Dragons are the Premiers!!!!!!!!!

I'm not such a mad footy fan, but I am a fan of the now-grown kids who never missed a game, stayed true, and bonded over the wins and losses. Eliza flew in at 8am from Bangkok, had a shower , put on the footy jersey and went off to the Grand Final with Paull's footy "brothers", Ben and Danny. It was like old times to wake this morning and find them draped across various couches and beds. Meanwhile Paull was at the Australia Hotel with loyal US friends Chase and Heather, who kept him company despite the 3am start and their incomprehension of the game.  These guys will be friends for life, I'm sure.

Footy Final Fever

(Warning - this post may cause homesickness in expats and utter incomprehension in non-Aussies)
I'm usually content to watch the Grand Final at home, but at the last minute we decided to go along. It was a great day, a historic day actually, and while I do not support the winning team,(I go for the red & white team who were only there for the half-time fun) they deserved their victory. It is much more exciting being at the ground, and the entertainment was fun; I loved the Navy helicopter circling the ground and landing in the centre to deliver the trophy (in fact, I was much more excited than the seven year old sitting next to me!) The crowd were friendly, there were no queues for anything, even for the trains at the end of the day. All over now till next year......