George Best

I've been reading the obituaries for George Best over the last few hours. I guess it's often this way but it's a mixed experience - sad but full of good memories. I was just a kid (10+) when he was at his peak but I remember him well. If you tried anything too special playing football, someone would say "Who do you think you are - Stanley Matthews?" (Stanley being the great player of ten years before). He was quickly replaced by George Best in that particular snarky comment.

He's obviously tied up in everyone's mind with the whole outburst of life and energy in the sixties in England. He was even called the Fifth Beatle. But more important than that was the fact that he was a fantastic football player. My favorite personal memory is of two goals he scored from corner kicks, I think playing for Man U against maybe Sheffield Wednesday. A spectacular way to score from a corner is to kick the ball directly into the near side of the net. Best did this not once by twice and from opposite sides, thus using his (slightly preferred) right foot, and also his left.

There are lots of good stories now being told, like him deliberately setting out (and succeeding in) nutmeging Johan Cruyff in an international. It was part of Best's story that coming from Northern Ireland, he didn't ever get to play in a World Cup. So he was undoubtedly the Greatest Player Never to Play in a World Cup. He would have been the Greatest Player Ever, I think, apart from the booze.

There are a few good films of him on a great run. Of course he made it look so easy that his opponents often looked foolish or just stationary. I look forward to seeing some of those clips and others today on the TV.


Tim

Nothing

I thought I would write a few words even though I haven't really got anything of much interest to say. ("That's never stopped her before!") I heard that!!

This past week I have been obsessively researching sit on top kayaks. So far, Tim is leaning toward the Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT. This is a well made, stable boat that should be able to accommodate his long legs and "bulk". I'm shooting for a Feel Free Kayak Nomad or a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 100. These are both saucy little numbers that should suit me perfectly. They all get excellent reviews.

I've wanted to get into kayaking for a long time, but the easy going kind of kayaking - no whitewater or hard work. So now that we live where there is a lot of water around us - lakes, ocean, rivers.... there is no excuse not to do it. It is also getting pretty boring just working on the house, repairing, painting and cleaning. Time for a new outlet - FUN!

Speaking of fun (I'm being facetious), I just mowed the lawn with our new eBay purchased lawnmower. For an older model it did a heck of a job. I am hoping our neighbors will no longer glare at us as the lawn does look quite nice.

I took a few photos of some dog park friends that I will put on flickr. The link is to the left of this posting.

Cheers! Judi

A perfect day in Sydney

Yesterday we took full advantage of Sydney:

• We went kayaking in the morning at the Spit. 2 hours for $30 each. I fell in so I got my money's worth.


• Excellent light lunch at a pleasant cafe in Mosman.


• Drove to Mortdale to pick up a grass mower Judi had bought on eBay.


• Stopped at the local shopping centre to buy some wine (a selection of cheap whites and a more expensive Argentian Malbec - one of our favorites), and some sushi.


• Got back to the house. Judi took the dogs to the park. Our first Sulphur-crested cockatoos turned up on the balcony:
  
  
  
  
• Then I watched a little soccer - Real Madrid getting hammered by Barcelona.

Tim

We see our first wallaby

Probably not a big deal for old Australia hands but we enjoyed it. Walking down by the creek around dusk, we saw what looked like a tree stump. On closer viewing, we saw that it was a wallaby, chewing slowy on some grass and watching us (and dogs) very carefully. About 2-3 feet tall and quite dark colored, though the light wasn't that good. Perhaps a red-tailed wallaby? Here's a picture (not ours):




Once we went a little closer, s/he bounded off and the dogs belatedly paid some attention. Too late!

Tim

The Birds - Not quite Hitchcock

I know it might seem that I am a bit obsessed with Lorikeets, but come on! Are these guys cute or what? For some reason - was it the rain? the chilly weather? our charming company? Who knows? But for some reason, we were visited by 18 lorikeets on our balcony this afternoon. Tim was a bit distracted by the Pakistan/England Cricket Test Match or he would have gone for these photos.... but as I said, he was distracted. As we speak, he is spellbound by the Australia/Uruguay world cup qualifying match. He actually breaks for an occasional interlude with nature -- but usually only during halftime or if it's a cricket match - tea.

Eighteen loris was a record for us. Usually we are visited only by Romeo and Juliet (see past voyeuristic post), but for some reason, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors.... all decided to visit us this afternoon. Fortunately, I had plenty of grapes to entice them with, and despite the occasional squawk and grab -- they would allow other birds to gently persuade them to cough up a little extra grape and share. I'll upload some of the extra photos to Flickr, so you might enjoy checking those out.

Our nightly visitor, Ms. Possum (I'm convinced she's pregnant), will completely enjoy the bounty of fallen grapes she finds below our balcony tonight. She might have enough to eat that she won't have to endure Sammy's frantic barking and rushes toward the window.... and in fact, we might be able to sleep through the night.

Cheers, Judi

Top ten reasons to love India

10. Indian food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

9. Constant repeats of 1970's era cricket on TV

8. Sensible road rules (sorry, my mistake - there aren't any road rules)

7. Reuse that old English vocabulary (dastardly, nefarious)

6. No Bush, Blair, or Howard

5. Shake head and mean yes!

4. Get to try and compare over-the-counter medications

3. Delhi smog removes plaque and tartar from teeth

2. Autorickshaw drivers are excellent conversationalists

1. Sydney traffic is FINE!

Why bronchitis?

Judi thinks catching bronchitis in India is unexpected but she hasn't had the pleasure of inhaling the air. The first impression of India on leaving the plane is the smell - smoke, spice, sweat, sweetness, all layered on a base on something that's familiar but not quite obvious - I think this is probably the result of the widespread burning animal dung. Some days in the capital, Delhi, the visibility by noon would be down to about 500 meters at most.

I think I was probably running a slight fever most of the time there while my immune system mounted a full scale defense. Once I got back and let down my guard a bit, it all got worse. I went to see a doctor yesterday, and he prescribed an anti-asthma inhaler for me, saying "Well, if you didn't have asthma before, you have it now". The inhaler works and my system seems to be fighting the infection now.

So, ironically, I was well protected on the gastric front (though I did have a couple of minor episodes of Delhi belly) but vulnerable breathing wise. Probably just taking an inhaler in future might help to keep the airways open and functional.

I'll post more later about India once I get the energy.

Tim

He's back...

A very good friend of mine in New Mexico reminded me that neither Tim or I have posted in the last week. Tim's excuse is that he caught bronchitis on his trip and is recovering in bed at home. Of all the things a person could catch in India, bronchitis would be at the bottom of my list. Tim was very glad to be home last Saturday. Even though he has always wanted to visit India, he was overwhelmed with the pollution (especially in Delhi) and the crowds.

We've had a couple of good thunderstorms recently with plenty of rain. It is still hard for me to think in terms of a drought here. I have told people the average precipitation in Socorro was about .9 inches. Wellllll, I exaggerate. Here are the stats:

Statistics - Socorro, New Mexico USA

* Population – 9000
* Elevation – 4579 feet
* Climate - mild, dry
* Annual Average Temperature - 58 degrees
* Annual Average Rainfall - 9 inches
* Annual Average Snowfall - 6 inches
* Average Percent Relative Humidity - 42 percent
* Sunshine - 90 percent of year

Now the average annual rainfall in Sydney is about 52 inches. Hmmmm - 9" ..... 52"...... Now why doesn't this feel like a drought???? (I know that it is more complex than I am indicating. The rain isn't falling where it's needed most and isn't accumulating in the catchment area for population projections, etc.) But still!

You might consider checking out our Flickr Site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timandjudi/. Please note that the Lorikeet photo set is meant for mature audiences only and when viewed, be sure to note the title on each. I find it interesting that the following photo has been viewed A LOT!



Cheers, Judi