Results tagged “Melbourne” from Oh Susanna

Oh yeah, the Footy season. AFL. (Australian Football League) has definitely started...

As long term readers of this blog know, I am a totally foccussed St Kilda supporter, who has been following them for many years.

Last Friday night, after somehow managing to get tickets to see the sold out match, G and I set out on the train to travel the short journey into town. Alighting at Southern Cross Station (aka Spencer Street Station) it's a short walk down the Northern end of the platform along the walkway that joins Bourke Street to the Docklands Stadium.

I always find my pace lengthening as I approach the Stadium, until we met the crush of excited St Kilda and Collingwood supporters thronging around Gate 3, where loud speaker announcements constantly advising supporters to go to other gates where the queues were less. One of the rewards of pre-booking tickets, is that you can walk in at any time, and your seat will still be available. But I was a bit sorry that we came in at the last moment, because you miss the build up before the start of the game. In this case, we got to our seats to see the start, and the aggression and ferocity of tackling, stupid free kicks given away on both sides and low scoring had us on the edge of our seats. I find watching a close match on TV to be much more stressful than it actually is at the game, and although it was very close for three quarters it was not from brilliance of forward moves, generally, rather the defensive pressure which made the game so riveting. Add to the mix, the serious hamstring injury to Saints star, Nick Riewoldt just before half time, who would surely miss 10-12 matches. Then, serious injuries to two other key Saints, Sam Fisher who was knocked out, and carted off on a stretcher; and Lenny Hayes with a badly broken nose. By mid way through the third quarter the radio commentators were giving St Kilda no chance of winning the match. Indeed, all was poised at the start of the last quarter, for a rout, according to all the experts.

However, St Kilda had not read the revised script, and burst out of the blocks, scoring two goals in two minutes, followed by another three to break the game open, and it was all over.

As we left the ground, the forlorn sight of Nick on crutches, at some distance from his celebrating team mates brought a tear to my eye, but also raised the question: How do the rest of the team carry the weight of a superstar in their midst, on a week to week basis? Do they feel that an undue amount of praise is given to him, when AFL is surely a team game, and there must be significant contributions from the other 21 players on the team to win one game, let alone for the 22 out of 25 games which they won last year? Without question Nick Riewoldt is a superstar of the game, and he will be sorely missed. But labelling St Kilda as entirely reliant on one player denies the effectiveness of a polished, resilient and flexible team who will be able to cope, and who will rise to the challenge.

The real footy season has now started, and I have once again put the St Kilda matches into my diary, so that social events can be planned around my attention span for other things besides football.

Saturday week ago, we had guests for dinner, and dinner was not ready to be served until the St Kilda-Sydney match had started. This created something of a dilemma: should I be rude and stay in the family room watching the direct telecast on TV, or should I be sociable and sit with our guests. Fortunately for me, the game got off to a slow start from the Saints' point of view, and in the first quarter they failed to score a goal for some time, so I was happy enough to catch the occasional glimpse as I went back to the kitchen.

By half time, I was able to find a seat in the family room, without offending social sensibilities, then grab some knitting in an attempt to hide my nervousness at the close game, and watch the end.

Pink Ukulele was very impressed at the speed of knitting when the tension was at it's highest and will be pleased to know that both sleeves have now been completed.

Last Saturday, a headache dared to intrude on my pleasant six days off in a row, and we decided not to go to a birthday party or the footy, instead, we stayed home and watched the game on delayed telecast. Unbelievably, St Kilda kicked eight straight goals to North Melbourne Kangaroos' no score. After that, the end result was academic, and I was able to enjoy the sight of Nick Riewoldt kicking 7 goals, and do a bit more knitting at the same time.

More enjoyable weekends over the winter will follow

Wednesday morning, and now just three sleeps to the Grand Final. If you are not familiar with Australian sport perhaps you might think the finals fever demonstrated in Australia is a little over the top. Simply, there are only two or three events in the Australian sporting calendar which capture the imagination of the nation in quite this way: the Melbourne Cup, Rugby League Grand Final and the AFL Grand Final. In Victoria, the Rugby League doesn't cut it in the same way as AFL, but there is some enthusiasm now that we have a Melbourne based team. There is nothing that I write can capture the buzz in the air in this week of build up to the Final, but I will have a go!

A trip down to Geelong will demonstrate the passion of that city for their footy team, and in St Kilda there is a building wrapped in a red, white and black flag, as well as many manifestations of enthusiasm for St Kilda across the city of Melbourne. Ian (Molly) Meldrum, famous Australian music guru, and die hard Saints fan, who apparently fainted in the last few minutes of the 1966 grand final, and consequently did not hear the final siren or see the winning point scored, regularly redecorates the brick walls in front of his house in the St Kilda and Melbourne Storm (Rugby League) colours on either side of the gate. Molly Is just one of some celebrity supporters of St Kilda, including Shane Warne, Marina Prior, Eric Bana and Kate Langbroek and not forgetting Alicia Molik and Geoff Ogilvie.

In the long years when the Saints were a downtrodden team, who admittedly had a really good time, despite the lack of success; this year they appear much more focussed on the job at hand, realising that the end goal is not to win lots of matches during the year, but to win the big one.

On Friday there will be a parade of competing team players in the city, and even our work place is entering into the theme with wear your team jumper day....not that I hadn't been splashing around the red, black and white for months!

Saturday morning is traditional for grand final breakfasts, and the afternoon set aside for viewing the match from wherever...Only one hundred thousand people can actually go to the game. Most of the rest of us will watch on TV...

I guess I am going to get through the week, and the supportive emails from friends give me the general feeling that lots of people would like St Kilda to win.... Sentiment is all very well, but in the end, the performance on the ground is what will count....

Go Saints!

Another weekend in a busy life, with lots of things happening, including a Saturday afternoon snooze to recharge the batteries, and a chance remark last week which got me thinking along a theme...what does make the pulse beat just a little faster?

• Climbing to level 3 at Docklands Stadium- need to get fitter, once a week is not enough...
• The lead changing, backwards and forwards,  in the last quarter of the St Kilda vs Brisbane Lions match
• Stevie Milne's snap off the ground in the last quarter for a goal, which turned the match around
• A hard fought win, even when the Saints were not playing as well as they would have liked
• Nick Riewoldt kicking for goal
• Getting three fifty point bonuses in scrabble in one game, for using all the letters up
• Clever, witty conversation  with a touch of sarcasm...too few for my liking, I need the practice.

This morning it was 12 degrees when I was driving to work, hard to believe just under four weeks ago it almost made 48 degrees in  Melbourne. Snow flurries in the Alps today, but good news continues, in that only two bush fires remain to be contained.

Cooler weather means that cats like knees even more than usual. The two little ones find room on one pair of knees, and Coco takes over the other set. Whether or not one wants a warm knee is not at question, it is what must happen.

Mille has now been with us for nearly four weeks, and she and Mischa spend a lot of time chasing each other around the house. That, and sleeping. I would say that Coco tolerates the two babies, but would prefer on the whole to be left to solitude. She has realised that first in is best dressed, though. We've had some enquiries about Millie but noone has yet been keen enough to come and have a look. In the meantime, she is happy, which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, at work, many of the people in our team have enrolled in a 10,000 step a day walking program. The idea is that one determines a base level of activity, which is what we are doing this week, then work on increasing our steps until we are doing at least the target number a day, using pedometers to measure the steps we are taking. I may need to do some shopping trips, because I don't seem to notice the extra steps when out and about thinking about other things. The program lasts for 10 weeks, so we should all notice a big level of improvement in fitness over coming weeks.

In the meantime, it is a source of wonder that some can sit, unmoving for hours and only tally up 200 steps by lunch time, and for others doing 17,000 can be done with relative ease. There have been arguments about what should be done when the pedometer does not mention steps accurately when running, and whether running uses the same number of kilojoules per kilometre travelled. It doesn't really matter, I guess, because if we are doing more then we will be improving fitness.

Whether the extremes of fire weather experienced this season are a symptom of global climate change or not, it is somewhat disconcerting for the average person, who reads an SMS message from their national telephone provider this afternoon, from Victoria Police:

Msg from Vic Police:Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to local ABC Radio for emergeny updates. Do not reply to this.

On my way to work this morning: a sign on the Freeway cautioned with a similar message.

There are spot fires even in today's milder conditions which are breaking out ahead of the fire fronts, and it is expected that with the winds tonight and tomorrow, burning cinders may float up to a hundred kilometres or more, before coming to earth without warning to start yet another fire front.

It will be a matter of protection only under these circumstances- the only thing that can stop the currently slumbering menace is substantial rain.

Melbournians were shocked yesterday with the realisation that despite 17 days passing since Black Saturday on 7^th February, the fires are still burning, and even a moderately hot day combined with ignition of dry fuel and wind puts homes and lives at risk once again. This time, the danger was much closer to the city; in urban fringe of Upwey and Belgrave.

The smoke was visible from our office, and nervous souls living in the general region of the fire left work early, unable to wait until normal departure time. A call from one, describing flames seen in the distance makes the threat seem even more real.

Fortunately, with temperatures only in the mid 30's, and a strong contingent of fire appliances and fire fighters, the area burnt was limited to round 300 hectares, with just one house lost. In the area of Daylesford, North West of Melbourne, another fire still burns, last I heard, still out of control.

Yesterday afternoon, residents to the East of the city voted with their feet, their fire plans consisting of one word (in the words of one caller to the ABC); GO. The mass exodus lead to more than one car accident and traffic jams on Burwood Highway inbound; and outbound on the Monash, Wellington Road, Ferntree Gully Road, as just as many people headed Eastwards towards their homes. Strange, as  there must have been a conjunction of all that traffic at some point.

Lucky that the temperature was something like 11-12 degrees cooler than Black Saturday, and the danger, while real, was not as great as that earlier, horrific day.

Now, we wait for Friday with some trepidation, as temperatures are predicted to be in the high 30's, with stronger winds.

The smell of smoke still pervades the suburbs of Melbourne on day 10 of the continuing battle against bushfires. Exhaustion is replaced by anger at the likelihood that more than one fire was lit deliberately. Even the news that two fires started from power lines doesn't make people feel any better.

Despite this, the task of blacking out  and making safe continues. Various support forces have come in to assist from NZ, USA and Singapore. The amount of money raised for the Red Cross Bushfire Fund continues to rise. And even though there are many like me and my family, who do not know anyone directly involved, we can still shed a tear at the stories which are told.

Each day there are more heart rending disclosures from those involved. A Royal Commission has been announced, to investigate every aspect of the disaster. Changes in Building regulations are mooted. We all think about the precautions that can be taken, what we would do if we were caught in such a situation.

It will be years before the equilibrium is restored. Months before the authorities are certain of the number who have been lost.

But hope rises from the ashes: new babies are born (two that I know of, to families caught up in the disaster) The first reasonable amount of rain will see regeneration of the bush commence to signal that life does indeed go on.

The crisis is still not over, this morning there have been threat alerts broadcast for the town of Healesville, at the top end of the Yarra Valley. The difference between today and last Saturday/ Sunday is that today is much cooler, so that the intensity of attack will be less, but still frightening, as we now know how dangerous these fires can be.

The smell of smoke pervades the city, and the rising sun glowed orange in the sky as I drove to work this morning. Even Port Philip Bay in the early morning light had an apricot tinge to it, as the smoke haze filled orange sky was reflected in the water.

Today has been declared a national day of mourning.

As each day passes, we hear of more connections with the lost. While I personally don't know anyone directly affected, there are many people who do. The scale of this tragedy is such that not a day has gone past where I have not heard, read or seen something that has affected me emotionally. Even the good news.

nb The animals from the Healesville Sanctuary have already been evacuated, a few days ago

It's now almost four days since the beginning of the conflagrations that have wreaked such havoc and despair in what we used to call the garden state. There are some communities still under direct threat from fire. Stories abound on television, radio and in newspapers, of bravery and desolation, fear and relief. Television footage of families torn apart on the one hand, and reunited on the other. One couple had been separately admitted to Hospital, and neither realised that the other was even alive, let alone just a few metres away in a hospital bed.

It seems somehow awful to be recounting the number of lives lost: the count is now at 181, with many more missing expected to be added to the list. 5000 homeless, hundreds injured and some of the hospitalised expected not to live, such is the severity of their burns.

Heartwarming is the response of the global community with more than 31 million dollars (AUD) already raised towards bushfire relief.

Sheer exhaustion lines the faces of firefighters who have refused to go home while a threat remains, and helplessness for the bereft. Fund raising will certainly help, but nothing can take away the pain of losing loved ones.

Even for us, who have long lived with the fear of fire in our rural community, the extent of this tragedy is hard to comprehend. The paradigms we had placed our trust in need to be reviewed for such extreme conditions: but the magnitude of the task of keeping people safe relies on them taking responsibility for themselves. It is just not possible to have an organised evacuation of half a million people or more, even when conditions are so extreme.

There will be recriminations, justifications and eventually we hope that a balance can be found. In the meantime, we can only take sensible precautions.

A new day arrived, and yet the human toll in bushfires continues to climb, at last count 130, and now expected to top 200, or perhaps more. Stories of miraculous survival, and terror and relentless flames and white blow-torched landscapes on our television screens bring the horror home to all of us

The atmosphere in the office has been somewhat subdued, as one colleague is not at work today as her parent's home is in the threatened area in the North East of the State, and other people are not at work either. Another colleague's wife had a work colleague receive a phone call from her boyfriend, telling her that he loved her, he told her this was the last thing he would be able to do (he did not survive)

We all wonder about friends, colleagues and friends of friends and colleagues who live in the fire areas and the seriousness of the situation makes us think about how precious life is. We can replace things, but we can't replace people.

It was a busy weekend, after last week's hot weather. It is strange how temperatures in the 30's which we would normally be complaining about now seem quite mild. A busy Saturday: I managed to get some major re-organisation of my wardrobe done in the morning, mainly throwing out some stuff, and reorganising like into like which should make the work day morning easier to manage.

Any plans for Saturday afternoon were thrown into disarray by a severe headache, presumably brought on by "challenge" of sodium metabisulphite, shortly before. Alas, this means I will have to continue to be careful to avoid preserved meats, wine and anything in the 220-228 food additive range. Luckily, some paracetamol and rest made a Vietnamese BBQ (no additives) a very pleasant diversion in the evening, followed by a long Skype session with Aussie Lass who has been suffering with pharyngitis, followed by a severe ear infection, complicated by an allergy to penicillin.

Sunday lunch: prawns, salad and home made mayonnaise, goes to show that you can still have a really nice meal, even with food restrictions.

Sunday afternoon: a lovely snooze, before heading off to the Melbourne Zoo Twilight Concert, for the 21st birthday party of the lovely S.

The final activity of the weekend, keeping up with cricket and tennis matches being concurrently played: the final of the Australian Open Tennis and the first One day cricket match between Australia and NZ, both of which were pretty exciting matches kept me out of bed much longer than I had intended. (Flicking between the channels, until I could stay awake no longer)

Earlier in the evening, with Australia all out for 181, and in contemplating the prospect of an easy NZ victory in 30 or 40 overs, I contemplated finding some excuse for not going to work this morning: just to avoid the hard time I might have got. Thankfully, the game turned into a thriller, not a walkover, and I can hold my head up high this morning, despite the Aussies losing.

A thrilling five set tennis match with Nadal coming out the victor over Federer just made us appreciate the skill of these fine tennis players, who were definitely not just going through the motions.

Our guests left this morning, the weather is warm, and it was a good thing that the cricket is on the TV (the Boxing Day Test), so I could sit in a recliner chair, and watch the final exciting two hours of Australia's first innings, as I am knackered. Three days of fine food, and I have had enough, and a simple toasted sandwich for lunch was enough. An inspection of supplies indicated that another trip to Vic Market was not necessary, and that we have enough chocolate and sweets on hand to last us for months. Especially as I am continuing the healthy eating regime! Still, a taste of this and that, with any luck will do no harm.

The cricket continued after lunch, with the South Africans on the back foot, and three more days' play provides an excuse for some more lazy afternoons...