January 21st...homage to an M&M



Dee Why Pools 6.05am

I don't know why I'm paying homage to an M&M...

Apologies for the lack of communication last week; an old family friend passed away and I didn’t want to bum you all out to! In a strange twist of universal fate or irony, on the same day I found out about Mark, I got photography booking for a Christening, which I did on Sunday.

Rosemarie and Andre had their three children Sofia, Matteo and Luca christened at St Mary’s Church in Concord yesterday, followed by lunch at Frattini’s in Leichhardt. Firstly, thank you to Heidi for the recommendation and secondly, eat at Frattini’s on Marion Street. It’s a proper family owned and run Italian restaurant (mama in the kitchen, papa and sons waiting and everything else) with fantastic food and a lot of it, at great prices.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever been offered more food in my life, I felt really rude having to turn down the enormous plate of fresh prawns after the bruschetta, the spinach and ricotta dumplings in gorgonzola sauce and then the king prawns in a cream and peppercorn sauce served with steamed vegetables and bread. I’m just glad we didn’t stick around for cake. Well, maybe just a sliver….it looked like good cake.

Warming up for a swim. 

This dude was very chatty for so early in the morning. If memory serves me correctly, I think he said something about being paid for having his photograph taken....I'll write him a cheque. 



Rushing

Most importantly, the pictures have come out really well, mostly thanks to the latest edition to the family, my new Nikon D7000. I mention this mainly because those of you who will be spending any time with me will now be subjected to meeting ‘The 7000’ and may be required to feign interest to entertain the geek in me.
 

Stretch and Twist



So with a new camera in my bag and a yoga teacher training course to get stuck into, my year is shaping up pretty good so far…Start Shameless Plug: Have you got any friends or camily getting married this year? Why not recommend ImagesbySophie? End Shameless Plug.



Couples Swim. No Heavy Petting.

Is it an English thing with the signs at swimming pools that say 'No Heavy Petting' Can someone please explain what that actually means. Maybe not as a comment if its a bit rude, answers on a postcard please. Apologies if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

My back is a bit buggered at the moment so I can’t run in the mornings for a week or so, which means I’ll be getting out and about to some new beaches. Here’s a challenge, I’ll let you know where I’ll be and when on Facebook, so why not come on down to say hello!? 


Dee Why Panorama

Let’s see who turns up…
 

January 11th...cleansing

I'm posting this as a form of exorcism of my previous post.

This is a crazy storm we drove past in Queensland.

January 4th...Hello Sports Fans!



The Face of the Barmy Army



Firstly, I must apologise.

Those of you who know me, will know I am not the most avid cricket/sports fan...however on January 4th, I sucked it up and went to the second day of the Sydney test. I should probably admit I did try and get out of it...but apparently there weren't many Aussies around who really wanted to pay to go and see Australia get spanked by the English. Again.

So off to the cricket I went...(Vogue Magazine went with me), and although the cricket itself wasn't all that stimulating, the crowd was awesome. We were sat right next to the Barmy Army so by the end of the day had pretty much all their songs down pat, and stuck in my head for the next 3 days. A couple of my favourites being:



Live Commentary all the way!



"He bowls to the left

He bowls to the right

That Mitchell Johnson

His bowling is shite!"

and....

"With Strauss our Captain,

We'll take the Urn home"

Done

For more information, please visit www.barmyarmy.com (yes, its a real website!)

Some interesting facts I've just learnt about the Barmy Army...because education shouldn't be limited to the classroom. Facts and pretty pictures... cool huh?! 
 









The Barmy Army is apparently a limited company (Wikipedia), not just a bunch of crazed cricket fanatics. They claim they want to "make watching cricket more fun and much more popular". The group uses flags, banners, songs and chants to encourage the team and crowd participation in their activities. In contrast to the reputations of some sports fans for hooliganism, the Barmy Army organises actively discourages unsavoury behaviour engages in charity work.

   Although I did take a lot of photos of the cricket, I didn't really understand what was going on, so these are more crowd based. Check this guy out...class all the way!


Definition

Right arm, impressive muscle definition. That's all I'm saying.

There's always one....

Looking across to the Members Pavilion. I wouldn't have liked to have sat next to this guy.   

Catch?





You're gonna have to try a little harder buddy.




 

Photographing the Photographer






At least there was one Aussie smiling...



Young Sports Fan





















Is this not the cutest little kid you've ever seen?!


Head in the sand



Uh...dude...? Either this guy has a serious flatulence issue or is an Aussie cricket fan who just couldn't watch anymore....



The Lone Spectator

 















A bit of black and white just to mix things up a little.



Ready and waiting. Some cricketers, crouching or something.

 

In my humble opinion, I think Strauss should have kept Collingwood at gully, and Bell should have moved to a slightly more orthodox, silly, mid-off position. I also found it interesting (and slightly predictable) when Strauss took out square leg and put in a third man because he kept playing lucky, swiping shots.

Ok, so admittedly, I had to get my brother to text me that during the game in an attempt to look like I knew what was going on. So thanks Chris. Sadly, it backfired as I then got asked what square leg meant.

It's square of the batters leg, apparently. Whatever that means.

It took me ages to get the Swan reference. Seriously. I should not be doing this...

As I write this, I'm starting to realise how ridiculous this situation is. What the hell am I doing photographing and writing about cricket, or even sports in general??!

I think I can safely say, it won't happen again. 



Some people will do anything to get on TV

In closing, the highlight of the day; celebrity guest appearance by Danger Mouse.