A Manly Weekend

For last Christmas we did a 'Kir Kringle' (Secret Santa) - for which Wayne gave me a couple of laps as a passenger in a V8 racing car; Denise gave Pete the same thing. So on Saturday afternoon we all went to the Sydney Motor Sport Park at Eastern Creek. 

" I dunno, I just get pushed around in this buggy all day"

Thousands of people cram in to the grandstands for a glimpse of the action

 "Cut the crap and just gimme the food Grandpa"

"Hello, police? Yes, the guy in the blue jumper and grey hat. He's sitting next to me right now"

By the time it was our turn it was virtually dark, which meant it was "terrifying" as opposed to "slightly terrifying". 'John', my professional driver, had already done 100 laps that day so thankfully he knew where the track went. This was especially fortunate as we reached 240kph (about 150 mph) on the main straight, then dropped down to about 90mph for a tight left hand bend. It was exhilarating. Given the long wait at the track, my driver gave me an extra lap too.

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On Sunday afternoon we went to Wharf Bar in Manly for some birthday drinks (for Chris, Angelique's boyfriend). It's a bit of an epic trip on the ferries, but we got some great views of the Harbour on the way home as it is the annual 'Vivid' Festival in Sydney, which basically involves a lot of lights.