Wednesday 29 April 2009

Socks

I have had a pair of long green woolen traditional Scotish socks in my car for the last couple of days. I think I look ok in a kilt.

Monday 27 April 2009

What a weird world we live in

On Friday, I was very sick, I had had a cold since Monday night, so I wore a scarf to work to keep warm.

I only have one scarf. It is a football scarf. I am not a football nut, I keep my eye open on one team to see what happens to it, but that is all. The scarf is from a team which has not won the flag since 1980, and has made it a habit of finishing 9th. In the last 17 years it has finished 9th six times and been in the finals only twice. Also the team has lost all four games this season. So I was expecting a few negative comments regarding football. But instead I got groans from people walking past and hurtful comments about my sanity. I think that that is hitting below the belt.

Coincidently the Mental Health support group Beyond Blue had a Wear Your Footy Colours to Work Day to raise awareness of Depression on the same day. It obviously works as my Depression is now worse.

Ironically the Richmond Tigers won the next day on Saturday.





Teams with Yellow and Black

Football – sometimes known as Soccer

Australia – Collingwood Warriors (1996-1997) – National Soccer League
Bolivia – The Strongest (1908) – Liga de Futbol Profesional Boliviano
Greece – Aris Thessaloniki (1914) – Super League Greece
Iceland – Iprottabandalag Akraness
Italy – Associazione Calcio Petacciato (1954) – Eccellenza Molise
Malaysia – The Malaysian National Football Team
New Zealand – Wellington Phoenix (2007+) – A League
Norway – IK Start (1905+) – Adeccoligaen League
Scotland – Mid-Annandale Footbal Club – South of Scotland Football League
Switzerland – Berner Sport Club Young Boys (1898+) – Swiss Axpo Super League
United Kingdom – Chalfont Wasps Football Club (1922+)
United Kingdom – Rushen United FC (1910) – Premier League

Australian Rules Football

Bacchus Marsh Football Club (1979) – Ballarat Football League
Balwyn Tigers – Eastern Football League
Murray Bushrangers (1993) – TAC Cup
Richmond Football Club – Australian Football League
United Tigers Football Club – Adelaide Plains Football League


Go the mighty Richmond Tigers. Play Fair.

Monday 20 April 2009

Food

I stopped off in Wodonga for a bite to eat with Mum and George. We found a nice café on a side street by the main shopping street and the food and environment was beautiful.

I think it was called Zilch. Shop 8/1 Stanley St, Wodonga.

It has a range of gourmet sandwiches, I had one which had hummus, spinach, carrot and walnuts on multigrain bread and it was wonderful. (I also got them to put avocado in it as well).

I recommend it and I will eat there again.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Mount Bogong

At 1,986 meters, Mt Bogong is Victoria’s highest mountain.

Very few Victorians have climed Mount Bogong. Mount Bogong does not seem to be as well known as some of the other mountains in Victoria. Other Victorian mountains such as Mount Buller, Mount Buffalo and Lake Mountain are better known due do having ski resorts in the winter months.

An Interesting fact for my friends in Canberra: The Yiatmathong word Bogong it is believed translates to the Ngunawal word “Canberra” - Please don’t quote me on this I got it from a wiki.

George has been saying for ages that he wanted us all to climb Mount Bogong. So we planned a trip. Unfortunately when it was time to go, I broke a bone in my foot and so he had to go by himself. Well I could not put it off for ever, and it did sound like an interesting thing to do so on Friday the 20th of March we drove to the township of Mount Beauty.
Coffee stop at Wangarratta
The nearby township of Mount Beauty has an elevation of 370 meters. Which meant on Saturday we would be climbing 1600 meters.

Mount Bogong from Mount Beauty


We would climb the Staircase Spur to the summit, 8km up and 8km down.

Signing the Intentions Book so if we dont get home they know where to start looking

The first two kilometeres is easy, a well maintained four wheel drive track, it is flatish and we set out at a good pace. Then the Staircase Starts, six kilometres which in places really really lives up to its name. I should have been climbing the Rialto as practice, not walking.


Exhausted after about four kilometers. Surrounded by ferns, Alpine Ash and Snow Gums.

At about the 5km mark there is Bivouac Hut where we stopped for a nice long rest and a large drink of water. - There is no fresh water at Bivouac, we carried it ourselves.

That is the peak of Mount Bogong - photo taken near Bivouac

Kiewa Valley - photo taken near Bivouac

Exhausted after 7ish kilometers - we are now above the tree line on the alpine 'meadow'. You can see the snow poles to mark the track in bad weather. The bump above my head is the summit.

At this point George ran off to the summit. I was stuffed. If he did not run off I would have had lunch there and then went down. But I had to keep walking. That last kilometer or so along the alpine meadow was dreadful. It took so much effort. I think it took me about an hour - it took George half an hour and he was feeling great.

George says that that last bit is hard due to the low oxygen. I say that it is hard because you are already tired and hungry by that stage and the last bit is not easy. It looks okay in the photo - but it is not.

I had to stop a lot in that last bit, and two solitary walkers overtook me, offering heartfelt support. But I made it.

There was about thirty people at the top. We had a good chat with them and had lunch. The weather was about 37 degrees celcius, but on the top there was a beautiful cool breeze. We rested for about an hour and decended the Staircase.


View from the top.

On the way down, my silly knee started hurting, so we took it easy. It took about six hours to get up and then five to get down, not counting the hour rest at the top.

Next time, we'll go up the Staircase and down the Eskdale Spur, it be an extra three or so kilometers, but much easier on the knees.

A Bogong Moth

Monday 6 April 2009

Autobiography

I had to write an Autobiography for a play that I am doing in Eltham. This is what I came up with...

If you think I am the Andrew Scarborough that has appeared on countless British Television Series such as Doctors, Coronation Street and The Bill you are sadly mistaken; however neither am I the Andrew Scarborough that has appeared on Australian Idol.

I am the rather tall, spectacled person that has appeared in various theatre throughout Melbourne, in productions as diametrically opposed as Lambert and Voth to Ionesco and Shakespeare.

Having most recently undertaken the beautiful language and imagery of Thomas’s Under Milk Wood I am looking forwards to this next chapter performing in Alan Ayckbourn’s Ten Times Table.

Thursday 2 April 2009

April Fools Day

April Fools Day is a day when people play jokes on each other. There seem to be a number of different stories behind why, such as changes to calendars however it might be one of those things where no one will ever find out why.

Today I put up a couple of signs…
The main office can be assessed by two doors about fifteen large steps apart. One is the main door to the office and the other door is through the Finance Office.


Sign on Main Door:
Door jammed – Please use door through Finance. Thankyou, Property Services.

Sign on Finance Door:
Door immovable – Please use main office door. Thankyou, Property Services.


It worked brilliantly. About six people were taken in. And Diana was taken in twice. One of my victims said that the reason it seemed true was that I wrote Property Services on it.


And the laughs keep coming…
Discussion on the 2nd April

Barbara – How are you?

ME – Good, no mischief planned for today.

Barbara – I didn’t attribute that to you until Michele pointed it out.

Barbara – We’ve got twelve months to plot our revenge

ME – But what you haven’t taken into consideration is that I’ve also got twelve months to plot.

Barbara – But this time there will be a difference. We will win.

I think the challenge is on.


I also put a post-it note on Mercy’s mouse. The post-it note stopped the laser so the mouse would not work. Poor Mercy works in an office where the people don’t often talk to each other. She was very appreciative of the practical joke. I think I’ll have to pull some more on her.