Another Great Weekend Down Under.

I've had a fantastic few days on my visit to Newcastle, NSW. The autumn weather has settled somewhat and the winds have blown away the humidity and left us with some beautiful warm and sunny weather, just in time for the weekend.

Friday evening and I was again invited to the Hunter Stadium to watch the Newcastle Jets play against the Gold Coast United team. With the Jets looking to cement their top 6 end of season play off place, they were expected to beat the bottom placed Gold Coast team whose owner had openly criticised the Australian Football Association and had his licence stripped. The team being allowed to compete in the 'A' League for the remaining fixtures by the AFA, but without their owner.

This didn't stop the controversial millionaire owner from hiring a helicopter to pull a large banner over Newcastle with the slogan of 'Freedom of Speech', something he obviously feels he has been stopped from expressing by the AFA.

On the night, his team came within a whisker of pulling off a shock 1-0 win with only the Jets desperate pressure resulting in a 94th minute headed equaliser to earn them a valuable point. Can they overcome another of the league's high flyers, Brisbane Roar, this coming Saturday at Hunter Stadium?

I spent a number of hours cycling, swimming and walking at Nobbys Beach on Saturday and was ready for the 'Team Clueless' Christmas Party to take place at a popular BYO (Bring Your Own-booze) restaurant called Nok, in Beaumont Street, Hamilton.

A popular choice of main meal was 'Kleftiko', a slow cooked dish of roast lamb. It was absolutely delicious, and in my humble opinion stood alongside the Kleftiko my dear friends at The White Lady Taverna in Crete served to me back in 2003.

A surprise addition to the meal came in the form of a delightful lady performing a Belly- Dancing routine whilst we dined. My enthusiasm got the better of me, no, I didn't join in, but held up a hastily scrawled note on a napkin asking if she would marry me! She was already spoken for but did seek out our table and myself for some special attention. My goodness, what strength she had in her hips!! She was a good sport and this created some excellent photo opportunities. (My Facebook friends can see more photographs there).

The evening continued at a local pub and was an excellent way to conclude a special night to remember. I feel so humbled that these lovely folk have welcomed me into their midst so willingly. It has definitely been a major factor in making me feel so at home and for making my first month pass so quickly.

Sunday morning and I joined Trish, Les and Alan for a bargain $5 breakfast consisting of two fried eggs, toast, bacon, sausage (snag) and tomato at another local cafe. It was the first fried breakfast I've had since I started my weight loss plan...if you read this Wendy, don't worry, I'm being good by and large!
To work off my indulgences, I took myself off to the beach for more swimming and walking in the warm sunshine.

I had no sooner returned to Jonesy's than he informed me that we had been invited to meet Sonja, her daughter Elizabeth, and their friends Gabriel and Karen, their son David, and another friend Shauna. These were yet more lovely people that I had met first time back in 2002. I had caught up with Sonja and her husband Michael at their home in Queensland on my visit in April 2011, but had not seen Gabriel, Karen and Shauna since that first visit 10 years previously.We had a pleasant evening at the Merewether Surf House overlooking Merewether Beach, where the world famous 'Surfest' was taking place, catching up on the years.

 Surfest has surely put Newcastle on the map since its inaugural event in 1985 when it was decided that the city wanted to try to counter its image of being a, grime-ridden industrial city, and instead promote its beautiful beaches. At the time of its inception Surfest, then sponsored by the giant BHP Steel Company, was the world's richest surfing competition and has attracted the top men and women surfers on the planet as well as a worldwide audience.

As for me, I can barely balance on a board on the beach let alone be out chasing that elusive huge wave to ride majestically back to the shore. I'll leave that to the surf dudes and chicks, oh and to the pod of dolphins who made a surprise but warmly welcomed appearance at the first day's competition, frolicking happily alongside their human friends. Check the attached link for some fantastic photographs of Surfest 2012