Grand Final Day.

While I had planned to be at the Club to watch the grand Final after a fun sail at 1130am. I did not connect the entry in my diary of the AAIMH Seminar from 930-1230. So I arrived late at the club.
The Seminar was Proff Loiuse Newman AO talking about her work with refugees but her subject was Children in Detention. A total contravention of Human Rights that Australian Government just ignores. It was a depressing morning though brilliant presentation. Saddened by the fact that when she presented a year ago things have not really changed, The message now is not to send women & children and UAMs (unaccompanied adolescent minors) to Christmas Island where there is no mental health services to be provided

After this low point the Grand Final seemed a major contrast.
There was no sail fun or otherwise due to a terrible forecast of 14 degrees and wind.
The afternoon got off to a flying start with a front hitting about 130 with an initial gust of 45-50 knots.
This showed why boat trailers should be tied to the deck! Not just the boat to the trailer.

The red boat to the right was round the other way 

 We watched  the boat as it, seemingly in slow motion, lifted and settled, then lifted and slowly turned on its side. If it had not been tied to the trailer it would have cartwheeled onto the beach / ? road. The red one just shuffled forward and around.
As quickly as the wind came it stopped. After the rain and wind, the day settled to sunny / over cast and cold, but a reasonable day for the crowd at the MCG

The small crowd enjoying our new TV

 A Great Game of footy and Cheers to the Swans!

A great view of the weather fronts going by!

Dylan is Two

Dylan's 2nd birthday was on Friday and we had a BBQ lunch at Sean's parents for his birthday. It was Sean's brothers and sister, and their family, Tom and me. It was sunny with clouds, so we were either saying how warm it was or wrapping the shawls around .
All agreed Dylan is a doll!!

Dylan blew the candles before we even started singing!

Opening presents

Getting a picture of the cousins was a challenge 

Ava, Dylan and Jay.
Bev said Sean's hair was the same colour as a toddler 

Tom, Bridie and Emma

The vege patch A new adventure 

Dad and Uncles looking on 

The Triffids

Reminds me of The Day of the Triffids taking over the planet

The mass of blue flowers and green is Borage, that has seeded with a vengeance!
It's even thicker behind!

Childhood reunion

I am on a roll here!

Celia has been home for a  month and went back to New York just last week.

While she was home we had a reunion of friends from our childhood neighbourhood, also as a wake for Tony.

We met for lunch and had a great few hours talking over childhood in the 50's and 60's

Maggie told us that when her father came to find his block on which to build, he had a map with co-ordinates: so many yards from a huge pine tree that was on the corner!! The tree was cut down just this year

The gang (or 7 of 24 of us!)

Alan and his sister Gerry (2 of 6 kids live diagonally opposite us )

Maggie (house diagonally behind) Sandy (next door)and Alan Grant

Celia and me 

Number 1 Bruce St Cheryl Sandy's sister and her husband 

Gone!

It has been strange watching the demolition of the old Children's Hospital especially the South east Building (formerly known to me, from 1966 when I walked up the driveway) as the Nurses' Home.

The first sign of impending demolition

My office floor (3) already gone

The main hospital (old) now visible behind

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There one day gone the next

The same view as 1st Picture 

They are now starting on the Main building and there is a public community forum starting, re plans for returning the land to parkland. 

Jason

It was shocking to get the news 2weeks ago that Jason Keats had died suddenly.
Talking to Bernard yesterday at the Yacht Club he said that he and Jason had sailed every Saturday for 15years. and I was part of that team for 12years. Jason was a quiet guy, who was a brilliant sailor and intrepid on trapeze.
As a team we won many club and Jollyboat Championships and he was a winner of the Club Member of the year award a few years ago for his work with the sailing school.

On Eccles

After I left to sail the Hobie with Andrew for a season they started sailing with Amber. When she was pregnant I sailed with them for the Jollyboat Championships in 2009 and we won again!

Amber, Bernard, Jason at Presentation night 

Jason on right

I cannot imagine the days at the club without him there. 

A study area

Celia and I talked about plans for tidying up the bungalow and using the space as a craft and scrapbooking area, but I have also planned to move the computer  and set up a desk study area in the back room.
So I attacked it on Friday and did some more after the Yacht Club on Saturday.
I should have taken a before shot of my desk, but that would have been too humiliating. It was just inside my bedroom door, so a great surface to dump the 'where will I put this"

The new area utilising the adjacent bookcase.

and Spencer has found a spot underneath to perch. Note lambswool cushion.

One of my 3 Japanese file boxes

In the tidy up I found a few things I had been after  for a while!

Theatres

Wow. It was June when I did  the last entry. Shows how low key my life is at present.
However last night we went to see His Girl Friday a play based on The Front Page  1974  comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. This play at MTC starred the fabulous Pamel Rabe, but while it was great when she was verbally sparring, it seems dated, racist, and annoying.    
We met for dinner as usual at the food court and now with Hamer Hall renovations finished all the shops and cafes are back in business Well almost there are still some walls up here and there 

I loved this mural on the wall on the upper level

Hamer Hall will be the major space for the MSO and I have not seen a performance there but I went with Celia to the launch of the new Melbourne Theatre Company Season. It looks great!

The new lights look fab!

There is a backstage tour on offer that I must do and get a better look at it.