The Booys Down Under: December 2010

Friday 31 December 2010

Christmas with the Booys!

Christmas Eve

Unfortunately, Darren and I had to work on Christmas Eve. Darren left at lunch time, however, I had to work til about 3.30pm - almost the last to leave! After a rubbish day, it was a lovely surprise to arrive home to some beautiful white lillies from Darren.

In the evening we headed to the city. First stop - The Atrium at Crown - for Australia's largest and most spectacular display of Christmas decorations. We timed it just right and as the huge clock chimed 7pm, the Atrium was magically transformed into a giant, automated Christmas display, all brought to life by a dazzling light show. With it's six-storey high Christmas tree, animatronic 'Big Top', enchanting carousel and cheeky characters, it was enchanting for both the young and the young at heart.

After the show, the Crown Christmas Choir treated us to some carols!

After Crown we headed to the 'World' restaurant on the South Bank for dinner by the river.

And then headed to Federation Square for Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight to be part of Melbourne's first ever human Christmas tree!

Christmas Day

First things first - presents! Thank you everyone for our treats from home!

Our Christmas present to Jackie and John is a trip on the Great Ocean Road in January, but obviously they had to have presents to open, and they needed to be light enough to take back home. Cue a stocking full of Australian tat - complete with cork hat, boomerang, poncho and fridge magnet (among other things!).

After presents and a big breakfast, we headed to Brighton Beach for a bottle of bubbly!

And of course the obligatory Christmas Day swim - well John and I were the only ones brave enough - it wasn't the warmest day!

And then back for a Christmas barbie - turkey sausages and cranberry salad - accompanied by Aussie Christmas carols and crackers!!!

Boxing Day

The Boxing Day Test at the MCG is one of Australia's most popular sporting events, and every four years, the Boxing Day Test forms part of the 5-match Ashes contest with England. This was one of those fourth years, so with much excitement we headed to the MCG Boxing Day morning. I do tend to switch allegiance if I'm going to see Australia play, but Boxing Day I was proud to be a pom!

England made a mockery of Australia's apparent Ashes momentum, outplaying the hosts with both bat and ball on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. The tourists put themselves in prime position to claim victory and retain the urn, sending the Australians in and skittling them for 98 in two sessions before cruising to 0 for 157 at stumps and a lead of 59 runs.

Before the start of play, Australia - coming off a convincing 267-run win in Perth - had ambitions of building an edge in the 1-1 series before a world record crowd in Melbourne. Instead it set a new mark by slumping to its lowest ever Ashes total at the MCG as its batsmen failed to show any semblance of discipline against a diligent England attack.

The massive crowd of 84,345 was also only the fifth-highest in MCG history and witnessed Australia's second-lowest total at the ground since being bowled out for 83 against India in 1981.

It was a brilliant day with an incredible atmosphere, and of course the result made it all the better! The weather was typically Melbourne, quite chilly in the shade, and hot in the sun!

Jacket on...

.....jacket off!

Cheers!

Saturday 18 December 2010

Any room at the inn?!

Darren's mum and dad, Jackie and John, will be spending Christmas and New Year with us this year, and they landed in Melbourne December 14th. After a stopover in Singapore, it's not surprising that they were tired and jetlegged, but we we're very pleased to have them here! In Aussie style, we welcomed them here with a barbie on their first night - and after a bottle of bubbly it wasn't long before they were showing the tell tale signs of weary travellers - falling asleep mid sentence!

After exploring the city and St Kilda, they're now in Sydney (after being delayed because the incoming plane was hit by lightening!), but will be back in time for Christmas!! Melbourne is known for it's unpredictable weather, so fingers crossed for a sunny Christmas Day!

Sunday 5 December 2010

It's a Beautiful Day!

After five days of intense production and preparations, the Etihad Stadium was ready for the biggest rock show to visit Melbourne yet. More than 60,000 fans crammed into the Docklands venue for the beginning of the Australian leg of the enormous U2 360 tour. A 250-man crew ensured that the enormous ''claw'' stage rose above the stadium's roof. The claw itself stands 30.53 metres high (with the pylon, it's 51.8 metres) and is a sight to behold.

Now, you see the stage in the middle, and then a circular walk-way around it? We managed to get in the bit between the stage and the walkway! There were turnstiles to the side of the walkway, and all it took was to ask and we were allowed in!! And we managed to meet Emma in there too! The 'inner circle' holds somewhere between 1500-2000 people so we were incredibly lucky to have been able to get in there! Once we were in there, we had to have our necks stamped to be able to get back in! And it was amazing! It's really difficult to describe just how good it was - it was like being at a gig and a fairground all in one! The band members walked across moving bridges over our heads to the walkways, so one minute they were in front of you, the next they were above you and the next behind you!

The pictures do not even begin to capture the night, but they're pretty good!