Into the city we go...!

Had a busy day today. Judy, Tony, Jack and myself went into the city and went first of all, to the Queen Victoria Market, stopping en route at Melbourne Central to see the conical glass window and clock that plays "Waltzing Matilda" on the hour.

Then we headed for Melbourne Park, to watch Sam in action on Court 12 and to support our English players James Ward and Laura Robson through their first day of Qualifying. Laura Robson played convincingly, winning the first set 6 - 3 and the second set 5 - 0. Then she lost her nerve to close the match and we sat there for another nail-biting half an hour, till she finally won the second set 6 - 4!

Tomorrow, Granny and Grandad are going for lunch on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant and Sam is having a day off!

(click on the "latest fotos" on the right to see further pictures and to enlarge them...)

(Forgot to say, Judy Murray was watching Laura Robsons match!)

The Australian Open begins...!

Today, Sam had to go in for Orientation Day , the day before the Qualifying Tournament begins. Basically, it was a press release and they took all the Ballkids to stand outside Parliament House in Melbourne for a foto shoot. Sam is standing third row from the back, 2nd one in from the right!

We are all really excited now as the AO is about to commence and we are looking forward to going to see Sam in action on the first day, the 16th. He came home with 16 free tickets today two of which are for the first Monday evening in the Rod Lever Arena (Centre Court) - guess who's having those!!!

There are 20 Ballkids from Korea, 9 from NSW and WA, 5 from S.A and 2 from Tasmania, the rest being made up from Victoria. Ana Ivanovic (World No.22) attended the press launch. Sam saw Andy Murray today who actually smiled at them! Laura Robson, our young English hopeful, is playing in the Qualifiers, so we are hoping to go and see her this week and offer her our support!

Chris goes for a Harley ride

For Father's Day (last year) the boys gave me a Harley Davidson ride. Being so busy has meant I haven't had the chance to do it until now.

So this morning I went off on a one hour trip hosted by 'John'. It was great fun cruising around on the bike along the coastal road (Beach Road).

Thanks boys!

On your bike!

Hi All,

Summer is well under way now here in sunny Melbourne with the temperature touching 42c yesterday.

Lovely weather to be relaxing in or sitting on the beach.....but Chris and Caroline decided to do a 70k bike ride!!!!

It was something we had already registered for as part of an organised event called 'Amy's Ride'. The event supports road safety for cycling following the death of Amy Gillett in an accident a couple of years ago. Amy was one of Australia's top cyclists and was knocked down by a reckless driver in Germany and killed.

The ride took place in Geelong which is about a 30 min drive south of Melbourne. We set off at 5.45am (gulp) and even then the temperature was approaching 20c. Our friends Natalie and Jason were also doing the ride so we met up with them. The route took us out into the countryside and then along the picturesque coast. The temp was getting hotter and hotter but there were a number of drinks stations along the way. All was going well until Chris took a wrong turn and ended up doing an extra 4k despite people trying to get his attention!!

The last 30 mins of the ride were hard work (for everyone except Caroline) and someone on a bike next to me registered the temperature at 46c!! However we all made it safely to the end which was a great feeling. 2000 other cyclists also completed the course and in the afternoon there was a pro race. However we decided to go and have a well deserved lunch in a nearby cafe. You can see a map of our route here.

Today us normal human beings are feeling a bit knackered...but Caroline was off at 8am for a swim. Is it madness, addiction or just motivation.......??!!

This afternoon Chris and Jack are taking Mum and Dad to the airport for their trip to Brisbane for a week. Then they are back with us for another week to take in more of Melbourne including going to watch Sam at the Australian Open :)

More photos on our Flickr site as usual and more updates soon.....

Granny and Grandad arrive!!!

Well, Judy and Tony arrived on the 19th at 9.30a.m having stopped off to visit Richard, Natasha and Hattie in Dubai en route. We were waiting out in the street to greet them and there was much excitement at their arrival. One of the most important things we did that day was watch the "Strictly Come Dancing " final, which we all really enjoyed.The next day, I took them into the city on the train and went up the Eureka Tower, followed by Dave's walking tour around Melbourne.

On the 22nd, we headed down to Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road where we had rented a house for 5 days. The car was so full of food and presents that Jack, Sam and Will had to take the train and bus down there! The first day we hired boards and wetties and had another surf lesson whilst J and T looked on (see fotos on Flickr). Christmas Eve was Granny's birthday and they played golf at Anglesea golf course, watched by the kangeroos who live there. In the evening we went out for a nice Chinese meal.

Christmas Day dawned a bit dull, but by midday the sun had come out and it was 27 degrees. We had a typical Aussie Christmas lunch - prawns, mussels and oysters freshly caught (not by me!) and cooked on the barbie by Chris. Later we went for a walk along the beach, before returning to cook the turkey and have the English Christmas meal!

Chris went for a hilly bike ride to Lorne on Boxing Day and the next day took J and T along the GOR to see the 12 Apostles.

Today (28th) they went to watch the cricket at the MCG which J and T were very impressed with (the MCG not so much the cricket!).

We have a fun-filled week in store before they head to Brissie in the New Year for a week.

Sam's Helicopter Ride

Jack survived Schoolies week and got his VCE results on Friday morning at 7a.m. He did well, getting all B's so now has to decide what he wants to do next.

Chris's operation went well, although he did faint afterwards on the operating table. Theoretically this should not have happened because they had eliminated the pathway that was causing the problem. So, on Friday, he had a stress test, which involved being wired up to a running machine and being put through his paces. I am glad to say that his ECG came back as being normal, so he will just have to see if the blackouts re-occur when he starts running again.

Sam and Will finished school yesterday and can now look forward to a 7 week Summer holiday. Today, Sam took two of his friends (Harry and Aaran) on the helicopter flight that Chris had arranged for the "One Year in Oz" party back in August. The flight took 20 minutes and flew all over the sights of Melbourne, as you can see on the Flickr fotos to the right. They all said it was awesome!

Granny and Grandad arrive early on Monday morning and this time next week it will be Christmas Eve.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

December already!

Well, I can't believe it's a month since I did the last blog, shoddy I know!

What's been happening this last month...? Nothing too exciting which is why I haven't up-dated it!

Jack sat his exams and overall they seemed to go quite well. We will see on results day! Since he finished, he has spent his days sleeping till at least 11a.m, watching TV and playing on the X Box. At the moment he is on his "schoolies" week - a week away with 15 mates in a house by the sea on the Mornington Peninsula. Not heard much from him, so assume he's still alive! How I'd love to be a fly on the wall there!

Sam and I attended the launch of the Australian Open yesterday. The CEO was there and gave an inspiring speech, as was Todd Woodbridge who was once a Ballboy himself, before becoming a player. This year is quite an historical year for Australian tennis - 50 years since Rod Lever won the Grand Slam and 100 years since the first Men's Singles title was won. They brought in the Winners Trophies... they call the ladies single trophy Daphne and the mens singles trophy Norman, don't know why, maybe after the first people who won them? Sam was given his uniform and we are glad to report that it is not pink, but a nice blue, the same colour as on all the AO signs, which looks great on Sam.

I had my second Triathlon yesterday, this time in Mordi, so we didn't have to go far. However, it was very windy (29kph) and so the sea was VERY choppy and I would never have gone in under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, they decided to go ahead with the swim and everyone struggled, with many people being pulled out of the water into the lifeboats (at their request). I managed to get round but it took me even longer than before, so annoyingly I came 10th overall this time (not happy! )

Chris goes in for his heart operation this Thursday (8th). He was recently diagnosed with a condition called "Woolf Parkinson White Syndrome" where he has an extra pathway in his heart that shouldn't be there. For the past 4 years, he would often feel like he was going to black out when he was running and his heart would go into tachycardia. The operation has a 95% success rate, so hopefully he should be able to return to exercise very soon.

Only 2 weeks till Granny and Grandad are here with us for Christmas so we are all very excited :)