Sparkplugs and Spoilt Brie

Shiela - the latest van, has some issues, but in comparison to all the others vehicles, very few.
The gearbox and engine run like a dream, which is a pleasant change. BUt I think the plugs are shot.
The only auto shop in Byron is closed til Monday though, so we'll see how things are after that, stay tuned....
We topped her up with oil, coolant, and a general hose down, and then she wouldn't start! Hehe, I'm pretty sure it's just flooded. Fingers crossed! We'll find out when we get back out to her....


Well I'd like ta say thanks to everyone who shtuck a few comments up on the last post, fair play ta ye!

Well we met up with Tim, Smeels, Andrea and Colin down in Yamba, about two hours south of Byron and went for a beautiful twilight surf with about eight Dolphins - words can't describe.
After a good mornin' surf there again, and some fun with crackin' open some macadamia nuts, we took to the road again, back to Byron for some cheap pizza, beers and to meet up with Shane, good ol' Shane, tis good ta see him again. We're hopefully gonna do Vietnam and rural China together. He's here in the net cafe too.
I can see him...
sitting....
typing....
unaware....
one quick movement....

Anyway, the rest of them are out in the carpark, we all are seeing lots of the sun these days again, it's great ta get the auld vitamin D.

Some interesting things:

It's now around the high twenties to low thirties on the hot days - can you imagine that back home in late Autumn/ early Winter!

People walk on the left on footpaths, and pass on the right. German in some ways says you.

Aussie drivers also practice flashing lights to warn of cops ahead.

Thongs are flip flops.

"How ya going" - said more like hey-a-goine, is the international hello.

Turkeys run rampant on the streets of Byron, which is different.

The fact that Nimbin, a town two hours from here, openly sells drugs to all people who go there, is completely blind sighted by the nation, says a bit about how easy going they are, and how some things are just let go, it's such a relaxed view on life.

Times up!
Gotta go!

Bean

Crap news

Sad, sad news in the team Scotland camp.

Henrietta was stolen.

A plague on those bastards who stole it.

They had it parked in a safe place, in view of houses and all that shite.
Twas Macleod and Neil in it, as Iain is still down in Melbourne.
They were in Bondi at the time.

Luckily they had taken their passports to check into the local hostel.
But everything they owned was in it, every trinket, every photo, every kilt, everything else.

I can't begin to imagine how they feel, I'm sure it's something like arriving home from work to find your house burnt to the ground.

I love the lads, and hope they get up here soon, so we can all look out for eachother again.

If you could leave a comment at the end of this post for the lads it would be very nice.
It'll mean the world to them.

Thanks.

Bymelbourne

Byron Bay!
I'm here.
It's warm.
Mmmmmmmmmm....warm

Here's some news:

I'm back livin' in a van.
I like livin' in van.
Byron is cool.
I'm cool.
I lost my prescription sunglasses.
I wear glasses.
Every second line is not important.
See?

So after staying with Ms Hynes, who was the greatest host ever. I flew up here.
Shane and Cathy were to collect me from the airport.
But they went to the wrong one!
"What an arsh" - I thought to myself, but then again, I was extremely happy to have a lift, which I will be living in for the next few weeks!

I must apologise for the posts put up last week.
They were...well, boring really, I was cold and sick and just didn't put in the effort.
What an arsh eh?!

Well here is some photos:

This is Luna Park in St. Kilda, where I was kippin' for the last two nights in Melbourne.

Ms Hynes put me up, she's too good! :)

Now picture this:

You're...five, maybe even seven. And you are told you're going to the funfair/amusment park.

The excitement kicks in, a hundred "Are-we-there-yets" all the way there.

Then you see that!

Would you really walk into the mouth of that- that beast!

Frankly it scares the shit out of me, and I sure as hell would stay well clear of the area if I was on LSD, or Mushrooms, or whatever the devil these kids are taking these days.

Yep!

That's what I'm livin' in.

Sheila is her name.

And that's wee Cathy at the back.

I know Terence would be happy for me, I'm sure he's smiling down from the great big scrapyard in the sky saying "Bean, I'm happy for you...I'm happy for you..."

To come up from crap Melbourne weather to this, twas great!

The best session I've been at since I left, I don't know how, but even though there was a clatter of us, somehow it sounded great.

A most noble send off I must say.

The P man on fiddle and Marty in red, Marty was a legend. Great singer and guitarist too, some mental tunings he put his guitar through.

Joe Fitz, the best box player in this hemisphere.

The crew, with Peggy in the backround, and Gerry taking the photo.
Is it just me, or do we all look really short in this photo?....

Helen, Mam and Ray - wearing me auld hat.
He's pulling it off though!

What an arsh for uploadin' this sideways.

I just love this photo, that's the only reason I'm stickin' it up.

Komodo Dragon.

It's hard to believe all the dinosaurs were wiped out when you see him.

This meaty fella eats pigs and deers!

Me and Mam chillin' on front of ye olde Opera House.

Brief news

1. Sydney by night, from the top of our hotel.
2.What an arsh eh?














Well Mam leaves tonight, I'm out here in St. Kilda at the mo, on Acland St. in a damn nice net cafe.
Twill be sad ta see her go, we've all had the craic over the two weeks.
The Kings are gas as well, they're sticking around for a few more days, spending some QT with Grainne.
Me?
I'm sick.
Can you believe it? First time since leaving home, I think it's the weather down here...
It's crap.
Rain and grey everywhere, I'd swear I was at home.

We went down to the Phillip island the other day, it rained. We saw some Penguins. It rained some more.
We went down the Great Ocean Road. Grainne and her mate Gerry came with us, in Peggy. We stayed down at Port Campell, but I think we were all glad ta be back after it.
I don't know if it's cause I've seen it a few times, but I got the feeling, the folks didn't get a good impression of it. I think, perhaps, we were trying to fit to much in, as we did in Asia, and you couldn't give things the time they deserve.
Oh Well!

When did I last do this yoke?
Oh yeah Manly.
Here's a few touristy photos: Actually I'll stick them up before this post, why? Cause I'm lazy.

Mel-been

Back in Melbourne!

It's like a ghost town, now that almost everyone I know is gone.
I keep looking for faces that I know aren't here anymore.
Very eerie.

I feel like an old man that has gone back to his childhood town, and found everything has changed.

But it's good ta be back.
I like Melbourne.
I think I've had the best experience of the city outa the gang, through work and music.

Well Manly was nice, and the surf came for the last few days, which was great.

We're staying in St. Kilda here.
Mam is leaving Sunday, will be sad ta see here go.
She's been so good ta me out here, won't let me pay for a thing, tis mad!

I just booked a flight online to Byron Bay! Leaving next Tuesday, this time for good.
I won't be back in this neck of the woods again.

To all at home, hello!
To all here, yeeeeewwwwwwwww bloody arshes :)

I'm gonna go and try convince Ann Marie to come up to Byron now...

And I promise ta do a good informative update when I get there, with lots of pics for you to oggle over.

Bean

The Kelly Family

There's so many of us, we really do what we want!
It's great.

Well, after driving out of Melbourne to Sydney (Dropping the other car off on the way - total drive time that day 10 or 11hours I believe) we met The Lennon crew, Tims parents "Lennon" and Babs, good craic!
We stayed in Goulburn (don't worry, it's pronounced goal burn!!) a quirky little town, with that roast-dinner'll-do-you-good-feel, after Lennon generously put us up for the night, a tour around a mental hospital followed the next morning, it was very interesting, however Smeels was stalked by a middle aged lesbian, we believe it was the baseball cap Smeels was wearing that sparked it all off.

So that evening we went to a beautiful wee brewery, and at ten that night we made the last two hours of the journey to Sydney airport, and "Slept" on the "Marble" floor in the airport for "The night" which ended up being 1.30AM to 5.00AM, after not sleeping we were still functioning fine, as the parents were in after 6.00AM and the hullabaloo around it all was great, we found our way into the 4-star hotel (It's not Terrence, that's for sure) and got a buffet breakie, soooooooooooo good.

The next four or days were spent being Japanese tourists in Sydney, taking in the usual sights: The Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, The Zoo, Bondi Beach, Sydney Tower, Royal Botanical Gardens and so on...
Bus tours were had, walkabouts were also done, some moderate jogging, and possibly trapped wind, but suffice to say, after experience, we were all glad to get on the ferry out to Manly, a beachside suburb of Sydney.

And that's where I am now.
In a net cafe.
Typin'.

Well here's some updates on individuals:
Me: See above
Tim: I believe is out for a twilight surf, what a trooper. He's so happy with all these buffets.
Smeels: Possibly surfing too. Glad to see the parents, glad of the funding too no doubt! :)
Mam: Still can't believe she's here, having the craic, and is rumoured to be gone "Koala huggin" for the afternoon.
Ned and Mar: Enjoying the weather, and plotting a new course for the rest of the trip, incorporating the north, rather than the south. Ned was last seen under the bonnet of Tim's car.
Ray and Helen King: Gas craic, Ray was last seen on the phone to the president, giving out about the poor company, spotted chattin' up young ones on the harbour bridge. Helen, poor Helen feels awful when I answer the phone in our room with a sleepy overtone, believed to be gone Koala Huggin' as well, however this is unconfirmed.
Patsy: Neds sister, had plans to do a bit of rollerblading, spent some time away from the group in Sydney, but is back in the loop now!
Grainne: Ray and Helens daughter, after a brief stint here, has returned to Melbourne, where we'll be getting to next week. Booked our rooms for down there so she did, fair play to her. Well up on all our sayings, exchanged a few too. Most likely looking forward to some free dinners when here parents get down to her. :)

I got wind from the Scots that they are in Bondi today, after a long drive (Most of which had to be done with a broken head gasket! - that's right Henrietta packed it in, sniff, sniff. They wanna get rid of her in Sydney now - Lets get a petition goin' to save Henrietta!)
So I might pop down to see them later today...if not I'll meet them somewhere up the coast.

It's so different staying in a hotel, I'm just not used to it.
I don't even remember what to do with most of the things there.
I haven't even stolen anything from the rooms yet!

Well a trip to the Blue Mountains is planned for tomorrow.
And a flight to Melbourne for myself, Mam and the Kings, is planned for Tuesday.

I'll keep you posted...

Good talk.

Ready for off!

So long Melbourne.
Hello Sydney!

So here's the news:
Tim and Smeels bought a car!
For all you people interested in cars it's:
A 1980 Holden Commodore 6-cylinder 3.3l manual.
Stay tuned for fuel consumption...
For all you people not interested: it's a beast!
They got wee beds, a tent, a cooker and the like, as well.
All for an economical price of $700 (around 440euro)
Attached picture is us packing up earlier today. (The new one is the one on the right)
Yes indeedly doodley.

It's about a ten to twelve hour drive, or 1000Km journey, we'll be making an over night stop somewhere as we have to make a three hour detour to drop back the car on the left, that Smeels got from here cousins. Tim and Smeels have been using this for getting around while I was in NZ.

What else, well I've made plans to meet loads of people in Sydney, but as I'm not sure how long I'll be there, or if I'll even go back after Mam has gone home, means I may not follow through on meeting everyone. But I would like too! And no doubt I'll catch them somewhere else along the way up the coast.

I better get some beauty sleep soon, talk to you all later!

Everyone everywhere exits eventually

Tim and Smeels are coming back from Torquay in about an hour, and we're gonna plan our route to Sydney, gotta be there by Sunday night ta meet the parents!

Macleod and Neil are out of work for the next three weeks, so Macleod has handed in his notice here in the apartment for them, and they are gonna head up east in a few days.

The others (Team Canada and Neil) are cleaning out their apartment today, in anticipation of getting out of Melbourne.

Brandy and Katie are going to drive the station wagon to Melbourne, after getting the head gasket fixed, the mechanic saw the timing chain is worn, so hopefully they can get there, and sell it, before any major problems occur!!

Steph is leaving today, missed her flight on Tuesday!

Iain is also set to leave today, working in a house down in Portsea (Where we go surfing sometimes - two or three hours away) so he'll be living in the house for the next 4-6weeks while he does it up. Dave and Marr are doing the same, I've got links to there sclogs further down.

I gawked through a few pics on Steph's camera today and took these off:

The house in Carlton we were staying in, twas very nice. 

The lads came home lookin' like this everyday. They were serious grafters! 

Me singing away in PJ's 

Sunset in Melbourne. 

Harvest

That's right.
It appears that some blog seeds were planted many moons ago, and they are ripe.
I give you two more Sclogs:

Click the names!

Dave

Marr

Sclogs

Scottish Blogs!
Yes, they're finally here!

Macleod and his blog: Click here

Iain and his blog : Click here

They've got some photos up that are pretty hilarious, some of which were on mine, but now have catchy new phrases above them!

So don't delay!
Click that button now, and you could win a three piece frying pan set.
Also, the first twenty clickers will receive a bonus DVD on turkey plucking.


P.S. I forgot you might want the actual addresses too, so here they are:
Macleod: www.brisemac.blogspot.com
Iain: www.iaininoz.blogspot.com
But typing these into the search bar instead of clicking up above, voids the frying pan/DVD deal.

2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix

What a great weekend at the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

I'm so glad I got tickets for the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

The actual 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix was brilliant, what a race, we were at a great spot for the action, and had a great weekend all round.

The races and events before the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix were also savage, I'll stick up some photos of them, as well as photos of the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

Well some of the highlights at the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix for me were:

1) Meeting Sir Jack Brabham - a living legend of the sport.

2) Wearing Alonzo's hat( The winner of the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix) after the race, I only wish my right arm was two foot longer, and I'd be bringing it home too.

3) Climbing the pit wall at the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

4) Getting the four day pass to the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix, I had almost as much craic on the other days as the race day!

5) Watching the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

Well I'll shtick up some photos now, hope you enjoy them!

Bean - you might have seen me on TV at the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

Thursday morning, Race Day One. What a sambo Tim! We were well aware of the price of crap food at these events, so enough sambos were made to feed the crowd. 

On the tram on our way to the four days of racing, we were like school girls after hearing the word titmouse. 

First up, the Utes, without doubt the worst race to watch of the weekend, I kept expecting to see plumbers, electricians and carpenters in the drivers seats when they drove by.  

Next up, Carrera Cup. 

The tram got delayed on the way back, as some arsh drove his bus into the tram on front of us, I bet there'll be a few whiplash/sue crap after this one! 

Race morning, and ready for it! 

First up, the V8 GP100! Great race to watch. 

V8 close up. Lap time approx. 2minutes. F1 car, approx 1.26 

I took a trip through the paddock, and found a massive display of classic cars and sports cars. 

Twas cool to see all the old classic cars under one roof. Some of which only one was made, others only one is left. 

McLaren F1, most expensive road car in the world, up there with the price of the F! cars! 

The BT-19. 

Me and Sir Jack Brabham, the only man to take a world title in his own car ( Done in 1966, after having two championships already under his belt) Happy 80th! 

Yes indeed, that's his signature on me ticket!