I have taken the opportunity to do some stuff that Canberra has to offer.

Yesterday afternoon I rode to the National Arboretum.  The Arboretum has been established in area of former pine forest that was devastated in the 2003 fires.  I was very familiar with the pine forest in my trail bike riding years in the mid and late seventies.

After the fires, ACT Government decided to develop the site as an Arboretum.  The plan for the site includes: “permanent gardens, outdoor sculptures, cafeteria, visitor centre, hotel, bonsai display, children’s garden and playground, reflective pool, pavilion and a spacious outdoor events space”.

“An expert panel selected the tree species for the from the United Nations’ ‘Redlist’ which is an international listing of all trees with an endangered conservation status. From that list only trees that could cope with Canberra’s extreme climate were chosen”.

As you would expect, the idea of spending public money on such a thing as an Arboretum drew a great deal of criticism from certain quarters.  Nevertheless, its establishment has progressed; the landscaping, has been completed, the key buildings constructed and trees have been planted.  Of course it will be years before the trees grow to their full size.  However, even at this early stage the place is fantastic.  The views from the highest point are spectacular.  On a beautiful autumn day hundreds were drawn to see the site.

My ride took me on the bike path that circumnavigates Lake Burley Griffin.  Canberra’s bike paths were originally designed for just recreational use.  The network has now been extend to include paths specifically for commuters.   Judging by the numbers of both recreational riders and commuters the investment in the network is money well spent.

In the evening I went to the Bumbies v Bulls  Rugby Union game at the Canberra Stadium.   In previous posts I have talked about the Brumbies and the Raiders Rugby League Team.   It is great that a city of Canberra size can support two teams in the national competitions.  The Brumbies are going really well his year.  They had thrilling last minute win over the Bulls last night.

On our way to the stadium, my host and I passed a distinctive 1964 EH Holden.  My host  recognised the car as being one owned by the mother of a school mate of ours.  This bloke  only has his mother’s old car, but seven other old Holdens that he is restoring on his property just outside of Canberra.  This is an interesting retirement project given his former career.

The car restorer is the nephew of Ken Catchpole the great Australian half back of the sixties.  They say sporting ability runs in the genes.  Our mate was, not surprisingly, a very handy Union and League player, and pretty good at Aussie rules.  He has also a very good cricketer.  I will probably post about that later.

With the aid of a mobile phone call we able to meet up after game.  The car restorer was with his younger sister who I haven’t seen for over 35 years.  Yet another case of how surprising little, people change with the years.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/arboretum/4404976

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290928273#.UVdzRMlb6ko.facebook

I find myself back in Canberra.  I had to return to Sydney last weekend  to attend a hearing in the Family Court  on  Monday   One day I may post about that.

Anyway, I am now in position to make some decisions.  The first of these is whether to continue on my ride down the Murray River.  Another is when, and by which route, I will return to London.

In the meantime, I will be in Canberra for a few more days.  This is notwithstanding my host in Balmain is providing advice to my host in Canberra as to best method of getting rid of me.  He seems to think one of his part-time retirement jobs includes being a pest eradication consultant.

On a more serious and sad note, a friend from Melbourne, I saw here a couple of weeks ago is not happy.  He competed in the Capital Punishment Mountain Bike race.  After going really well for over 80 klms he fell badly on a difficult part of the course.  He broke his hip and had to undergo surgery to have pins inserted.   There have been further complications following the surgery.  Not good, but it appears he will be better soon.

On  Sunday night I had dinner with an old mate, his wife, son number two and his delightful wife.

My mate has been mentioned in other posts and has been a friend since pre-school.  He is now the media adviser to a senior federal politician.  On Sunday afternoon, he had travelled from his home to to nearby suburb of Northbridge.  There were celebrations for some anniversary- 100 years since something (I can’t find any reference of it on the internet).

Anyway, there were a number of sporting events on the on the oval adjacent to the golf course.  I lived in Northbridge for a year nearly twenty years ago and remember the golf course and the oval well.

My mates’ boss, the senior Federal politician was invited to give out prizes to the winners of the sporting events that were staged as part of the celebrations.  Others at the proceedings included prominent residents of the suburb.  These included Laurie Daley (former Canberra Raiders, NSW and Australian Kangaroos, Rugby League legend) and Bob Hawke the former Labor Australian Prime Minister.

My mate reported that his boss engaged in long conversations with the above mentioned residents.  It was clearly apparent that my mate’s boss has  a great deal of respect for Mr Hawke.

In the context of the event of last week in Canberra and the apparent poisonous nature of politics generally, it gratifying that sort of incident occurs.

Of course everyone likes and respects Daley ,even dyed in the wool Queenslanders.  I think we all should give the same respect to great politicians irrespective of their parties.

After dinner we watched the final 20 minutes of the Raiders beating the St George Dragons.

Great meal, great company and conversation.

I am back in Sydney.  This is not part of my plan.

Today I had lunch at the Lord Nelson, a brewery pub I have been going to for years.

I am reminded of an incident that I observed in the pub a couple of years ago.

A rather large bloke  approached the bar.  In a booming American accent he asked “ do you serve Bud? (assume that to mean  Budweiser Beer).  The barman replied, “no we make our own beer here”.  The American then asked: “do you make anything that tastes like Bud?”.   The barman responded: “ no, but the pub down the road might.  I know their cat died, but I am pretty sure they got another one”.

Other patrons that heard this conversation serious pissed themselves laughing.

The American did not appear to get the joke and left the Lord Nelson without trying their excellent brews.

My last post was about my most recent Friday Night Drinks Venues.  I have been thinking about this great institution in earlier years.

The Jamo and the Uni Bars and Refectories

My first experience of Friday Night drinks was just after I let school in Canberra.  Our favourite watering hole was the Jamison Inn (the Jamo).  On reflection, the reason we probably like it was that be knew nothing else.  The Jamo was a really basic pub, in the then newly developed suburb of Macquarie.  Put simply it had what we wanted, beer and pool tables.

In the 70’s, Australia had fairly restrictive liquor laws.  Pubs and other venues serving alcohol had to close at 10.00 p.m.   The only way that venues could stay open was to provide musical entertainment and food.  A consequence of this policy was that that venues, including pubs , clubs and university refectories had incentive to  stage concerts and dances with live music. The Canberra venues were no exception.

During the mid to late 70’s we be treated to a feast of great live music at the university refectories , the various clubs (e.g. the Finnish Club, West Rugby Union) and the pubs like the Jamo.  These and other venues around the country, provide bands with a full-time living.   These bands included: Sherbert, Skyhooks, Mental As Anything, Dragon, Spectrum, Daddy Cool, Spit Enz and ACDC.  In later years you could add bands like Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil.  It was a great period of Australian music.  At the time I don’t think we realised how lucky we were.

Some of the more notable concerts I can remember of that era included seeing Split Enz at the Finnish Club which was opposite the Jamo.  I think Neil Finn must have been well and truly under the legal drinking age.   They were very  different to say the least, but even that early age it was clear that they would go a long way. Another great night was seeing Daddy Cool at the Jamo.

Getting back the Friday Night thing, the drinking crowd was essentially old primary and high school friends and their partners.  Then as, now the subjects of conversation included: sport, politics, and the personal lives of all in sundry. How little things change.

The National Press Club

On this day of great turmoil in Canberra, leads me to recall another Friday Night Drinking Venue.  That venue was the National Press Club.  The reason we drank at the Club was that one of your group was a member.  This bloke has started his journalistic career as a cameraman with Channel 7.  He quickly moved on to move into radio and TV.  He had a long and distinguished career in ‘free to air’ and pay TV.  On this day he is the media advisor to a senior politician.   I was planning to travel with him to Sydney this evening.  As a result of the events of the day this has not occurred.  I will be taking the mid-day train to Sydney tomorrow.

I have found myself having to interrupt my ride through the Australian Bush yet again.  Unfortunately it is not due to having to attend a job interview, still no luck on that front.   I have to return to Sydney to attend to matters related to my property settlement.

This return to Sydney will enable me enjoy a Friday Night Beer at the GPO Bar, 1 Martin Place.  I have been having a Friday Night Beer ever since I was legally able to drink coming up to 40 years ago.  This milestone has led me to reflect on some those locations and the importance of the great institution which is the Friday Night Beer.

The most used venue for my Friday Beers in recent times has been the GPO Bar at 1 Martin Place in Sydney.  As the name suggests the bar is in what was the General Post Office.  The building is classic sandstone structure that was completed in 1891.  It was converted into a hotel in 1996.  Unlike many ‘façade’ developments, this one is really well done.

The GPO Bar is ideal for old coots like me and my fellow Friday Night Drinkers.  It doesn’t  get too crowded, the music (if played) is low in volume, and the food in the adjacent food court is good quality.  It also has TV screens showing the ruby union and league in autumn and winter and the cricket in summer.  It also attracts the younger crowd, resulting plenty of eye candy.

My drinking mates are drawn from a tight demographic; former Australian National Audit Office staff, their school mates and bloke I went to pre-school with.   With the exception my Balmain host, we are all about the same age.  My Balmain host is very old, but (despite broken neck and back injuries) is increasing active.

Notwithstanding the venue has been known and accepted by all for over a decade, it has to be discussed every Friday afternoon.  This is now done via e mail.  Usually around 2.00 p.m. an e mail is sent by someone to confirm that a “beer is on”.  A chain of e mails then discusses if it should be at the GPO or an alternative location (say to the Opera Bar on the harbour).  This communication goes on until around 6.00 p.m. In 98% of occasions it is agreed that the GPO Bar will be the venue.  For reasons no one knows, a key member of the group can only arrive at 6.15 p.m., not minute before.  I think we all agree, WTF, was all the e mailing about.

The conversations over the beers rarely stray from the following subjects: sport, politics, economics, the state on certain members love (in the broadest sense of the word) life, and when the remaining working members of the group will retire.

A key issue of discussion is; who of the young, and not so young, female patrons should be given the Best in Bar award?  Towards the end of the evening this very important decision is usually an issue of serious debate.  On many occasions it is necessary to award winners in various categories.

Usually at around 9.00 p.m. we all head off. Most go straight home,  some don’t go straight home.

I think we all agree that Friday Night Drinks are an essential component of a happy life.

I arrived in Thredbo late on Sunday night and checked into the YHA.  This was my mate’s first experience of a Youth Hostel.  I have become very familiar with backpacker hostels and other forms of budget accommodation since my separation  and subsequent  divorce.  I have found the hostels ideal accommodation in Australia and overseas, particularly in SE Asia.  I will post on some of my thoughts on hostels later.

Not the Best Pool Player Anymore

We had dinner in the Bistro in the Alpine Hotel.  I have been eating the Bistro on off and on for many years. We both agreed that the place has virtually remained unchanged since the late 70’s at least.  This extends to the pool tables.

After dinner we placed $3 to secure place to challenge the holders of one of the pool tables.   The blokes we were challenging were Polish house painters that were working on a Ski Club in the village.  I am not sure  if they knew what we were talking about  when my mate told them it wasn’t long ago that it only cost 20c to play a game of pool.

There was a time went I would have bet ‘my left one’ on my mate winning any game of pool anywhere.  I vividly recall games on our trip on our trail bike to Melbourne  1975.  I we didn’t lose  l game in which he played (N.B. that was typical of anytime 1974 to at least 1984).  This caused issues in most places given that 20c provided us with a full night’s entertainment playing pool.  I can recall that this really upset the locals in South Yarra and Porepunka  to such an extent that violence was threatened.

A great many years on, in Thredbo in 2013,  we proved to be competitive (games went down to the black) but not winners on the night.  Poland 2, Australia 0.

Someone is not as fit as he was

The next day we headed out of Thredbo to Head Horse Gap.  Within a couple of klms it became apparent that several years off a human powered bike had has an impact on my mate.  After a bit of walking and riding we made it to the turn off to the Cascade Track.  This is where the real riding began.  The trail starts at round 1600 metres and very quickly rises to 1800 metres.  This proved to a real challenge for my mate.  The proportion of walking overtook the proportion of riding.  After a seriously lot of ‘up’ we crossed Bob’s Ridge and headed ‘down’.

As we headed ‘down’ my mate made the executive decision that we would go as far as Cascade Hut and turn back.  That was a good decision and once made, we concentrated on enjoying the spectacular country and views.  The silence was deafening.  It is really noticeable that at that attitude there were no birds.

The trail took down a very steep ridge onto Cascade Flat to the hut of the same name.  The hut is classic alpine hut right out of the Man from Snowy River (remember that classic film?).  Nearby was a holding pen that is obviously used to capture wild Brumbies.  However, judging by the number of piles of horse poo on the trail there are still heaps of Brumbies in that area of the Alps.  On the climb back, I actually heard the ‘winning’ of a Brumby or two.

Some Thoughts on Thredbo

After about six hours of walking and riding we made it back to Thredbo. We sat on the balcony of the YHA looking at the ski runs across the valley.  All the Australian ski fields are marginal in this time of, seemingly undeniable, climate change.  Thredbo, like all the other resorts is dependent on snow making to make it viable.

Oh yes, I have to make mention of my mate’s experience of Thredbo hospitality.  He found that is bike rack was loose.  An inquiry at the BP Garage as to whether they had a large shifting spanner brought the following response:  “I may have, but if I was to look, that would be a $55 call out”.  As only he could, my mate’s response was: “You are a first grade arsehole, and have spent too long in Thredbo”.   He requested that I record this encounter in this post.  I suggest any anyone thinking of travelling to Thredbo steers clear of the BP .  There are lots of servos in Jindabyne.

We will be back

A final note:  I was surprised to find how fit I was compared to my riding mate.  Hopefully he will be retiring a soon.  Retirement will be well deserved.  After a few months he will be as fit as all ever.  We plan to the headwaters of the Murray again.  I expect to be the laggard next time.

I am spending the week in Canberra with a very old friend, his wife and very smart dogs.

It has been great to be back in the city of my youth.  Many people are critical of Canberra.  I lot of criticism has been aired in the media in this, the centenary year of the foundation of the city.  In the past I have been critical of the place; particularly its car dependence and the fact that it not one city of 350K people, but four or  five  towns (Nth,and Sth Canberra, Woden, Belconnen and Tuggeranong) each of less than &100k people.  As such it loses some of the benefits of a mid-sized city.

In the last couple of days I have experienced and witnessed some of the benefits of the place.

The Weather

This time of the year is one of the best times to be in Canberra.  Late summer and early autumn are glorious.  The days are warm and the sky is clear.  The clarity of the blue sky and light is stunning.  What is really noticeable is the lack of humidity.  This is great if you are doing any form of physical activity.

The Infrastructure and Facilities

As any Australian taxpayer will tell you, a shit load of money has been spent on Canberra.  It is famous for its wide roads, parks, lakes, and facilities such as schools, hospitals and universities.  There are also national facilities, such as the National Library, Gallery, and Museum.

For past couple of days I have been working on personal stuff at the local library, which is attached to a senior secondary college.  It is great facility, with great collection of books and all the tech stuff (computers etc) needed in libraries these days.  It is great to see such a facility being used so extensively. As well as the students form the college, it appears that on any one day the library is used by people of all ages: mothers with young children, older citizens and every one in between.

My rides into the city have taken me past and through the Australian Nation University (ANU) which is location adjacent to the Civic Centre.  Over the years the ANU has gradually expanded both within the original campus and outside towards Civic Centre.  Before  the latter expansion, there was an area of ‘bad lands’, mainly car parks, between the university and the Civic Centre.  This are is now largely filled in with new university and other buildings, of good quality.  There is now a natural flow between the Civic Centre and the university.  The difference is palpable and is huge improvement.

Sporting Activities

Yesterday I rode my bike from Civic, where it had been repaired, to my host’s place. The route took me around the lake and through the southern suburbs.  The first thing I noticed was the number of fellow riders.  There were heaps.  I am used to riding will a lot of commuters, living in inner city Sydney and having recent spent time in London.  However, for a relatively small city, it is great to see so many people riding as form of transport in Canberra.

The route took me past the Canberra Yacht Club.  Wednesday must be mid-week afternoon sailing day.  There were lots boats out on the lake.

Further along the lake I encountered a swarm of orienteers.  I think this sport is also known as ‘running with brains’.  It is hugely popular here.  I have friends living here that have really got into the sport.  Their son and daughter are champions of their age groups.

Still further on ,I passed an oval where a game of cricket was being played.  I assume that it was a 20/twenty given then bright clothing.  20/twenty is not a form of the game I will ever take seriously; still it is great to any form of cricket being played.

I also passed people playing tennis.  I will write about tennis is a later post.

Sporting Teams

Canberra not only has great sporting facilities, but also has produced some great sportsmen and women.   This is function of a number of factors.  Some critics of the city say that one of factors is that there is “nothing else to do”.

When I was growing up, there were no local Rugby League of Union teams in major competitions.  Top players wanting  to play in the ‘big time’ had to move to Sydney or beyound.  The same was, for Aussie Rules, with top players having to move to Melbourne to play in the VFL.  Aussie Rules players still have to move interstate to play in the nation competition.

In the case of Rugby League and Union, team shave been established in Canberra than play in the national competitions.  The first was the Raiders Rugby League team.  After a slow beginning, they established themselves as a competitive team in the late eighties.  Then in the early nineties they became a ‘super team’.  They had a couple of key imports, including the great Mal Meninga, from Queensland.  However, the core of  the team were local players – Ricky Stuart, Bradley Clyde and Laurie Daley.  That team will go down as one of the greatest in NRL history.

A similar thing happened with the Brumbies Rugby Union team.  A large number of the them were rejects from the NSW Waratahs Team.  They were joined with local players, such as George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Joe Roff, to form a formidable playing unit That  team  has been the most successful Australian team in the Ruby Super series to date.

The early success of both the Raiders and the Brumbies not been sustained.  At the end of the day both teams have not been able to get the corporate support that the  teams based in the larger cities are able to generate.

Why Dad Liked the Place

My father came to Canberra for the first time in 1946.  He decided this was the place him.  What a contrast it must have been from living in the NE of England.  For Dad, Canberra was heaven on a stick.  The city needed his work skills, installing central heating, and offered recreation in the form of sport,  cricket, bush walking and particularly tennis , which he loved and in which he excelled.  He also met and became great friends with a wide range of people, with common and diverse interests.   He  was a friend of fellow tradesmen, academics, scientists, other professionals that he met through sport and in business.

In short Dad took what Canberra had to offer and made the most of it.