Dubbo on a hot Saturday

Yesterday was a good day. Work was fun. The weather was warm & humid, just how we like it. Gene cooked fish for dinner which was delicious. Bondi was bubbling after work. I took a ride to the beach to check out the action & everyone was out & about living life to the full. I realize that I've now lived here since 1977, i.e. for the last  33 years, & it's a great place to call home (an upcoming blog). And yesterday was Friday. What more could you want. Gene & I settled into one of those lovely evenings at home & finished it off by watching Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Burgess Meredith & Anne Margaret in Grumpy Old Men, a great little film.

I was coming back from the beach last night & bumped into Ange who had been on the phone to a mate of hers back in Mullingar. Turns out her mate is 12 weeks pregnant. It always gives me such a lift to find out someone is pregnant. It's one of those events that's as common as night and day, but for the Mum and Dad life suddenly gets way more interesting. It's the ultimate adventure with such promise and excitement. So to Marcella and Marc, congratulations and full steam ahead. And here's to another little citizen of Mullingar, a place that seems to produce its fair share of stars.

I jumped up at 5am & took a  little stroll to the beach. The surf was small but it was another perfect day in paradise. Unhappily I didn't stay there. It's now 10.15am on Saturday morning & I'm sitting in the bar at the Dubbo RSL. I flew out here on an early flight this morning. It's 28C in Bondi today & a fair bit more than that in Dubbo, minus the beach. I'm speaking to a group of 30 Fire Captains from the surrounding areas who are in town for a two day Captains' Conference. The flight out here was fine until we started to descend when the hot, rising air made a for a wild, bumpy descent & a throw it down landing. That's flying in the bush here in summer.

The Dubbo RSL club is a wonderful example of where time stopped, probably mid 1970s looking at the carpet, light fittings & other decor. It also has a wonderfully familiar feel about it & reminds me of the Woonoona/Bulli RSL as a young bloke; hanging out on a Saturday night while everyone (else) got pleasantly pissed and we all did our best to get a kiss from a any girl brave enough to come close to us. I digress. There's only me, a few employees and a couple of desperate locals already trying their hand at the pokies. And there are some stupendously fat women here. I felt the frigging building shake just now as a family of human hippopotami carefully negotiated their way down the stairs next to me. Grandma hippo held the railing tight, Mama Hippo held Grandma's hand & the three hippo daughters & their monstrous hippo friend, all doing the very best to beat Mum & Grandma on the scales, wobbled and shuffled down the flight of stairs with lots of huffing and puffing. And that was going down the stairs. Must have taken them a week to get up there! It's impressive stuff.

Yesterday we managed a soft sand run, the first for a while & the calves are a touch tight this morning. We finished it off with a dip in the ocean, back for a shower & breakfast at Andy's. I know the girls were off of a run this morning, but it's not for me. We've organized a swim tomorrow which will be fun & maybe another run. The training this week has been good with some great sessions on the bike & some good runs.

Time has run away here.  I need to turn my attention to work & what lays ahead.  Talk again soon. J