Saturday, May 14, 2005
Brisbane--2
It hardly seems possible that that is week 1 in Brisbane over. The weather for most of the week has been very “British”--cloudy and overcast, mostly warm but one day quite cool. The last few days have been more normal with heat and sunshine, resulting in a spectacular thunderstorm and brillant rainbow. Fortunately we were in the Arts Centre on the South Bank so we could shelter and view the performance without getting wet. That evening we went to a play--Vincent--about Vincent Van Gogh’s brief stay in Brixton. It was quite slow but well acted.
As well as being close to bus and rail links, Fiona’s unit is an easy drive to a shopping mall which means she rarely has to go into town as most of the big stores--Myers--have branches there. They had Winter Sales on and we met a shop assistant from Glasgow! We have visited more galleries--the Powerhouse at New Farm which had in a past life been a power station. New Farm had been the penal colony and is now a park surrounded by upmarket housing. There is a great amount of building going on all over the city.
Yesterday we went to a Super 12 Rugby Union game--Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies (Canberra). It was held in the Suncorp Stadium which is a compact ground--we had seats near the pitch with good views of the pitch--there are 2 large screens if you can’t see too well. Attendance is encouraged by giving free rail travel to the game, having a walkway from the nearest station and extra trains before and after the game. There were many families there and youngsters entertained the crowd with touch rugby at half time. Neither team is doing well this year but they put on a great display of fast, attacking rugby with plenty tries and no kicked penalties!
By and large traffic flows smoothly through the city and there is a designated lane for cars with 3 or more passengers. We hope to move outside the city in our travels next week. Glad Sam had a good visit from Great Aunts Betty & Isabel and we hope he enjoyed his weekend in Lochmaben
Trust you are all well
As well as being close to bus and rail links, Fiona’s unit is an easy drive to a shopping mall which means she rarely has to go into town as most of the big stores--Myers--have branches there. They had Winter Sales on and we met a shop assistant from Glasgow! We have visited more galleries--the Powerhouse at New Farm which had in a past life been a power station. New Farm had been the penal colony and is now a park surrounded by upmarket housing. There is a great amount of building going on all over the city.
Yesterday we went to a Super 12 Rugby Union game--Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies (Canberra). It was held in the Suncorp Stadium which is a compact ground--we had seats near the pitch with good views of the pitch--there are 2 large screens if you can’t see too well. Attendance is encouraged by giving free rail travel to the game, having a walkway from the nearest station and extra trains before and after the game. There were many families there and youngsters entertained the crowd with touch rugby at half time. Neither team is doing well this year but they put on a great display of fast, attacking rugby with plenty tries and no kicked penalties!
By and large traffic flows smoothly through the city and there is a designated lane for cars with 3 or more passengers. We hope to move outside the city in our travels next week. Glad Sam had a good visit from Great Aunts Betty & Isabel and we hope he enjoyed his weekend in Lochmaben
Trust you are all well
