19 August 2012

We arrived in Singpore for a two night stopover. It was my brother Peter's 60th birthday which prompted a celebratory drink by the pool in his absence.

20 August 2012

An early start in order to have breakfast with some of the locals at the Singapore Zoo. The zoo was the most modern, cleanest and best zoo I have visited.

Apparently, no visit to Singapore is complete without indulging in a Singapore Sling,

and enjoying a High Tea at Raffles.












We finished the day with an evening river cruise which provided a great insight into much of the city's stunning architecture,

such as this hotel complex.

It was time now time for bed for an early rise, next stop Australia.





THE END

17 August 2012

Our last day in London finished with dinner at Oxos on a perfect summer evening.

16 August 2012

At the West End to see War Horse, our last show before heading home to Australia.

13 - 15 August 2012

Arrived in Edinburgh after a four and a half hour train trip to find the Edinburgh International Festival in full swing.

Some people will do anything for a living.

At the ruins of St Anthony's chapel in Hollyrood Park on our hike to Arthur's Seat in background.

360 degree view of Edinburugh and surrounds from the top.

Took the long way home through the hills and valleys.

Hollyrood Palace, the residence of the Queen when in Scotland.

At Ocean Terminal we did a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia, launched in 1953 and decommissioned in 1997.

On the bridge

The dining room where the who's who of world power have dined as guests of the Queen.

After 30 years and over a million sea miles, the immaculate engine room had never missed a beat.

We scored a glorious evening for a performance of the annual Edinburgh Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle.

Military bands from all over the world, including Australia, performed with stunning precision.

A fireworks display ended the night.

12 Aug 2012

Greg and I headed off to the O2 stadium to watch the bronze medal basketball match between Russia and Argentina.

A troupe of skippers provided the half time entertainment with some amazing acrobatics.

Russia celebrate their 81-77 bronze medal win after a thrilling game.

11Aug 2012

A view from the keep at Porchester Castle, another fine example of Roman/Saxon/Norman history spanning nearly 2000 years.

After a farewell lunch with John and Audrey Duncan we promised not to wait another 38 years before catching up again.

11 Aug 2012

On a beautiful sunny day we joined thousands of people in Hyde Park to watch the Men's Open Water Swim.

Swimming up and down the duck poo infested waters of the Serpentine is certainly not my idea of fun. Unfortunately only one of the swimmers could earn a gold medal.

9 Aug 2012

Enjoying a champage at intermission of "Jersey Boys". It was a fabulous show and we look forward to seeing the Brisbane production.

7 August 2012

We had a lazy day in London and came home via the famous Borough Food Markets where we ate more than we needed to.

8 August 2012
A one hour train trip to Newbury and a 10K taxi ride took us to Highclere Castle, the location where Downton Abbey was filmed. It has a fascinating 1300 year history and was home to the 5th Earl of Carnarvon who co-discovered Tutankhamun's tomb.

 The Castle on the 1000 acre estate has vast surrounding gardens full of magnificent trees

and beautiful gardens. The inside of the castle was also amazing but no photos allowed. It was a wonderful day out.

www.highclerecastle.co.uk

6th August 2012

A blue sky greeted us at Olympic Park for our session at the Athletics.

We came to see Sally Pearson and she did not disappoint, running 12.57 sec in her heat of the 100m hurdles. It was the fastest time ever in the first round of the event.

David Radisha from Kenya, the world record holder, leads his heat of the Mens 800m.

We moved onto the women's hockey in the afternoon to see Japan defeat China 1-0 and Korea defeat Belgium 3-1.

2nd August 2012

It's W8 finals day. The Aussie girls were never going to be a medal chance after drawing Lane 1, the lane most affected by the prevailing crosswind.

GB, the one team AUS had consistently beaten, drew Lane 6 which was the most protected lane. AUS in Lane 6 would have certainly challenged for bronze as they rowed a great race.

It was another long day as we moved from the rowing to the evening volley ball session to see USA beat Brazil in a close game.

3 August 2012

The Equestrian Complex in Greenwich Park is magnificent. All events including the cross country have been hosted there. We lined up for a session of the Dressage.

It was a beautiful sunny day,

until it poured rain. Luckily it didn't last long.

The gold medal winner, a young GB girl, salutes the judges. She won with a record breaking standout performance.










Sally joined us for a group get together and then dinner at theWheatsheaf Pub. When all the rowing is completed on 4 August, the rowing team will move into the Athlete's Village proper for the rest of the Olympics. Hopefully they will all emerge unscathed.

31 July 2012

Had a 6am start to join 25,000 people at the rowing venue. Pictured is our train arrival at Windsor station, standing room only.

The Aussie girls doing their warm down after coming third in the repechage.

In the afternoon we headed to the Olympic complex for the evening basketball session.
THe complex is huge, it was a thirty minute walk from the entry to the basketball stadium.

The basketball stadium which may be heading to Rio for the 2016 Olympics.

 The first game was between France and Argentina, a close game with France winning.

The second game was Tunisia vs the seemingly invincible USA team. USA won easily but it was a very entertaining game. The whole basketball experience was fantastic. We arrived home at 1am after a 19 hour day.