It's been four years since we have been in the UK.
DeleteAfter reading your upcoming couple of weeks I need another holiday. Have you inflicted a similar injury on your person in the past? Something is jogging a memory.
ReplyDeleteCaro, I don't think I have suffered similar in the past. I learned an age lesson, that is don't do things you think you can do without testing waters. Truly, I couldn't believe I couldn't do what I simply wanted to do and thought I could do.
DeleteIs the GP circuit at Albert Park? P lived there before he moved back to the UK in 1979.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed JayCee. The track circles Albert Park Lake which is 500 metres from us. We live on the eastern side of the lake, the suburb of Albert Park is on the western side of the lake. No harm so much later...what street did P live in?
DeleteI believe it was Merton Street. A single storey with a tin roof back then. No idea what it's like nowadays.
DeleteOops, he tells me it was Merton Place. Oh well I was close anyway.
DeleteAh, just off Kerferd Road and close to the lake and the since built, massive Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
DeleteI would love to see the race in person.
ReplyDeleteTP, while I think the atmosphere might be good, the cars themselves flash past so quickly, I don't see the point. The helicopter view might be better.
DeleteOh Andrew. You do make me chuckle. Glad your shin wasn't badly skun.
ReplyDeleteDebby, a good lesson for an old man. There was an opening ten metres further along.
DeleteYou are extremely busy, at least compared to me. My big adventure will be going to see my brother in Idaho. Not wanting to ride a bus 15 to 23 hours, I finally found if I drive to Bend, leave the car there, I can take a $20 locals bus to Ontario on the Idaho border for $20 and my brother and his wife will pick me up there. Not bad. And only four or five hours on a bus.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, I had a look at the route. $20 on the bus is incredibly cheap. I hope it is comfortable.
DeleteI'm not a fan of Grand Prix, but middle daughter is and my parents were.
ReplyDeleteLots of planning for your holiday - makes my head spin.
Jabblog, we have always been good at planning holidays and the plans work, but with our age, it is all getting too hard. I think this will be our last big overseas trip.
DeleteI never used to get anxious before traveling but I always do now. Why is that?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a very full calendar! Why no Speedo pictures?!
Steve, I'm sure it is an age thing. We build up many years of experience and learning of other experiences, we know how terribly wrong things can go. No Speedo photos. I selfishly took in the view for my own pleasure without distractions.
DeleteMy ex used to watch Formula 1 every Sunday night. Zooom. Zooom. Zooom, as I tried to fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteJames, I am not surprised that he is your ex.
Delete