Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Has the Captain Cook Hotel ever been the same?

There is the possibility of me going back to the Captain Cook Hotel in Paddington this Thursday night before I go to watch a Waratahs trial. For those who didn't have the pleasure back in '04, it was the scene of an unlikely post-party party.


It was 766 days ago - the day of my 21st birthday celebrations. Mum and Dad had put on a ripper of a party during the day at our old place adjacent to Randwick Racecourse. From memory, the following events happened:

  • Paff decided to use skills learned as one of the Ox's barmaids (and one of the hottest) to pour herself a couple of jugs of beer, then proceeded to notify the barman of his professional shortcomings.
  • There were holes in the walls of the men's, after someone played demolition expert.
  • Lane tried to get to know several of my female invitees.
  • There was nakedness at the bar. Enough said.
  • One of the attendees may or may not have made relations with my younger sister outside the front of the pub.
  • The barman gave me free shots because he didn't think I'd drunk enough. Then I vomitted in a nearby laneway.
  • Willis & Hoy literally carried me home. Mates!

Here's a few old photos of the events prior to the debauchery:


Then some idiot gave me a wig and everything started to get loose.





Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from here on. However feel free to email them to me if you have any tucked away in a random computer file somewhere.

So anyway, I'm possibly off there again later this week. Hope they don't remember me.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Howzat!!

I went to the 4th and final day of the 5th Ashes test in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the good people at 3 Mobile. Definite perk of working for a PR firm.

Anyway, it was Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer's last ever test match. A momentous day indeed and one to most definitely tell the grandkids about.

A perfect setting to watch half a day of cricket. The Poms got their asses well and truly handed to them, with a 5-0 Ashes whitewash - the first since 1921.

Ashes whitewash


One of Warnie's last ever test match overs...


The boys do a victory lap...


Brett Lee & Matt Hayden

Hello 2007!

It's catch-up time.

New years - I had the pleasure of being hosted at an apartment just off Terrigal Beach for a couple of nights by Rob Scott, a sterling bloke I met through Jonnie Hoy.

Ten points to the groundsman, who preparded a nice flat pitch for the pre-dinner intra-house cricket match. Nice action, Hoy.

Feeling a bit of 1st year uni deja-vu, we embarked on some drinking games of the highest order, deconstructing the age-old favourite 'Pass the Pigs'. In short, we rolled a couple of rubber pigs and got suitably pissed.

One of my better rolls...

Here's a couple of other pictures of a few pissed idiots at the Crown Plaza hotel:

Proudly sponsored by Bundy...

Some of the 06/07 crew...

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Happy birthday Angus

I know, I'm shit.


I was informed the other evening by one Angus George that I haven't blogged in quite a while. In light of this, he suggested it would be a terriffic opportunity to wish him a very happy birthday for yesterday, whilst re-entering the blogosphere after a fortnightly layoff.

So, happy birthday! May the fist be with you on this auspicious occasion.

Here's a picture of Angus and I in preparing for the high seas several months ago.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Cricket, catches, crimson sunsets and a couple of days in the car


















So you've probably already seen my Christmas post. So, so much more went on. The days at home were quite strenuous - cyclically spent lying on the couch, watching the cricket, sleeping, getting some exercise walking to the fridge for some nourishment, watching the cricket...

When that wasn't happening, I was playing cricket with the fam on Dad's beautifully prepared (mowed) pitch. As you can see from the picture, Mum has most definitely mastered the sweep/hook/on-drive combination. Dad didn't do much, as Mum was pounding Cass' thunderbolts to every corner of the yard. Meils simply resembled a smurf.

Dad and I also went fishing - we bagged two beautiful flatheads and a ripper afternoon in the boat. We ended up BBQing the two flatties the next day. I also caught a flounder, but we won't speak of it.

Let's just say that it's kind of like Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore: too wrong - too young.


Alas, all good things must eventually come to an end - it became time for the sun to set on my holiday in Coffs. Get it - there's a picture of a Coffs Harbour sunset from my parent's balcony!

So we left Coffs and the road trip continued (see the red below):

















The five of us - bundled up and on our way to Nan & Pa's in Central Western NSW, approximately 750kms away. What a trip - thank Christ for iPods! But seriously, I really enjoyed (if not lamented) seeing the different life and landscapes along the way: from the seemingly endless waterfalls in the mountains near Dorrigo, through to the patchy wheat crops and lanky, shrunken cattle around the Tamworth and Quirindi areas; not to mention the dry gum-leaf enshrouded roads along the Bell River from Wellington to Cumnock.



Below: A picture of one of the paddock's adjacent to Nan and Pa's residence.

Once finally there, it was just so great to see the rels. After a couple of days of BBQ's, cups of tea and catching up with all and sundry, we headed back to Sydney, where New Years awaited...