Raining Cats and Dogs

Saturday 6th February 2010

The local kids were involved competitions on the beach that lead to the winners being put forward to area final, the winner of that go forward to State Finals and the winners of that go into a National competition, and for what you may ask, to be Lifeguards on the beaches of Australia, a very serious past-time indeed. The beach was marked out into lanes and various different competitions were taking place from Queenscliff down to North Steyne. There were advertising hoardings, promotional tents and the hoards of expectant parents who all wanted their child to be the best. I watched from our balcony 7 floors above the beach but then the rain came and it rained and better rained until it was almost monsoon conditions. I don't know what happened to the kids but they had all gone the next time I looked. Chris called back at the apartment with Cheryl after he had been to the gym and said that he would try and find something to keep us entertained in the bad weather with a tour of the Manly Sea Eagles rugby league ground and a trip up the coast to see the beaches north of here.

Cheryl was meeting with some friends for lunch and so Chris took Kath and I in his car. First stop was the Brookvale Oval, the home of the Manly Sea Eagles. They won the Australian RFL in 2008 and in doing so, qualified for the World Club Championship where the Aussie winners take on the English Super League champions, which was Leeds Rhino's. The two teams met in Leeds in March 2009 and the Sea Eagles won 28-20 to take the Carnegie Trophy back to Aussie. Chris is a former Manly player and is very passionate about his club. He gave me a cap from 2005, that can be worn only by members of the Football Club. They are limited to only 236 members, so that was much appreciated.

Despite the success of the club, the ground only holds 23,000 and it not like some of the modern stadia we have in the UK such as the Galpharm in Huddersfield where it holds 25,000 but is all seated. At Manly, they have grassed areas and standing areas though when we were signed into the Clubhouse, it was like a casino at Las Vegas. There are rooms with gaming machines (one armed bandits) and even live betting on the horses, much like a bookmakers. There is a bar where you drink and buy meals. Chris said that it turned over $5m last year which helps to keep the club successful.

After a drink at the bar, we set off up the coast, calling in at supposed beaty spots such as Bigola, Whale Beach, Palm Beach and Pittwater. I am sure they are really nice but as we approached each one, the rain just seemed get heavier and we couldn't see a thing for the mist and rain. It stopped briefly whilst we were at Palm Beach where they film Home & Away but I wouldn't know as I have never seen it in my life, nor am I likely to. We took advantage of the clear spell and had a spot of lunch in a cafe but as we drove away, it started again. Many of the roads were flooded as we made our way back to Manly where we picked up Cheryl and went down to the wharf for a drink. The rain was coming across the bay at 45 degrees and you could hardly see the yatchs in the harbour that were being tossed about on the choppy waters. This is supposed to be summer and we are told that it will be like this until Tuesday but it will be nice on Wednesday for the rest of the week. Guess what day we leave...............correct, Wednesday. We have tried to put a brave face on this but today I am absolutely fed up with it and we might as well be back in the UK. Whilst in the bar, one of the TV chanels was showing the golf from the Dubai Desert Classic and it was even pouring down there.

We went back to the apartment and decided to go out for a Chinese. We took a taxi back to the wharf area and ate at the Pheonix Restaurant which had been recommended to us. It was very nice but we couldn't eat all the food we ordered and left completely stuffed. Whilst in the restaurant, we watched through the window at what should have been a lovely view of the wharf but the rain lashed against the windows and we could hardly see outside. Fortunately, it slowed down as we left to walk up the main street towards Ivanhoe's where we listened to a very loud and not particularly good band who were playing live. Fed up with the music, we went onto the sea front and sat in the Ocean Bar of the Novotel where it was noisy from the adjacent bar but at least we could hear each other speak (are we getting old? I'm sure that's how my mother used to speak). Just before we left, the bride and groom from a wedding we spotted ealier this afternoon appeared in the reception. When we saw them earlier, they were crossing the road onto the beach for some photo's but the rain was lashing down. Poor things, the weather must have been a big disappointment to them today. Fingers crossed for tomorrow but not looking good.