It was Chinese Culture and Harmony days celebrated at the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour.  I attended the first day when the celebrations started with the lion dance to open the day.  The children squealed with delight as the lions head came right up to them.  In the top picture it shows how on performer jumped on the shoulders of the other and made the lion very formidable.  The Chinese Green tea ceremony and Tai-chi demonstration took about two hours and I really enjoyed it. Three different teas were served plus a sweet dumpling.  Two Chinese men were displaying their art of calligraphy, one drew symbols of words and I took home the symbol of 'dragon' done on rice paper.  The other chap was painting koi fish and as the queue was very long, I didnt wait.  The gardens are so tranquil and it hard to believe its in the middle of so many high rise business buildings.  The koi fish are at least a foot long in the ponds and children had more fun feeding them than themselves.
Also through Probus, another outing I went on was the law courts in the Downing Centre where we were given a very short talk then could sit in on any trial going on.  The one I sat in, the three young men were accused of armed robbery.  The next part of the outing was the Reserve Bank  in Martin Place where we were given a great tour of the museum.  When this was over, I took the opportunity to walk up to the Lion Walk House in the Botanic Gardens where there was a photography exhibition.  Really good and a great day out.

Rodney and Jo's Wedding

The highlight of the week was Friday when we attending Rodney and Jo's wedding.  As seniors we bought our $2.50 tickets and started our journey from the top of street going by bus to Kingsgrove, train to Wynyard and then another bus which dropped us off at Balmoral Beach (see top photo).  At 4 the bride arrived on the arm of her older brother and you could see Rodney looking unsettled.  Everything went off perfectly.  The weather was great and the sun shone on the couple at the rotundra.  The actual ceremony took 20 mins but there there were photos an then by mini buses to the Sergeant's Mess at Chowder Bay for the receiption. There was finger food passed around as entree, then lots of speeches, the main meal - duck or steak - and sweets were a variety of  mini cakes.  We caught a cab home as we oldies, didnt stay for the dancing.
On the way home as we were going through the m5 tunnel, two p platers cars were travelling at about 30mhp, throwing things at each other and swerving towards each other and back.  It was really scary.  As we came out of the tunnel, they sped off.  Meanwhile the cabbie, and I suppose others, reported them as they could have caused an accident.  Other than that it was a great day.

AGM of Probus was held on Monday so I had to forego the Outback Heros lecture but Margaret went and I got the print out on writers of the era.  As John was home we went to the movies and saw Limitless and had a lovely lunch at Miranda.  Also we ventured into town to see the Annie Leibovitz photographic exhibition but we were both disappointed.  Her book had all the photos but was hoping for that 'something' extra. Saturday we had different venues to go to.  John went to Rodney bucks outing which was a harour cruise which included a BBQ lunch. Next Friday is the big day at Balmoral beach.  I went down to Coledale where Alice lives and there we had lunch to celebrate Joan's 80th birthday.  As usual I took the photos and so I'm not in any of mine to show you.  I'll have to wait to see if anyone else will send some through.

A cup of coffee after our walk from around the back of Cronulla station to the point with Bundeena on our right , then on to the shops.  Lovely short walk just what I wanted and there's John in the background of the cups.  Only stayed at computers for a short time due to my cough but its now on the mend.  John had the week off and did lots of odd jobs about the house.

It was one of the work guys 50th birthday on Friday and here are John and Curly celebrating at a very nice pub in Newtown.
A movie - The Rite with Anthony Hopkins-on God versus the devil was very interesting.  It was at the end of the movie that they said  that there are 14 catholic exhortists still working in the USA today.
An official tour of the ABC studios showed us radio and tv studios plus the make up room with the off shoot of the special effects area and paraphernalia.  One of the childrens shows was being recorded but we only saw the rehearsals and left before they actually did the shows.  It was a couple of informative hours.
In the Outback Heros talk this week it was on Teamsters, Bullockies and transport. Teamsters preferred bullocks to horses as they were cheaper to buy and to maintain.  They blazed the trail, took enormous risks and endured great hardship.  Each bullock of the team had a name and their directions were usually given by whip or walking beside the leading bullock.
The SMSA author talks only last a hour and this week it was Kate Matthew, a historian and writer living in the Blue Mountains.  She is conducting research on Governesses in Australia and they were not always the prim and proper figures that literature would have us to believe.

Often I enter competitions but as they are few and far between, its very lucky to win something.  I wanted to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibition at the Museum of Contempory Art and now have two free tickets, a huge book on the photos between 1990 - 2005 plus three different bottles of Bimbadgen wines.  We'll go on the weekend otherwise during the week if John has a day off.

I was able to go on two walks last week, Old Cremorne Wharf to Milsons Point and the other from Scrarborough Beach to Thirroul.  At 7 -8 kms each it was great walking especially as the Harbour walk was in great weather.    At Coledale,which is the beach between Scarborough and Thirroul, the tide was up so we had to walk up on the cliffs instead of rock hopping around.  Maybe next time.