Thursday, June 26, 2014

Meeting Glenn McGrath!


In early April this year Farmer Phil and I were invited to a McGrath Foundation dinner and fundraiser presented by the Commonwealth Bank.  Glenn McGrath met everyone as they arrived with a handshake or kiss and hug.  He spoke for more than an hour on everything from his upbringing on the family farm, to his illustrious cricketing career, meeting Jane his wife, then Jane's devastating cancer diagnosis and treatment, the setting up of the McGrath Foundation, the birth of his children through to Jane's very sad death, and then the meeting of the new love of his life Sarah.  He posed for a photo with everyone there on the night and a considerable amount of money was raised to fund more breast care nurses in the community.  It was a fascinating insight into his life and distinguished career. And what a wonderful, caring man he is - we all have a bit of a crush on Glenn McGrath now!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Melbourne!


A few weeks ago Farmer Phil and I took a trip to Melbourne to catch up with Emma for a couple of days and see The Rocky Horror Show.  Wow - what a great production and the cast were fantastic!  Craig McLachlan was so good as Frank n Furter!  Farmer Phil had no idea what the storyline was, so we had to explain it to him!


We also did a tour of the MCG which is really interesting - an iconic Melbourne spot.  Farmer Phil and I had done the tour years ago before they pulled down the original members stand and did the latest redevelopment.  It's well worth a look if you're in Melbourne.

Entry into the National Sports Museum is included in the MCG tour and it has some fantastic exhibits of all sorts of sports.  They had a special exhibition on medals this time which was fascinating.

So much to do and see and eat and drink in Melbourne!!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Ryan's American Adventure 2014


Ryan left for his 6 month trip to Orlando, Florida on Mothers Day with 3 other ski bums from Australia.  He will train the whole time he's there.  It's a great life he has!


The Aussie crew with Kyle their Kiwi coach for the next 3 months.  Beautiful weather everyday!

Cropping 2014


When Ryan broke his ankle skiing we then had plenty of spare time to get ready for our cropping season.  He needed surgery to remove some floating bone and about a 6 week recovery period.  He missed out on skiing at the NSW State Titles and the Nationals in Darwin.  

We got started cropping early with Ryan able to man the seeding rig.  We had a smooth 6 weeks cropping which was great!  There was some good rain before, during and after so we are very optimistic for a good year!

Moomba Masters Waterski Tournament


This year Ryan qualified to ski in the very prestigious Moomba Masters which is the biggest professional tournament in Australia.  It's held on the Yarra River in Melbourne and thousands of people come to watch.

Unfortunately things didn't go well for Ryan with him breaking his ankle in the Night Jump event.  He'd never jumped at  night so it was a big learning curve for him.

His good attitude will see him back there next year bigger and better!