Down the road again...

This is the place where the GS1000G's ingnition and crankshaft used to be...

Bruges in Belguim where we had our last night in Europe. The picture was taken from the tower featured in the movie, "In Bruges". Where the boat is going around the corner is the hotel we stayed in when we first arrived.

The crash scene was well attended by armed police and council workers who couldn't work out what the slippery stuff was. Unfortunately in regard to an insurance claim, the coppers couldn't find the offending truck. See if you can see the bits of Grant's knee spread along the road..

It wasn't my fault. A truck dropped a load of fat or grease on the first roundabout after it left the ferry we were on and we were the first on the scene. It was a relatively low speed crash but violent enough to tear the ignition off the side of the bike and break the crankshaft, rendering the whole bike worthless. So much for Plan A where I resell the bike and get my money back.
We weren't hurt apart from me having one knee twice the size of the other and both of us having some bruising. A local bike dealer gave me £100 for the remaining good bits and we hired a car to continue to Scotland where we are now.
We've had a good rest here with the Bookers, though, and head towards London tomorrow to fly home on Friday night. I've just spent an hour or so trying to clean the grease off our bike gear so Singapore Airlines will let us on the plane. This is the way life goes sometimes but it doesn't change the fact that it's been a great trip. Don't visit Melbourne in the next six months or you'll have to see ALL the pictures...

Movie Review - Transformers 3.

Overall it is a triumph. If it has one weak point, it would be the tedious character and plot development at the expense of Transformer action. Who really cares if Megatron had an unhappy childhood? Does it really matter that Sentinel Prime had issues with his father? What if Bumblebee was teased about his speech impediment? Nonetheless 5 stars.

Happy Birthday Kelly

This was sometime ago on the 25th of June but happy birthday anyway! I hope you got something nice!

Happy birthday Paris!

Not sure the Roffs behaved themselves in Woolloomooloo on the weekend. Luckily, the Forrests were setting an even lower (or is that higher?) standard so nobody noticed. The theme was 'P' and there was lots of police and pilots and even a pope (thanks for that unnecessary image Daniel). Paris looked dashing as a playboy.

I managed to take some photos of Uncle Stuart before things got too messy. The photos are technically perfect but the people in them are a little blurry. The blonde is actually Lara in disguise. I had trouble looking at her but she had no problems getting a drink at the bar. The next 30th is going to be Daniel's in August. I didn't kick on at Paris' but am hoping to win the competition for best horse on ground at Daniel's in amends. Happy birthday Paris!

Grant and Julia blog from Europe

Jules and the mighty GS outside our apartment in Paris.

We'll be home in a bit over a week and Nicholas flies out on Saturday for his own European adventure. Maybe Kate's right: we should have Roff Christmas in Europe. It's been a great trip. It took Jules a while to get used to the bike but good weather, less speed and plenty to look at made all the difference.

After a week in Paris we ambled down towards Spain. Plan A was Sevilla
but it was too far if we were going to enjoy the riding. Plan B was
pretty good - four days in Barcelona. A highlight was the
Gaudi-designed church but I'm not sure if it was a tribute to God or
just a man displaying his vanity. The newly religious Julia thinks the
former. For the heathens, a day on the beach is fairly revealing, if
you get my drift.

We rode from Barcelona to Cahors in France which is in the area known
as The Lot, which is also the name of the dominant river. The Lot is

in the Dordogne region and is full of 12C architecture.
We had a night in the John xx11 Hotel in Cahors which is next door to
where he was born. I've already told you about his grave in Avignon
and, on the basis of this coincidence and thinking it might be some
kind of sign regarding my destiny, I looked him up on the inter web.
It seems he spent most of his time arguing with the Franciscans who
thought representatives of God should be considerably less
ostentatious than John xx11 turned out to be. No wonder it took so
long before a pope used the name "John" again.

We've done lots of long walks which are constantly full of splendid views and rich history - what a treat.Tomorrow we head north again for a few more days on the road before catching a ferry to Hull in England and riding up to Scotland to visit old Emerald neighbors, the Bookers. Our kids grew up together and it will be nice to see them. They're rich, too, so I might finally get to eat some meat again

.

I've sold my bike for around what I paid for it and need to drop it off near London before we fly out next Friday night. Hope we can attach some pics to sweeten the narrative. See some, at least, of you soon.

One of Grant's dream cars - a Citreon 2CV

Market in Barcelona - mucho co our

A check tablecloth, a baguette, a bottle of French red, a field by a river - no cliche was safe from us!

All good things...

Forget culture or history in a holiday. I asked myself, "What would Wild Horse do?".

So after a week on the 29th floor of a Gold Coast high rise, I have officially finished my Long Service Leave.

Other highlights included; - The Ukeladies CD launch and subsequent hospitality and entertainment at Annika's place.
- Watching the Brumbies beat the Reds in Rupert McCall's Box at Suncorp.
- Regular Lattes / Babycinnos with my little girl.






.
Maisie found this pamphlet and was keen to go, but I'm sure even Wild Horse would say that there are limits..

Roff Report Stats!

We have gone over 15 000 page views of the Roff Report. Huzah. A big spike due to an appearance by Wild Horse earlier in the year. Yes. I am a nerd.

Also, the Reporte now works better on your iphone and Android. Woot.

I fixed the blog email so now you can post by sending an email to adam.roffy.IMAGES@blogger.com.

Post away!

Pics from grant

Barcelona

Biggles Birthday

Happy Birthday to Glenn! There are two thoroughbred Glenn's running around at present. Happy Glenn in Melbourne and Fantastic Glenn in South Australia. Worth following!

Graduation and Rugby

Damian and Jenny after the ceremony

Damian looking very wise and learned

Luke in his Armidale Blues rugby gear

Lily is the tallest player on her team, but not the roughest

Damian recently graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Masters of Theology. It has been a few years of hard slog for all of us, but we are very proud of him. My sister Kathy and I attended the ceremony in the Great Hall which was very grand. Roy Slaven spoke which was very entertaining, and Nathan Bracken's glamorous wife from Dancing with the Stars was also graduating (not in theology I might add, I think it was counselling or social work).
The next night Stuart and Marianne joined us for a lovely celebratory dinner at an Italian restaurant with our 4 kids and 2 of Kathy's boys.
As you can see both Luke and Lily have started playing rugby for the Armidale Blues. At the first game when we went to watch Luke, Lily saw a few other girls in an under 8 team and said she'd like to have a go. She tends to hover at the back , but Luke is loving the physical contact and does everything hard. Lily's coach owns the local McDonalds so we should get a few vouchers at the end of the season.
Other Armidale Roff news... Amy is off to Tasmania in the holidays for a Gondwana choir tour around the island state which should be a wonderful opportunity for her. I will take her and her friend to Newcastle and put them on a plane, then spend 4 days with my sister which I am really looking forward to. I have been in contact with my teacher exchange partner via email for a while, but today we went on skype which was amazing. With the laptops we were able to give each other guided tours of our houses and back yards. There were sheep and cows in the school ag farm next to us so she thought that was fabulous. They have 2 children girl 9 and boy 7 and we met them too.
Come and visit us soon before we fly out on Dec 31. We will spend 3 nights in Waikiki before flying on to Calgary - the last warm temps for some time I think. I have to start work at St Elizabeth Seton (k - 9 Elementary school) on Jan 9 and the kids on Jan 10 so their Christmas holidays will be short lived this year. Amy, Luke and Lily will attend my school, and Cal will attend the senior Catholic high school Notre Dame. They will all start in the year they would start here, but in September after the summer break they will all go up one year for a few months before we head home. We will be home in time for the Roff reunion, and the place on the south coast sounds fantastic!!!
Take care
Jenny xxx

Bonjour

Julia on top of the Arc de Triomphe with a glimpse of the Tour Eiffel in the background. Wind speed was around 160km/h...

Me enjoying a vat of Belgian beer in Brugge.

I don't want to sound like I'm whinging but I have a cold. In Paris. Jules is at the Leuvre and I'm in our little flat sniffling and coughing my heart out. This computer keyboard is in French, too, which means everytime I type an "a" it comes out qs q "q". See whqt I meqn?
Otherwise, things are fine. We had 10 days on the Isle of Man and Julia actually enjoyed some of the racing. This was followed by a quick sprint across England to Hull where we caught the ferry to Brugge. We rate it. We're now in Paris towards the end of a week here and we set off on our trusty motorcycle on Monday for a week on the way to Sevilla in Spain.
Paris is very nice and we've done lots of walking. A highlight has been a literary award night at Shakespere and Company. This was the first publisher of Joyce's Ulysses.
I'll blog some more when I can find a proper computer but, so far, all is well.

Now that selfish Glenn has decided to retire this year, the facilities at Woodlawn College are no longer available to us. People have been searching high and low to find a replacement venue, only to realize just how spoiled we have been at Lismore.

However, both Grant and I have, independently of each other, come upon a possible venue - but we have to act promptly. The place is called "The Pines" in Tuross Heads, South Coast, NSW. It is a Christian Brothers retreat place with some single rooms (11?)as well as bunk rooms and Common Room, Dining Room big enough for 80 or so. It overlooks the ocean and is close to beaches, lake, golf course, etc etc. Grant has seen it and thinks it will suit. Marianne has also inspected it and has given her tick of approval. It will be accommodation similar to Lismore. The bad (or good!) news is that it is not available at Christmas (bloody old Christian Brothers!) but is available for just over a week in January 2013 (11-20th). The cost will be about Youth Hostel rates (eg$25pp/day) but the manager was not sure about "kids" and will get back to me when he consults the Christian Bros.

Advantages - We get the whole place, great views, close to beaches etc, price is good, location in Australia is good for some,

Disadvantages - Not at Christmas, is in the town so noise might have to be limited (although it is used by 100 schoolkids at a time!) is comfortable but not luxurious

Google it (and Google Earth) to have a look. I think it has everything we need given that it is no Lismore. Kellie has also found another possibility in Penrith which also looks interesting (check the site below.)

Let me know your thought ASAP - I have put a pencil booking in at the moment but they want commitment soon.

Tood LR

www.ecodiscovery.com.au/Vines_main.html

Round 12

Whoppers for The Rock (again) and Dan. The despised Dizzle once again a model of consistency(7). Minson, Gandalf and Lol Cat suffering through their loyalty to dud Dogs. Did you know that Will Minson eats 2 bowls of Sugar Frosties before each game? Go Dockers!

Good and Bad news.

Bad news first. I did not win the espresso machine. The dissappointment dissipated though, once I realised that I was accepted as the guest artist on the Wild Horse web-site.

Xavier had a great time with his cousins and enjoyed his 4th birthday with us. He had a Ben 10 cake and went to Macadamia castle. It is Sally's birthday today. Happy birthday Sally Hill!!

Grant/Amanda - The good news is that the Ukes launch was one of the highlights of my Long Service Leave. The bad news is that I have not yet received my CD. Glenn and Sue have their copy, but it is getting too cold for me to stand near the post box all day anymore.

Damio - Bad news - I just finished a great book (bad news because I have the 'I wish it didn't finish' feeling) - Good news - I want to send it to you if you haven't read it yet - 'King of the World (Muhummad Ali and the rise of an American hero)' by Pulitzer Prize winner David Remnick - It examines racial and political tensions of the time in the context of Ali, Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson's upbringings, and is set around the title fights involving these three boxers. I ended up hiring every Ali doco I could find so that I could watch the fights as I read about them. I feel lost now. Any suggestions for another classic sport read?

Happy Birthday Andrew Roff

Maisie's 4th birthday (and other Lismore business)

Lismore nutter society.

Jake's Long Service Leave routine - Sitting at Gloria Jeans, reading a book while I make Maisie watch my Music Video Clip on the mall computer banks every day.

Birthday girl with her oversized elephant.

Kelly made this Barbie Ice Cream cake out of two Blue Ribbon Neopolitans and half a barbie.

My entry into a Gloria Jeans promotion. I'll let you know if we win the espresso machine.

In other news, Xavier is visiting while Joe is on Brisbane Lifeline duty. The X-man is loving his tree-change. We are going to take him down to feed the two new calfs at the Ag plot (Maisie and Daisy).

I spent Saturday night at Harry and Vicky's place in Brissy. The Brumbies tore the Reds a new one, while I enjoyed the delights of a coorporate box with Rupert and his mates. Haz and Vic fought it out (in Brumbies Jerseys) with the lovely locals in Red down in the cheap seats.

I highly recommend a trip to Brissy to stay with Vic and Haz. They have a great pad, close to trains and they bring you bagels and coffee in the morning.

Uncle Ken 88!

Congrats Uncle Ken, 88 a couple of days ago. Give him a ring!

Round 11 Update

Great tipping Roffs. No one tipped worse than 6 (including the reluctant Dan). Alaine with the margins won the round. Did you know that Will Minson once dated Claudia Schiffer? Go Swans! Go LRT (not TLR).

Daniel's 30th

Hello Family,

I turn 30 this year and am planning on having a bit of a shindig on the 13th of August.

Since I am more of a "big picture men", I've simply nominated a date and a set of broad criteria and am leaving the finer details to some very helpful minions. The likely venue will be somewhere near Central Station in Sydney and it is likely to be a pub with a late closing time.

Bring yourself along if you can and feel free to pass this message on to others and, indeed, just bring other people (partners etc) along. Because, you know, sometimes you go to a party and say to yourself, "Well, I don't really know any body else and I'm only going to this party because I've heard the creator of "Wild Horse" will be there and I really want to discuss with him his top five fillings for sponge cakes, but what will I do if he is in fact the mono-syllabic fool I suspect him to be?" I say, bring other people along so that you feel comfortable given it is all about having a good time.

Cheers.

Very briefly on other topics: footy tipping in aussie rules is stupid and nonsensical; Vietnam is completely frustrating but absolutely brilliant - if it was a person you'd want to kiss it on the forehead and punch it in the stomach at the same time; and, Amanda, I'd like to buy a Ukeladies CD - I evidently didn't read (and, as a consequence, follow) the instructions on how to do that.