Rozelle

I used to live at the far eastern end of the Balmain peninsula - by the water, over looking the harbour; our new place in Rozelle is at the other end of Balmain - at its western edge. Whilst we don't have the ridiculous views of the Bridge from the lounge,  we do have a backyard and a shed (I knocked up some bbq lamb this evening for dinner.... by which I really mean Gill required me to grill some lamb, gave me the instructions and I put them on the bbq for 5 minutes). It's perfect, and in a great spot.

On the corner of our street and Darling St - the main road that runs through Rozelle and Balmain - is a 'hole in the wall' cafe. Serge runs the place, and makes me my long black every morning before school. He's a bit of a dude. At the other end of our road is the Three Weeds, and I have to apologise for having previously exaggerated the walk to this; it's one of the top pubs in Sydney according to any survey you're likely to see. I said it was around two minutes. It's actually about 55 seconds (110 paces). I've counted them. They serve "Three Sheets", an excellent pale ale made by the Lord Nelson Brewery in the Rocks, so it's worth the visit for that alone. We went there for lunch at the weekend when Wayne and Denise came over (Denise cleaned the yard and Wayne put up the blinds; I probably could have done the sweeping, but the DIY bit would've been way beyond me... thankfully I can still use the classic defence of "I don't have the tools" rather than "I'm totally incompetent", but I think everyone knows the truth).  

Gill and I walked through Rozelle to west Balmain on Sunday; it's all organic food shops, organic cafes, organic real estate agents, organic dry cleaners, organic and vintage clothing, organic vintage furniture shops.... basically everything is organic, vintage, or both. It's ridiculous. And without a small dog or a small child I feel out of place. I do have a flat cap though, which means I can blend in; t probably counts as vintage, but probably not organic. We checked out the weekly Rozelle Markets too, which sell everything from kitsch ornament, and vintage clothes and classic books, to rubbish that should have found its way to landfill 20 years ago and has presumbly been unearthed from the loft of a recently deceased relative of a stallholder. In Australia it means it's an 'antique'.

The rugby season is over - last game at the weekend. We didn't manage to win, but it was a great occasion. I've really enjoyed the season; I've had a fantastic group of boys to work with, a supportive and dedicated group of parents, and I've worked alongside an experienced coach from whom I've learnt a great deal. Whilst I will enjoy my lie-ins on Saturday mornings, I will miss my morning rugby games for the next six months.

Half time team talk: fortunately I'm not standing up here so it doesn't show that all the boys are taller than me. They're 14.

The itinerary for my September trip is coming together: I'm only in England for 10 days, and will be spending most of that time with family, with a few days in London at the end. There will be a 'family friendly' lunch in London on Saturday 1st October (location tba), a dinner on the evening of Monday 2nd October for anyone who wishes to come along (let me know, venue tba) and drinks in Greenwich on Tuesday 3rd.