Sunday & Monday, July 11 & 12 2010 (diary, sport)

Sybil and I played together in three bridge sessions this week and had two resounding wins (against 15 and 18 pairs) on Tuesday night and Thursday afternoon. We are both pleased with our effort.
The Arafura Bridge Club has organised a Sunday lunch at the Trailer Boat Club on Fannie Bay (right next to the Darwin Sailing Club) and about 40 of us showed up for a pleasant afternoon on the beach.

Sunday night I stay up late to watch the first Stage in the Alps. The Australian (and this year's World Road Champion) Cadel Evans, despite a nasty fall earlier in the race, stays right up with the leading group on the final climb of the day and gains the yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong (6 time winner of the Tour) has had bad luck with two falls today, mechanical troubles in an earlier stage and is now out of contention for the rest of the Tour.

My alarm wakes me up at 4AM Monday morning to watch the World Cup finale between Spain and the Netherlands. The Spanish play beautiful football but the Dutch are fighting back tenaciously. After 90 minutes of play the score is still 0-0, but near the very end of the 30 minutes extension, and shortly after a Dutch player has been sent off, Spain finally manages to get the winning goal : 1-0.
A fair win (Spain's first ever World Cup), but I feel mighty proud of the Dutch team, they gave it their all. The home town of the Dutch coach (van Malwijk) have fully carpeted their town square with orange carpet to celebrate his return home.

Tuesday - Thursday, July 13 - 15 2010 (diary)

When I do my daily exercise walk around the farm each morning I am accompanied by the constant buzz of bees and other insects overhead, feasting on the abundant mango trees bloom all around. It promises a good harvest this year but for the unusually lively wind this week which is blowing quite a bit of the bloom off the trees prematurely. So we shall see.
I have been busy with bridge this week, playing on Monday (Mairead is back), Tuesday and even two sessions on Thursday, while on Wednesday evening I gave another bridge lesson to my enthusiastic group of four.

I had my dental checkup and 6 monthly plaque cleaning last Wednesday but have to go back next Tuesday for a new filling. Most of my meeting arrangements with friends in Holland in August have fallen into place like a jigsaw puzzle. I have even some slack at the end of that month for any unforeseen invitations. The whole month September I shall spend in the Black Forest which will be great.