Melbourne gossip

We're just back from a weekend in the goldfields area of Victoria which is very pretty country with a rich history, much of which is still visible. Dom, Jules and I spent the night with an old work mate who now lives in Maldon. Yesterday afternoon we scouted the town of Dunolly which hosts a number of bike trails we'll try to use later in the year. We had a beer in the roughest pub in town and held the pool table for four games - not a bad effort and a bit of an education for young Dom.
We had to come back early today because his first soccor game of the season was on. The sport season in Victoria has been delayed for around a month because the sports grounds were in such poor condition due to the drought. We've had good rain for the past week or so, though, and the bee-keepers in Dunolly reckon the bees have waxed themselves this year, something they only ever do if it's going to be wet. Fingers crossed. Dom's team (Manningham) is playing in the A-league this year and it's a bit of a jump up in standards so all games are expected to be tough. They went down 2-1 today against one of the fancied teams so it should give them a bit of confidence for the rest of the season. Annika is just working and partying this year and seems to be doing a lot of both. Departure date for the big, overseas adventure is July. Nick has two shifts in a row today at the Mereweather RSL - he won't know what to do with the money. Amanda is preparing for her overseas adventure as well. Paris and Spain. The Spanish bit sounds particularly appealing: a house in the south on the coast for a few weeks which should allow for substantial immersion in the culture. I don't know where the money is coming from but Jules and I fly out to Vietnam in about a month for about a month. Dom will join us in the last two weeks. In the meantime, though, it's back to essay marking...