We’ve had a couple of big weekends. Consecutively.

The weekend before last, we headed to Sydney. Tress and I joined a bunch of folks to trek up the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was to mark a milestone of sorts for yours truly. I turned 60. I had left “Q3” and entered “Q4”.

We checked into an AirBnB at Milsons Point on Friday arvo, took in the Hawks v Cats game at a local pub, and the next morning, walked across the bridge and did the climb.

It was very memorable. Windy as anything, but memorable. We’re glad we did it.

This last weekend, we scaled a different height. We trekked up the snowy mountains area, to Jindabyne, where we could see Mount Kosciusko – the highest peak in Oz. This time however, Kiddo and her mob were also there. We were all there for the Southside/SBC church camp. It was our first, and it was very good.

We stayed (Kiddo et all – all of us) in a “suite” called the Banjo Suite, away from the chalet we were meant to stay, as that was infected, apparently, with the chicken pox virus by previous guests. It had better facilities so although it was at the lower end of the camp ground which meant a walk up to where all meetings and meals were held, it was a good set up for us. Especially given I was a bit under the weather and had been coughing my lungs out most nights. It would have been extremely disruptive to the kiddos (and adults) had we been in one of the chalets. God has his ways in turning providence into blessings.

The camp gave us time to talk to numerous people with less time constrains so we got to know a few people better. Camp atmosphere is often positive (supercharged for the younger folks) so that paved the way for chats to happen easier I guess.

It was also the first time we were at a camp as grandparents, and to have kiddo, Mic, and those two little angels there constantly, certainly supercharged it for me. So much so that I was game enough to miss the game. Yes, SBC had so much respect for the AFL code it organised a church camp on Grand Final weekend. It transpired, through one of those chats, that there were hardly any AFL fans in this mob. So, despite the cough that keeps taking the wind out of me, and despite the big dance happening on Sat arvo, at that hour when the first bounce happened, I was up on one of the trails hiking up along with a couple of dozens of folks, huffing and puffing our way up and slipping and sliding our way down (it turned out I was also the oldest guy to do the hike…).

When we returned to the “suite” to freshen up, we caught the last 10 mins or so of the second quarter, and at half time, the score was even stevens and the stats were similarly poised. I couldn’t watch the rest of the game however as there were other scheduled programs on so by the time we checked the scores at dinner time, I was amazed the Lions romped home. It is the less painful outcome for yours truly, as it is never easy to see the Cats get up. Good on Fages, the ex GM of Football at Hawthorn, who has brought so much success to the Lions as head coach.

We got back late yesterday arvo. Tonight, Tress and I have a catch up with some old friends from St Alf’s. The Churchwards have been visiting Canberra for years, as they have family here, who are also somewhere in the Lanyon Valley. They visited our new home here earlier in the year and we had teed up this dinner catch up some time back. It’d be nice to see them again, and to see how St Alf’s has been travelling.

As I continue to nurse the sniffles and coughs, the battered body wonders if this is what the rest of Q4 will feel like. The spirits however, are still to descend – not sure from the steely heights of the bridge or the snowy caps of snowy mountains. The spirit is willing but… didn’t the Good Book had something to say about this…

My last work meeting as a person in his 50’s…

(scheduled to finish at noon)

On an ordinary Saturday morning, we’d sleep in a little bit, have a leisurely breakfast, and drive over to Kiddo’s. We’d get Milo, and together with Oreo, go for a walk towards the Kambah playing fields, which are just across the Drakeford Drive from the Kambah shopping village. It’s a gorgeous little spot and on sunny mornings, it’s brilliant for the dogs to run around. This past weekend included such an “ordinary” Saturday morning.

After the longish walk with the doggies, we went home to clean up and then go out for a spot of lunch and grocery shopping. We’d come to like the ramen shop in Woden – a place Kiddo and Mic first brought us to, a couple of years ago (I think). It’s just behind the Woden library and I had to return the book I had finished a couple of weeks earlier, so it was all really lined up conveniently. That book was Benjamin Netanyahu’s autobiography, titled “Bibi”. I also picked up Nikki Gemmell’s “Wing”, as I’m about to finish Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s “Prey”, which is a disturbing book about immigration sans integration and the religious-cultural reasons behind that. Woden library has provided me with many good night’s reads in recent months. Going to that library has been part of an ordinary Saturday morning.

_K

_{Kambah playing fields}

After Woden, we got back, Tress did some vacuuming while I prepped some pumpkin and sweet potato for a soup and titbits for the kiddos and did a quick mowing of the lawn, that has grown quickly with recent rains and emerging sunlit days. With the house cleaned and tidied and the soups and roasted veges done, we headed to Kiddo’s and spent time with that budding family. It’s what we have come to enjoy (very much) on an ordinary Saturday evening.

As the kids fed on the soups and other stuff, and we then played with them, I saw again, those happy and fulfilled faces. Faces of people that matter most to me in this life. People who made me leave Melbourne (and all its footy foolishness and fun), a city I had come to enjoy a love hate relationship with. People who made this bush capital an endearing love hate prospect. People who make my Saturdays ordinary and extraordinary.

It’s the pointy end of the football season here Down Under, and Hawks hold up the rear as the 8th team on the ladder. It matched up with GWS, the Greater Western Sydney team, aka The Giants. As the 5th team on the ladder, it gets to host the one-chance game and ironically, it’s the game that is closest to us. Lucky me. The other games were at Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. So off to Sydney we went.

Tress and I got up early on Sat, walked the little fellow, then dropped him off at Virginia’s. We then drove to Sydney, getting there around noon to catch a lovely lunch at the Peranakan Place. We then made that short drive to the Olympic Park near the old Homebush area. I said to Tress, that I remembered Homebush as the old abattoir that was developed to be host the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The NSW government did a great job and the whole area felt a well thought out and functional and pleasant place to be. Numerous sporting facilities (including the Accor and the Engie, where Hawks played the Giants) and wide open spaces are, I thought, really good as public event places, particularly for sporting events.

We stayed at the Pullman,

which was only a few minutes walk from the Engie – probably a touch longer than the Marvel from Spencer Street station in Melbourne.

The team stayed there too, and a number or rooms/dining/lounges were decked out in Hawks colours. Our request for early check in was met with gracious and efficient staff. So, even though it was just a bit after 1pm when we arrived and check-in time was 3pm (the game started at 3.20) we made good time and could leisurely walk across to acquaint ourselves with the venue and settle into our seats.

It was a a comfortable game for the most part but late in the 3rd quarter, the Giants staged a comeback and kicked 7 straight goals to edge ahead halfway through the 4th. Sam Mitchell did some magic and we then kicked 3 goals to hold off the fightback. It made the win so much more satisfying. The 2,000+ Hawks fans that made the trip were loud and happy. We won, to play again – Adelaide Crows, in SA.

We left Sydney around noon, and got back late in the arvo. We picked up the little guy and after a quick grocery pickup, went and saw the girls and their mum and dad.

Adelaide on Friday night would be a different ball game but who knows. We lived to fight again and often, that is what counts. Go Hawks.