Been a member at The Vines just over a month now, and have not managed to get myself booked into the Saturday comps once. The only time I played was when some member invited me to play with him and he did it. You gotta go online 8 days before and book a time, which is all alien to me, hey ho, so end up playing on the other course (Ellenbrook) instead, always takes 5 hours, but at least it’s in the sunshine.
Generally play with Scottie and Darren, we have heart starters at 11.30, set off about midday, buggies, I sometimes walk, ‘Esky’ full of ice cold beer. Scottie likes his pop, he generally works Saturday mornings, pops into the local boozer on the way to the club, has he 50 cent roll up at the bookies. Yeah, the bookies are actually in the bar of the pubs over here, Trevor Roberts and Roachy would be made up, they would think they have died and gone to heaven. We then has at least 10/12 stubbies of beer whilst we are going around. Its hard work golfing here!!!! I'm knackered for the whole weekend after an afternoons golf with those boys. Almost like being at home!
Getting colder over here now and raining quite a bit, most mornings it’s only about 8/12, rises during the day to about 20/24, then can get as low as 4/8 in the evening. Lucky I have kept all me sweaters and won that brolly!!
I think we have finally found a decent curry house, yippee. It’s in a place called Carrimar, which is about 40 minutes from here, and called The Glasgow Curry House, would you believe. This place is over run with flaming Sweeties. Definitely the best one we have had and it’s a BYO (bring your own booze place), so nice and affordable. Had a Rogan Josh, and it actually tasted like one. Although, Wendie’s chicken tandoori starter caught me out, I broke a bloody tooth chomping the remains! Couldn't get an appointment for the dentist until the Wednesday to get the rest took out. Most expensive curry I have ever had, $150 for the scram, $300 to get me tooth out. It took the dentist 45 minutes to get it out. Its been bloody painful since, 2 weeks. OUCH!!!!!!!!As far as the chippy is concerned (The Slippery Eel was its name) its got away! Seems as though there was an issue that we have no retail experience. What a waste of 3 months that was. Hey ho, what will be will be eh? Just have to do bugger all for a little while longer!!!
Wendie and the kids are still all good, Wend is hitting the gym every day and goes with Niamh to Zumba on a Wednesday. She is getting so thin I have trouble finding her!! Not a massive problem 'cuz I can always hear her.
Peter has decided he wants to play football (the English version, or soccer as they call it here), let’s just see how long that lasts. He really wants to do fencing, but he is a bit young to go out to work, anyway he’s got to go to school and he can't do both. Took him to the driving range the other day, he whinged like mad, but he went. Had a small bucket of balls for him, only about 30 in it, he hit his first sixish balls, 125ish yards, slight draw, beautiful, ‘I’m bored now Dad’. Didn't hit him that hard Your Honour and it is only a small black eye, it’s nearly gone now, you can hardly see it. Kids eh?
Had John Pritchett and his wife Barb over at the weekend, he is Rosie's pal who has been here for about 35 years. Had a cracking night, Our Wend excelled with the scram, it was superb. Turns out JP used to play football, many years ago with Dave Dangerfield. Bloody Hell just can't get over sometimes how small the world really is.
Last night, I went to the pub for 'early doors' with Scottie and Daz. After about an hour they went to the golf club, as they live on The Vines and they can safely have a couple and get home safely, but its a 10 minute drive from where we live and did not want to risk it, already having had a couple. I know I know, it doesn't sound like me, but you just can't take the risk with the booze bus about. Anyway I stayed and got chatting to this big black guy, I mean big & I mean black, he was originally from Zimbabwe, smashing guy and really interesting. Well he has only be here 1 month, having come from the UK, where he had been working for Carillion as a electrical engineer, living right by The Scott Arms, Great Barr, drinking in the Horse & Jockey, Sutton Coldfield and the Half Way House Mere Green!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You couldn't make it up could you?
Played Cottesloe early June, fantastic course, in superb nick. When I went to Cottesloe to redeem the voucher that Steve Hall bought me ( had to redeem it 'cuz nobody could afford or was willing to pay $160 per round to come with me and I didn't want to play on my own, so the pro said he would reimburse me), the pro first of all said it was not one of their vouchers! Luckily, there was a women in the shop there who remembered her conversation with Steve and verified it. They then had a conversation, between themselves and asked me did I want to play if they could fix me up with some other members. That was definitely what I wanted to do. So they then had the conversation about who they could put me with on the members Tuesday comp day. They then asked if I had a handicap, did I know the etiquette of golf, where was I a member, did I have all the gear, did I have proper golf clothing etc etc. I thought, oh no they are gonna put me with Greg Norman!!!
All the relevant tests past and questions answered correctly, they told me that was fixed and I would be playing with three other members, teeing off Tuesday 7th June @ 11.15am. One was an immediate past Captain, the other two were his regular partners. I reminded him that I was a member of Little Aston Golf Club, which is one of the finest 50 courses in the UK, very, very upmarket not to mention exclusive, with numerous R&A members, past amateur champions, England selectors and said " I hope your not think of putting me with three f*****g hackers" .
Well, what can I tell you, but the one guy played only using one arm. Honest, he has two but one is badly damaged from a fall he had whilst playing tennis, so he just plays using his right arm, although he does use two for putting. He is off 13!. He is about 60 and it was amazing. He got in a bunker, a deep one too, the face must have been about 10 feet high. I thought, he ain't never gonna get out of there, but bugger me he just turned around and walked out the back. No seriously, he got out first time to about 10 feet, proper shot, brilliant. At the 9th, he was about 5 yards short of the green, there was a bunker between him and the flag, which was about 3 yards on, he played a flop shot that Mickelson would have been proud of to about a foot!!! I ended up with 33 points, with a blob at the last, not bad having not played there before, yep and you guessed it the 'one arm bandit did 34 pigging, spunking, flipping, twatting points. I have now been beaten at golf by a one armed man in Cottesloe and a one legged man that I played in a County match at Robin Hood. Do you think The Lord is telling me something? Great day out though, so glad that I got to play, stopped off a Scarborough beach on the way home had a bag of chips whilst watching the sun go down over the Indian Ocean, marvellous, bloody marvellous..
Went to Perth Zoo recently, what a great place, its more like a park that's got a zoo in it. Loads of open spaces, the customary free bbq, really brilliant. We took the train and the bus, more relaxing for me than driving and you get to see more. We had 6 train rides, four bus rides all for $9 for the lot of us, beat that. We shall definitely be going back soon for the full picnic and bbq.
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| A tree climbing Kangaroo |
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| These were the scariest animals we saw!!!! |
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| Trev, you never said you were coming to visit!!! You should be staying with us. Nice coat, from Ted Williams? |
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| Only a few weeks old |
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| Now go and wash your hands. I mean the lizard!! |
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| Whatever they buried, it was big |
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| Everyone loves the elephants |
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| It got Otter as the day went on. |
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| Can't bear to see animals locked up |
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| Peter Williams of Ted Williams, Rhino (he charges a lot) |
Went to Fremantle for tea, had fish and chips at Cicerello's (remember Sean?), fantastic, right on the dock amongst all them squillion dollars worth of yachts, happy days.
Niamh got an award at school recently for, and I quote, 'For her collaboration skills within the class and willingness to help those around her'. They hand them out once a term, think its to encourage all the kids and give them something to aim for. As you can imagine, we were made up, so was she. (Anyone know what collaboration means?)She also won the school cross country race and has now been picked for the team.
Must just mention the on off relationship that Name has with her boyfriend Sean Murphy, he is Irish would you believe, a lovely Cork lad, who incidentally has 'I love NS' written on his hand. Its generally OFF 'cuts Name wants to go out with loads of lads, little floozie but just at the moment its Shepherd Shabombi, a Somalian. I Know, I keep telling her, 'people have enough trouble spelling your first name Niamh', well that's my excuse and the only one I am prepared to say in writing!!!!! Its ON 'cuts Mom's best mate is Ashling who is Sean's Mom and Sean is broken hearted every time Niamh tries to call it off. Can't tell you the amount of time they spend on line at Mushy Monsters, and that's not rude ok?
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| Ain't she tall? |
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| Sean Murphy, Niamh News current beau!! |
Last Sunday we went to Fremantle prison, it only actually stopped housing criminals in 1991, bloody place is positively archaic, all very interesting though.
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| Very Covent Garden |
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| Main entrance to Peters new accommodation, if he is not very careful!! |
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| Peters room top right! |
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| View from Peters room, if he is not very careful!!! |
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| I know its only just closed, but you would think they would have toilets that were a little more private. |
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| When you gotta go you just gotta go. |
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| Peters room if he is not very very careful. |
Peter had his 12th Birthday last week, his first not in the UK. He has asked me to thank all those who sent presents and tell those who didn't its still not too late!!!!!!
Missing you all back home, hope you are getting some summer weather.
The Skerritts in Oz
