Happy New Year from Oz

It is now the new year. Saw some of the fireworks on tv. They were spectacular.

Approaching the New Year

It is late afternoon on a hot-feeling day in Sydney- 26 with 35% humidity. There is very little breeze. For a change the birds are comparatively quiet and our cockatoos are no where to be seen. I doubt we will go to the harbour fireworks. The population of greater Sydney is over 4 million and around a million and a half head for the harbour area. No doubt the harbour itself will be filled with wall to wall boats. Sounds like a good time to watch them on tv.

The kids are heading down for a quick dip in the pool. Les has discovered the heavy bag in wii boxing and is practicing a bit. The reason is that Lian is currently the boxing champ- she knocked him out in their first encounter. Nothing like the virtual life.

I have finally seen some of the very large spiders that slip into the house from time to time. I am not sure which kind- will try to get a photo- but we are sure it is benign. They are welcome guests in that they eat insects which of course abound.

New Year's Eve Morning

Another nice day. When I got up there were more cockatoos than usual in the immediate area- seven I believe in this photo.

Yesterday the kids and I went to the Aquarium and the little wildlife world (mostly bugs, lizards, snakes and such like) next door. Luckily (since the lines were quite long) I had bought tickets online so we hopped to the vip entrance, picked up our pass and went right in. We took some photos- mostly Julius tried, but as the flash was on they did not come out for the most part- too many reflections. But here are some:

Aquarium and Wildlife World

Particularly noteworthy for Hyatt people is the photo of Tom and Adam at work.

We went to wildlife world first and quite enjoyed that. On the top level I saw my first kangaroos and Lian and Julius petted a lizard and a snake. I had not known that Australia is home to many of the most poisonous creatures on earth- spiders and snakes among others. By the time we went to the aquarium (which was very crowded) we were quite tired. Still we particularly like the oceanarium filled with sharks, rays and various fish. At a certain point one goes through a tunnel where one is surrounded by them. We all wondered whether the sharks ever ate the resident fish. As the sharks are regularly fed perhaps they leave them alone.

We had meant to stop on the way to these at a department store to get a Wii game on the way in. However I forgot my map and we did not find it. But we came back to the town hall train station via a different route and fortunately found it and got the Smash Brawl. Lian and I were particularly hungry we noticed at the bottom level, two floors below the department store, Sydney Central food court. The kids spotted a McDonalds so naturally they had a happy meal. I had some curry. It was okay but rather bland. Trina tells me that most of the curries they have tried here have been rather bland. I suppose one would have to ask if one wanted the rather hot and spicey ones to which I am accustomed. It turned out that from this food court there was an underground shopping mall that extended back to the train station.

The kids' evening was occupied playing the new game. I gather (as I conked out) they stayed up quite late playing. I am still trying to get them up.

Tonight we may go and see the harbour fireworks show. It is meant to be rather spectacular. Next week we will be off and a trip to Queensland- to the great barrier reef and the outback.

This, That, and the next couple of days

Well I am developing more prejudices and retaining some fears. I have not tried driving again (though there were few opportunities) as I was so bad. After all if I look the wrong way as a pedestrian god knows what I will do with the cars. And Sydney roads remain narrow and crowded. My new prejudice is against Aussie beef. It seems to me a bit lacking in flavor, but perhaps I think that since it is rather tough I tended to swallow it whole thereby avoiding the subtle pleasures that arise from mastication. My poor false teeth were just not up to the battle. And, when one goes to the butcher it looks as if Aussie cows are rather incomplete creatures. The variety of cuts available in Canada are just not there. Looking at the meat in the case it is simply not clear where the parts have gone. I have been assured that it is only a matter of nomenclature (British- check beef diagrams on the net) but I am unpersuaded. I still suspect the cattle are incomplete. I still look forward to my first Oz lamb in Oz. I don't suppose it is imported from New Zealand.

I made another stab at fathoming cricket. There is a test match between South Africa and Australia. They certain do test the endurance of any would-be spectator. I faithfully read a couple of articles on cricket. But alas they did not remove the mystery from the game. I still couldn't, even when awake, follow in any detail.

Sydney is far ahead of such cities as Calgary in various environmental program. Water conservation is one- so far the only toilets I have seen are the one or two button water conserving ones. And everyone has three differently lidded garbage bins (as do the parks etc). The bins seem to be the property of the approptiate entity- the ones here say Shire of Hornsby. Green is far green stuff as in branches, lawn clippings and such like, yellow for recyclables (with the exception of plastic bags) and red for waste. Since minimal sorting is required I would suppose people follow the rules.

Assuming I can rip the kids away from the new Wii we have a couple of trips planned. One day we will go (part of the way by ferry) to the Zoo. Another day we shall go to the aquarium and wildlife park in the downtown.

Boxing Day

We did not do much today save learn to use the Wii with two people. In the course of the various efforts it rather quickly became apparent that the two resident kids do not like it at all if things do not go their way. It is not really that they are poor sports. It is rather that if something does not go well they tend to view it as the action of a malevolent action of some force that is not playing fairly. 'It's not fair'. often accompanied by tears or anger is fairly common. But then Julius left to see friends and all became comparatively calm as Lian and Trina competed. And, as it becamewarmer as the afternoon wore on we hopped into the pool.

Christmas day was fairly calm. It took quite some time to pass around the various presents. Alas various events revealed my tendency to suffer from linguistic difficulties. Trina's brother received a copy of the Great Aussie Barbie Cookbook. I really should know better by now but somehow a wave of amazement that an Aussie barbie had her own cookbook swept over me and I asked some dumb question about what dishes she favored. Trina's brother would seem to have viewed this as an attempt at humor so he made some comment about roasted plastic or whatever. Around that time a wave of horror came over me as I recalled, upon looking at the cover, the true meaning of barbie.

Oh well at least as one conversation proceeded I did not embarrass myself with any mozzie misunderstandings. I wonder when mozzie season is as I have not encountered any yet.

I really need a speech coach. Australian u's and a's are just beyond me. Turramurra is one I always get wrong. It just can't rhyme with the mansion in Gone with the Wind but it does. But there is a small sign of progress- I now pronounce kookaburra right about half the time.

Merry Christmas

It is 9:30 Christmas evening. We just returned from a day of visiting so all are tired. Merry Christmas to those of you where Christmas is just arriving.

Christmas Eve in Oz

I have been doing all this updating on the morning of Christmas eve. Trina and Les are both out for a short day at work, while the kids are watching Sponge Bob.

I guess I am a winter Christmas person. Somehow the parrots, cockatoos and lush green outside do not conjure up - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I am not sure about all the plan, but tomorrow morning we and all of Trina's immediate family will assemble at Trina's brother Ian's house. (Her parents and other brother are the other immediate family members in Sydney.) They have kids- one a bit older- but the other two are about the same age as Lian and Julius. None of the kids know both sets are getting a Wii. I am wondering how they will like them. Ian and Allie's house was just finished but, alas, the pool is not done yet. How will one manage a Chrismas without a visit to the pool? Oh well it has been quite cool-that is in the low 20's. And there will be the wii's.

I just lost again in poker- died on the river when my chances of winning were 95% Bad luck has followed me here alas. I will be in another tournament in a few minutes, but in the meanwhile perhaps I will put out some more seed to see what birds will drop in at 11. Most likely the cockatoos as they seem to keep a watchful eye. I saw a few king parrots flying around outside but they have not been in in a while. As I say the cockatoos will keep them away if they have spotted the food.

Though there is no snow we will have turkey and ham. I don't know what else. I am not sure whether this is common in Oz or whether it is particular to this family. The markets do all have turkeys but they don't seem quite so heavily advertised as they are in Calgary.

Well I won't put out any seed as my poker game is nigh. It would be nice not to lose for a change.

Luna Park

Luna Park is a very small amusement park on Sydney Harbor just across from the downtown. The kids and I had decided to go on Tuesday- their summer holiday had just started and the peak season rates at Luna had not yet kicked in. After the usual morning delays- even after the kids are sort of dragged out of bed they remain shrouded in a blanket sitting on stools at the kitchen counter for a while- we got a ride to the train station with Trina. We waited at the mall across from the station a bit as we wanted to go at the off peak rates which kick in at 9. Julius and I indulged in a sausage egg mcmuffin. The sausage was not so tasty as that in the mcmuffins in Canada and the muffin was different- again not so good as the ones to which I am accustomed.

We arrived at the park a little before 10 so it was not yet open. Ticket prices there are determined by height- I had thought both Lian and Julius were in the 106-130 cm. class but it turned out that Julius was just above 130 and Lian just below. The advantage to being above is that you can go on any ride- the disadvantage is that it costs more. There was no problem between Lian and Julius- we had antecedently agreed that I would not go on any and they would only go on ones for which they were tall enough.

Luna Park


We got their day passes and proceeded. Eventually Julius decided he would go on the tumbletrain (sic) while Lian and I watched. We thought he looked a bit scared at first but eventually he was smiling. Of course after he got off he reported that he did not feel too well. Probably the mcmuffin was acting up. Amusement parks are dangerous that way. So it seemed time for the gentle carousel. And then to the rotor. It spins, pins you against the wall and the floor is removed. Both the kids liked that.

We wandered a bit, going on a few little rides. I was not surprised that neither kid was all that keen on rides. Of course the inevitable happened. They were both keen on trying to win a prize. Of course this is an additional costs, but one must bow to the inevitable. Julius wanted to try to ring the bell with the hammer (there is a photo that actually came out) and, amazingly enough, he did not do too badly. His reward was a slinky that, though it should have been solid gold, was not. We wandered down to some more booths and again the kids got some nominal rewards.

Time for the rotor again. Lian was keen on it, but Julius decided just to watch. So Lian went alone. Julius then decided he wanted to go so Lian went a second time with him. This was not a good decision. After she got off she said she felt really sick. We went over to a bench where she sat head hanging saying she thought she was going to throw up. We decided she should lay down on the grass for a while. After a quick call to Trina Lian said she was feeling a bit better. Of course both kids decided they wanted to try to win more prizes. I had pointed out before that at any given place a single ticket was 5 whereas 3 were 12. That had failed as no agreement on a booth could be reached. This time I was firm- so they both reached agreement. Each tried at the same time. Lian did much better than Julius so, even though though it was a game of chance so she got the third chance. We accumulated a couple of not too bad prizes.

Well after a quick ferris wheel (for Julius) and carousel (for Lian) we headed off toward the rail station planning to grab lunch along the way. We spotted a pizza shop but it was closed. A good thing as Aussie pizza has so far proven to be not very good. The kids spotted a sushi place- they like sushi- but I fended them off as I an not all that big a fan of sushi. I had spotted a roast chicken + fish and chips place across the way. Lian had a quarter chicken with chips and cole slaw. She looked with horror at the cole slaw asking what it was. I told her and she said she she had not wanted it. I pointed out that I had mentioned that several times. Not to mind as I got that coleslaw to go with my fish and chips. Julius got some lemon something chicken fingers which I gather were good though he only managed one of the three. I had, of course in vain, attempted to persuade the kids that we would not each need to order fries. Oh well- the boxes of leftover fries and bits of chicken fitted, albeit with some smell, in the bottom of the pack I brought along. Australian pork is rather inferior to Alberta pork, but, as I mentioned before, the chicken is just great.

We headed on to the station and hopped the train. As usual there was little wait as the trains run more or less constantly.

Outside the House

Particularly in the morning and evening, but thoughout the day there is constant activity and sound. There are some insects, but birds simply abound.

This is one shot of that Australian classic- the kookaburra. One of there sounds is often characterized as sort of hysterical human laughing. But they have others that if anything are louder. They are carnivores. Several live near the house of Trina's aunt and uncle where they are not particularly welcome. They are not tame but they are not at all afraud if people. One has to watch any sausages or other meat whether on the bbq or not. They will simply steal the food. Trina's uncle said he did not particularly relish their sounds at 4 am.

This is a link to photos of some of our birds. The cockatoos, one in particular, generally are the first in the morning to fly up to the balcony to see if there is any new food. That one is sitting there right now and will til he decides he will get nothing new. When I do put some food had two or three others will join him. The cockatoos do not mind each other, but are not willing to share. If the poor king parrots (green and red) attempt to join in they are driven off. They are not usually forced to fly away if they stay away from the seed. The crimson rosella in the pictures has quite a different attitude. Though this particular one is a bit smaller than the king parrots he will drive them away altogether. They are not allowed to be on the balcony at all.

The Trek Downtown

Well I did get downtown. You will notice my extreme photographic skill. The fingers covering part of the lens are a particularly nice touch. As I write they are the slideshow but when that is down they will remain in the photos.

At any rate as Trina works in Hornsby I got a ride down to the train station. The trains are all electric and, as in many cities, they are underground downtown and above ground virtually everywhere else. The trains are different from those I am used to in that the are multilevel. The doors are about half way up and beside them there are just a few seats. There are some stairs as one then chooses the half flight to either the upper or lower passenger sections. About 8:30 I was off- arriving at Sydney Central Station. I wandered around looking for and finding the sort of map which I needed. I headed off toward the opera house.

As I walked I noticed that, at least on the route that I took, there was a building mix of new and old, short and tall. This makes for a rather pleasant diversity. Otherwise the downtown seemed rather like the street system- rather chaotic. I think there are districts (as in ones focussed on finance or whatever) but still there seems much more of a mix.

I first hit Hyde park- Saint Mary's church in the photos is beside it.

There are a couple of picturss of the (fake) Christmas trees that are to be found occasionally. I took them because they looked so completely out of place. I guess I have listened to Crosby sing White Christmas so many times that my brain is permanently set to reject a green Christmas. But aside from that surely a fake tree can only be out of place when plopped amidst the lush vegetation.

Though my goal was primarily to view exteriors I did pop into the church. I noticed a bunch of candles which could be added to. I toyed with the idea, for the sake of all those at Hyatt MB, of placing a candle for the departed Puffadder. The idea was quickly dismissed. The lower regions- perhaps Toyota- would suit the Puffadder.

Along the way I noticed another odd feature (for the blind I have been told). At each downtown intersection there is a button for the green walk sign. They make noise- a sort of slow blup, blup. When the walk sign is green the noise speeds up, sounding just like one of the birds outside. If one starts to cross upon green one will only get halfway across before the sign switches to wait and the blup, blup returns. The theory is that only if one starts across on green will one be guaranteed to get across. A nice touch us that at many intersections there are maps of the surrounding few blocks with the you are here note.

After Hyde Park I passed a few very old government type building- almost all sandstone I think and entered the Botanical gardens. I am not in what one would call great shape- I was tiring and my $10 Zellers shoes were becoming increasingly painful. I was also getting hungry as I, as per usual, had not had any breakfast. I went on as the Opera House was at the north end. The gardens were nice but I rather think Victoria has an edge.

Just after passing Government house I approached the Opera house and the Harbor bridge. I was standing on the steps if the Opera house when I noticed, to my horror, that the pink sock that is the camera case had disappeared. Sigh. I decided I could maybe retrace my path and spot the thing. I went back to the side of government house with no luck. However I could from there retrace the route to the Opera house. And- luck, I spotted the pink beast so all was well.

I then continued on my planned route. But my feet hurt so I stopped a lot and took my shoes off so as to allow the feet brief moments of freedom from the Zellers' attack. I would walk around the circular quay and go up to the rocks. This area is first landing and first settlement. The buildings in the rocks are all old and filled with the sort of shops one expects in such areas. I was starving but was sort of looking for the Lord Nelson pub which I thought I should be near. I just couldn't see it. (It turns out it was several blocks away.) Most of the restaurants seemed quite expensive. But then I spotted (what I now think is part of a chain) a Wokoninn. For 7.50 one could have a daily noodle special. (Oddly enough the noodle specials all came with rice rather than noodles.) The one of the day was chicken teriyaki. It was okay- well okay if you are starving. I think the sauce was maybe teriyaki Other than the chicken there were both green and regular onions. I had sort of expected a hint of some other vegetable, but I guess they were with the noodles.

After eating I went back to the circular quay to catch a ferry for a brief ride. It would be a nice break from walking and would allow me to justify my purchase of a day-tripper pass. I hopped on- several pictures relate to this port- planning to go around the corner (a very short ferry route) to Darling Harbor. I had planned to get off at the aquarium but decided to go on to the last stop. I rather forgot that this stop was on the opposite side of the harbor. Consequently when I got off I proceeded in the wrong direction. I kept thinking something is wrong so I stopped. As I was by now very tired with very sore feet I was not in the mood for anything but a direct route. My day-tripper was good for buses but I had no specific bus map so I was avoiding them.

I did manage to get back on track. I went along an area called Harborside- opposite the aquarium. It is basically a long string of various restaurants. A couple looked not too expensive and mildly interesting so the kids and I might stop when we go down.

It was nearing 3, exhaustion and pain had set in, so I walked the three blocks to the Town Hall train station pausing only seconds to stare at the town hall.

Why the last picture. It is just that I know of no where else where the bathrooms are posted as male and female. Boys and girls, men and women, ladies and gents- but not male and female. I can't help but feel that some at Hyatt MB would view those labels with suspicion as part of a plot by some unknown malign force.

As I discovered later in the evening and also right now I also managed to acquire a mild sunburn. I suppose the foot pain had prevented me from noticing yesterday. Oh well currently I have this nice mix of small aches and pains. Quite pleasant for those of us with mild masochistic tendencies.

First Monday Morning

It is calm and only partly cloudy. I would say the birds are singing save only some sing or chirp, others are better described as raucous squawkers. As I slurp the usual morning coffee I am watching (on Foxtel digital) Monday morning football- in this case football of the North American variety. As there are nine sports channel- four of them Fox channels- a sports fan almost always has something to watch. As well there are five or so free movie channels which have fairly recent movies. The law and order fan is very well served. At any given time there seems to be some law and order on on one or another channel.

I don't have much planned for today, but tomorrow or the day after I will get a daytripper public transport pass ($16.20) and wander around downtown. Trina will dump me off at the rail station and pick me up later at the kids' school to which I can return by train and bus.

I finally found the camera I will be using. I was told it was in the pink sock near the door. It was. I guess the pink sock (if it was a sock) is a handy inexpensive case. So I shall practice using the camera a bit and, when I find the cable, uploading the photos to this computer.

Unfortunately the tv is in the next room, so I shall trundle back to football.

First Drive

Due to Les and I failing to plan for Sunday dinner we decided to go to the roasted chicken place for takeout. As the traffic was light, the weather quite nice and the trip comparatively short it seemed an opportune time to try my first drive. A word of warning to any who would travel with Les- he can be rather loud and he is not a paragon of patience. The driving lanes are narrow by our standards and I cowered rather too near the left lane marker. A Mazda 2 is quite small with a very short snout so I could not see a front end to determine my placement in the lane. I also had trouble shifting both because of unfamiliarity with the car and my utter lack of competence shifting with my left arm. Save for a brush with a concrete protuberance on my left as I made a right turn and the odd near miss of parked cars on my left (noted because of the shivers and sounds of my passenger side companion) all was sort of okay. Of course the gear grinding was annoying, but most annoying of all was that the windshield wipers were almost always on since of course I used them as a turn signal. The real turn signal was of course on the other side and I only occasionally managed to remember that. It was a comfort, albeit small, when Les said that had been an adjustment that took him longer than any other. We did get back in one piece.

Oh Aussie chickens are infinitely superior to Canadian ones. They are typically free range or better fed and actually have taste and texture. I must visit a KFC here to see if they have managed to find the small tasteless chickens to which so many Canadians are devoted. At the chicken place there was a linguistic problem I was asked (for the fries I think) whether I wanted salt or chicken salt. I managed to say nothing, but looked at Les. He suggested that perhaps chicken salt was what we might call seasoned salt. I turned back and said, I think, chicken salt. Upon a munch I could discern no difference. Perhaps the guy at the counter decided I was not up to chicken salt.

The first week

I have been doing very little. Until yesterday it was quite rainy and of course all were at work or school. Yesterday (our Saturday) the kids played baseball- of course the games were miles apart. I went to the distant one at which Julius played. He was not a happy camper- he struck out at bat and, when he pitched, gave up some hits. Of course since the fielders are not too good anytime one hits the ball at all one is likely to get a hit.

My experiment of the week was to determine whether king parrots or cockatoos eat carrot bits. They do not- indeed the cockatoos seemed rather annoyed at having to push the bits aside to get at the birdseed.

I am still afraid to drive- being convinced I will end up on my normal side of the road thereby causing a disaster. Perhaps today I will give it a brief and short try praying that I will stay on the left side of the road. My fears are of course enhanced by Sydney drivers who, astoundingly enough, seem worse than Calgary drivers. And of course the roads are not at all good and the traffic ranges from bad to truly horrible.

The differences between Calgary and Sydney remain intriguing. I made my first visit to a mall. It was three stories and though all the sections were connected it seemed more like connected separate building. As Les does not go to them very often he did not know his way around all that well. We did manage to get back to the car- had I been on my own I would still be in the mall. Perhaps the most noticeable difference both in the mall and elsewhere I have been is that small specialty food stores still survive. The two major supermarket chains were in the mall, but around each were fruit and vegetable shops, butchers, fishmongers and so on. I had earlier been to a butcher near us. It was rather pleasant. I was getting a chicken and five sausages, and mentioned that I had just arrived. I was greeted very warmly, introduced to the owners and given an additional 10 sausages for free. The sausages were not the European style to which I am accustomed, but the dozen or so kinds were sort of flavor or base meet variants on an English style sausage. They all looked just like our common pork sausage.

My first day we had pizza- or so it is called. It is recognizable but the combinations were to me rather bizarre. I can't seem to find the menu or I would list a couple. Luckily the Stockmans like the ones more or less the same as the ones with which I am familiar.

As we are a ridge above an unoccupied ravine there are more or less constant animal sounds- loud animal sounds- all unfamiliar and some rather weird. Sometimes it sounds like a sound track to a bad horror film, particularly whatever it is that sounds like someone being tortured. And I had forgotten precisely how much racket cicadas can make- there are only a few as they are not in season.

The linguistic differences are of course very noticeable. I have extreme difficulty with some of the accents- one just smiles and pretends one knows what was said. And of course the vocabulary can throw one. I learned from the pizza that a capsicum is a pepper green or red. We had stopped at a small Chinese grocer in the mall. After I paid my bill she asked if I would like the docket. I stared blankly and looked back at Les. But she was quick- she quickly said - that is a receipt. And so it goes.

From the airport

As I just lost in a poker tournament (not totally- won $11.02 for my 2.75 entry) it is time to finish the opening saga. Les and Trina are working and the kids are at school.

After having finally found each other we headed off to the car for the next experience- namely driving in Sydney. It is great- the road system is fiendishly designed to maximize the time it takes to get between any two points. Perhaps I am wrong, it perhaps is merely the virtual absence of design. I was terrified since of course everyone was driving on the wrong side. And of course I keep trying to get into the passenger side but keep approaching the driver side. I guess everything is opposite when one is down under. The traffic just has to be seen and relished if one is into pain.

(Oh by the way Les has a Honda crossover and Trina A Mazda 2. Les things his former Rav was better.)

I did encounter Sydney harbor on the trek northwest. Or at least I was told that that was what was above me in the tunnel. I saw nothing.

After some time (there were so many twists and turns I completely lost my since of direction) we arrived at Claros close. The google map view is of course quite accurate save that in the real street view as opposed to the google street view one can see the house.

The whole time I have been here I have found the natural sounds very pleasing. I know some are from birds, but of course not from birds I am familiar with. The cockatoos fly in and out frequently, usually to the feeder. When they are not in some smallish red and green parrots fly in. The cockatoos don't like that and drive them away. In the evening I was puzzled by a sound- I had forgotten the sound of cicadas.

In the morning I was warned to keep the screen door closed. And as I was playing poker the door was attacked by a sort of grouse-like bird. I gather from time to time other creatures like possums attempt entry. As I write there is the constant noise of birds- many from the cockatoos as they sound sort of like my late cockatiel Beau.

I think this house is rather typical of the area. The border between inside and out is rather blurred. There are no ducts and I think no insulation as there is no central heating and no air conditioning. It is all exceedingly pleasant- all that is below the ridge on which the house is perched is a reserve- whence the abundance of creatures.

Tonight it is baseball practice for Lian to which I shall go. Julius is rather pleased as he was appointed house captain. As yet he is unsure what will be expected of him. But Lian, as is typical of her, said she knew all about this. I listened to her as did Julius. But Julius was utterly skeptical of her account. The school is a public one but I guess the organization is rather like that in Britain.

In the next few days we will go further afield and I shall blog. But for know I think I will try another poker tournament.

Over the Pacific and the Arrival

We left Frisco for the interminable flight. It seems designed to get business people into Sydney sufficiently intact to do business during the day into Sydney sufficiently intact to do business on arrival. One takes off around 22:45. An hour or so into the flight one is served dinner and the movies start. The av system on the 747 in economy sucks, though the one in business and first class was much the same as on the Air Canada flight from Calgary to Frisco. Unfortunately the first movie showing was Mamma Mia which I had just seen. I was in a window seat and the aisle seat in the bank of three was occupied by an elderly lady, that is, one more or less my age, who was friendly and quite familiar with the flight.

For dinner one could choose meat loaf or a pasta dish. I chose the meat loaf. It was fortunate that I had been told it was meat loaf as I otherwise would not have know. Even so what the meat was will remain the secret of the caterer. Perhaps that is as it should be. After a while the lights are turned off and one is meant to sleep. I think I did for four or five hours. Then I woke up, thinking we must be well along which of course we were, but still much much time remaining. A snack consisting of a bun laden with very little turkey and cheddar was served. What was memorable was its exceeding dryness. The bun was dry and the sandwich was devoid of condiments and such slightly moist items as lettuce and tomato. I suppose this way the sandwiches have a very long life span and can be carried on flight after flight until some new and foolish person like me eats one. My seat mate offered me hers as well and I foolishly ate it. I think I vaguely thought this was breakfast though of course it was just a snack. For the next hours I slept on and off with no sense for how much on and how much off. An hour and a half outside of Sydney breakfast came along. The choice was an omelette or pancakes. My seatmate cautioned me to avoid the pancakes- they were truly deadly she said. So I had the omelette. It was a sort of sausage shaped yellow tube stuffed with something runny and whitish. The yellow tube was indeed vaguely tasted like something that had at one time contacted a hen. The whitish stuff was I suppose some soft cheese though which cheese one could tell. A single sausage constituted the meat portion. There were a couple of other things which I dutifully ate but quickly forgot. My stomach of course did not forget as they remained in it for hours.

Finally the landing. Customs and immigration were quick once I got my luggage. I realized my dreadful mistake while waiting for the luggage. I had one not very big black-grey thing with wheels. So did around 50 other people on the flight. I had put no identifying ribbon patch or anything else on it. After taking 10 or so these off the belt, looking at them and then putting them back on I finally found mine.

I was given a quick exit pass so went out ah exit with no inspection. I looked around and no Stockmans. So I waited circling around the two terminal doors going in and out from time to time. Eventually I sat just outside in the smoking area. (I had planned to have my last cigarette in Frisco and pitch the remained of the back but this plan had not worked so I still had them). I was in a little group of people all of whom felt they had been deserted. After 40 minutes or so I spotted Les. It turned out he and the kids had been there most of the time. He said he did not remember the customs exit I had come out and though we had circled a bit we had just not seen each other.

All was then well and I was then off to Claros Close.

Getting the Flights.

Naturally the weather in Calgary on the departure day was as bad as we have had this year. So U was at the airport five hours before the flight. scheduled for 19:30. This connection was tight, leaving under an hour in Frisco to make the change. The person at the counter said this flight was delay so I was put on an Air Canada flight leaving at 17:30. How lucky I said to myself, plenty of time to make the change in Frisco.

The flight was meant to board around 17:00. A slight problem arose. I had cleared US customes but right after their computer went down and they were clearing no one. We could not board since there was no flight crew. Eventually, around 17:30 most of the crew arrived and we boarded. No departure as we had to wait for people on late arrivals who were to be on this flight. And one crew member was still missing in action. Finally, a bit before 18:00 every one was on board. Of course then another problem arose. There were no ground crews as many had been pressed into service to clear snow and to care for the backlog. Finally one arrived and the plane was towed 30 meters or so, to what the Captain told us was the deicing area. But of course the deicing trucks were all busy. Not to worry sad the Captain as one truck was almost finished with another plane and it would not take long.

During this time we were given complimentary juice and the very nice av system was turned on. Each of us had our own screen on the back of the seat in front and had a wide choice of things to view. I went to the Hollywood movies section and decided, since it was a movie I would never pay to see, to watch the Abba based movie Mamma Mia. Of course every time an announcement was made the movie shut down.

Around 19:00 the truck came and deicing began a bit after 19:00. Oh well I said there will still be time and I should leave before the United flight had been scheduled to leave. Deicing began and it was not speedy. Finally around 19:45 they finished and we were cleared for takeoff. Oh well I said I should still make my flight in Frisco, though of course the luggage change was doubtful. I had not realized that there was a three mile journey taxiing before the actual takeoff. Finally around 20:00 we were in the air. I was not optimistic.

Our treat for the delay was one free drink. Nothing like a Caesar to calm the pessimistic Steven. The movie kept getting interrupted as they do not use the av system at any critical point. During the course of the flight I did manage to watch all of the movie- the resume where it stopped function kicked in. The movie was not very good but was watchable save for the poor performance and ghastly singing of Pierce Brosnan,

In the middle of the flight the crew contacted the 8 of us (4 UAL and 4 Quantas) who were heading on to Sydney. We would be deplaned first and met at the gate by airline personnel.

We arrived in Frisco after 21:30 and were met by the airline people. Then the run started as of course we had to clear various check point. The person leading our pack of four was a good runner and seemingly in good shape. One of our party was a man of roughly my age who had one bad leg- he more or less kept up with a rather lopsided trot. At one point I fell behind him as I was out of breath. The run was around half an hour including the clearing of the checkpoints. But we did arrived on time as the boarding on the Sydney flight had been delayed and was just starting.

The plane departed only a few minutes late.