Taff Down Under 8

Funnily enough I’ve not put on any weight since being over here, must be all the “alternative” exercise I’ve been getting. But I still was feeling a bit flabby and horrible, and truth be told, I was missing the gym. So I joined one.

Very nice place it is too

I was a bit worried about going there at first, what with the Ozzies being so sport mad. Did you know, that if measured by “per head of population,” the Ozzies won more gold’s at the Olympics than the next highest three countries put together? Anyway, I didn’t want to go there with my skinny legs and beer belly, and find the place full of big hunky muscle men, and cute super-fit aerobic totty.

Well I needn’t have worried; when I got there the place was fully of muscley totty, and cute aerobics guys.

I’m kidding of course; it was full of huge guys, and ultra-fit women, as well as a sprinkling of sad lard arses like me. But no one laughed too hard or too long at me, so I’m back abusing my miserable carcass in a more positive way. Oh they also have a small, but very big, number of female bodybuilders there. A strange breed, and not a little frightening.

 

Talking about exercise, I’ve started learning Tai Chi.

I can hear the gasps of astonishment from here. “What,” you cry, “that hard nosed, anti-anything-hippy, ultra-realist, no-nonsense Strop?” The guy who treats every thing and everybody with a down to earth contempt, doing Tai Chi?”

Yup, you got it, I now spend my Tuesday mornings, walking about as if I’ve taken 12 mogodon, and waving my arms about like I’m pissed out of my brains. I used to do, some of you may remember, Aikido. I was never any good at it, but enjoyed it. I even had my own class once, at college in Plymouth, and I missed it.

But there is no way I was going to get back into a fighting art; people hit you for a start. And they expect you to stretch, which hurts more than the hitting. So now I’m doing a gentle “Yang” style Tai Chi, and great fun it is too. The instructor, Louise, asked me to be her understudy after the first class, as she recognized I wasn’t a total stranger to the martial arts. So I’m training to be an instructor in it.

But the best bit is; WORK PAYS FOR ME TO DO IT!! (Insert smug grin here!)

Talking of pay, I’ve now got an Ozzie bank account, really getting my feet under the table!

Bethy did a 4k sponsored walk the other day, her Dad raised over $300 in sponsorship for her, and me and LeeAnne raised a bit too. If she has the most sponsorship money, she gets a new pushbike from the school. Neat.

Oh – good and bad news.

GOOD: My paraglider arrived safe and sound.

BAD: It’s the fucking start of the windy season here.

Anyway, we went out to meet the local club the other day. Nice bunch of people too. Met the flying instructor and chatted to him about transferring my qualifications over here. “Shouldn’t be a worry!”

 

Lovely site, and they drive you to the top in 4 wheel drive vehicles! By the time we got there only the good locals were flying off. I watched the president of the club fuck up his launch, and get his glider ripped on the flagpole at the top. (I didn’t laugh. Well at least not when he was looking.)

We did however get to drive the 4 wheelers down the steep rocky hill, great fun 1st gear all the way. Almost, but not quite, as much fun as flying.

The instructor said that there would be no flying the next day, but when we got up, the conditions were perfect. So we drove to the site on the off chance. AND I GOT A FLIGHT IN!

Great fun, took me fucking ages to get off the ground, my ground handling is so fucking rusty. Once in the air I was fine again though. God, I’m going to love this place. The hills are good, the winds are light (in season!) and the flying is wonderful. Most of the world paragliding records were set in Oz, including the 335 kilometer distance record. Not that I’ll be breaking any records, apart from “most flights chickened out of,” and “worse take off.”

After the flight, we went to Yass, an “historical” town about an hour’s drive from Canberra. Lovely place.

 

We visited a small café and ordered a pizza off the worlds oldest café owner, and to be fair to him it was wonderful. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to have another coffee there and sit and watch the world go by. We saw much more of the world go by than we expected, as they forgot our order, and we’d still be there if LeeAnne hadn’t gone and reminded them.

It’s LeeAnnes birthday today, as a treat her Mum’s booked tickets for the musical “Barnum” for them. I’ve dug my heels in and refused to go. Ok, I whinged and moaned, and finnally the let me off.

I’m paying towards paragliding lessons for LeeAnne for her birthday present, very fucking romantic eh? Oh and Bethy is getting a tandem paraglider flight for her birthday.

We’re off to see Under Milk Wood on Saturday night, by Canberra Youth Theatre. Could be a fucking nightmare, but could be good.

 

My first CD is now available for the price of postage and a blank CD. You think I’m kidding don’t you?

We’ve taken to patronizing, as we’re patronizing bastards, a two local curry houses. Yummy! Good vege grub, and cheap prices, and they home deliver.

So Friday, when Bethy is with her Dad, or the mother-in-law, it’s to the gym, followed by a few beers at the Pot Belly, order the grub, get home watch a bit of box with a beer or two, and then the curry arrives, get that down, couple of large scotches and bingo, you’re too fucked to go out flying the next day.

I think I’m doing something wrong here?

 

Well that’s about it from me, keep the abusive e-mails coming.

These “letters home” are now being serialized online, at the discussion forum we use, the Cybersoapbox.enough of my blather, drop me a line soon eh?