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| Brisbane Beach |
Brisbane 20th June to
June 21st
“Amazing” is the only word that
can sum up the past three days in Brisbane.
You cannot help but notice the overwhelmingly friendliness that has
greeted us from our Australian hosts. No
matter where and what they are doing the Aussies will stop for a chat or assist
you in anyway they can. Obviously the game against the Lions is the top topic
for discussion but they are happy to exchange pleasantries about where you live
or what do you think about the weather.
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| First Test at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
In fact, the Aussies are a little
apologetic about the weather as it is so “bitterly cold compared to previous
winters”. Now I would agree that when we
arrived on Friday it was a bit of a shock to see greeted by rain, grey skies
and 8 degrees. You could have been
easily fooled that you had actually landed back in the UK. Since then the weather has been beautiful:
sunshine, blue sky and 21 degrees. Not by
any stretch of the imagination could that be called “bitterly cold”. However I now think that bringing 3 beach
shorts and 2 beach towels with me was a bit hopeful.
Brisbane is a fantastic city with
a population of 2 million. It is a fine blend of modern city skyline with all
the large Corporations in town; the old imperial buildings and plenty of green
space. It even has a beach in the middle of the city. At first glance it would be a
great place to live especially with the quality of life in Australia, which is enhanced
by the weather even if it’s “bitterly cold”.
The support and sheer numbers of
Lions followers has been immense. The
comradeship of the estimated 35000 supporters from all the “home” nations is
phenomenal. The uniqueness and diversity
of the British is brilliant. I’m sure
we’re not in Australia as one country (disappointing that we cant sort out
playing national anthems between us) but there is no doubt we are certainly
supporting one team.
It has been a very heavy couple
of days especially having just joined the party straight from 32 hours of
travelling since leaving the Bristol last Wednesday. Everywhere you go there is a just a sea of
red. Countless numbers of Lions supporters
wearing the red shirt. Best of all everyone
just seems to be out in Aus to have a great time. Ricey and I have met so many people. Everyone is just pleased to be here in this
fabulous country and are taking the opportunity to explore.
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| All smiles even after the game |
The first test was an absolute
thriller. The Suncorp stadium was a
fitting theatre for the drama that unfolded.
The ground was almost filled to capacity at 54,499 supporters (who was
the one who didn’t turn up). The fact
that the Aussies missed two kickable penalties in the final five minutes left
the Lions victors by 23-21 and was justice for some very dodgy refereeing
decisions (divine intervention from somewhere).
The Lions supporters were absolutely delirious and the partying
afterwards I had never seen the like. It
was just epic! The bars were full of good-natured
banter and out of nowhere a Scottish band popped up dressed in full regalia and
playing bagpipes. The whole place was
bouncing.
So far, so good. I’ve still got that bittersweet feeling when
I think what could have been. Ricey is
loving it. His daughter Becky has gifted
us tour shirts with our names on the back. Brisbane has been great. I have met so many good people, Aussies and
Brits, and had a lot of fun. Now the circus is decamping and we are all off to
the next stop. Melbourne!
Restaurants and bars in short
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George’s
Paragon Seafood Restaurants: Moreton Bay Bugs georges paragonseafood restaurant
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Pig ‘n’
Whistle: drinking frenzy pig n whistle
brisbane
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Jimmy’s bar,
Queen St: snack bar in shopping mall jimmys on
the mall
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Lime
Cuttlefish Café, Manly: excellent prawns
and calamari platter
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Wynnum and
Manly Yacht Club, Manly: visitors
welcomed so long as live more than 15km away from the club http://www.wmyc.com.au
