Another in a series of great nights out. We started out at a bar where the Poms whooped the Aussies at pool (2-0 - read it and weep!) and Pat was in exceptional form potting a couple of long ones en route. For tea we had 'ParmaGarna' which is basically a piece of chicken wrapped in ham, a tomato sauce, and covered in cheese. Just to finish the lard fest they then bung it on a bed of chips, to appease the girls they added some lettuce and the like. The gang had expanded to 7 and was soon to be 10 when we finally made it to an Irish Bar which was actually rather good. Interestingly, being the king of facial hair, Luke's friends also wore similar pogs - every one of them sporting a fetching beard of some description. Even the girls. Not really.

Anyhow we chatted and drank until the small hours, one of the most interesting thints we covered being 'Scavenger Hunt' which happens at Melbourne Uni every year and it is basically a big...Scavenger Hunt. What happens is that the previous years winners get to write a list of around 3-600 items for teams to collate in a 24 hour period. The teams are then awarded points based on the difficulty of the item. e.g. The most naked people up a tree photo - 500 points, a fire engine 1000 points, and a police car door 5000 points. Luke is captain of a team that has finished 2nd on a number of occasions...he didn't manage the police car door but did manage getting the boys in red to drive their engine around to the judging panel. He also onced changed his name by deed-poll to the name of his team (His name became 'I. I.' - I think that one was 1,000 points...). Why don't they have uni events like that back home...pure genious, pure carnage.

Feeling decidedly worse for wear in the morning (we didn't get to sleep til after 5am - rock and roll !!!!) we had a bit of a walk round Melbourne. It's much more cosmopolitan and multi-cultural than Sydney, and has loads of great little spots and excellent bars and cafes.

In the evening one event I had really been waiting for - AFL - the footy. Now it's not footy as we know it but 36 (18 on each team) rabid Aussies running around a cricket pitch trying to kick a rugby shaped ball through some posts - mayhem. Last's night game was played at the 50,000 all-seater Telstra Dome - and last night it was bursting at the seams with over 43,000 crammed in for the local derby between Richmond Tigers and North Mebourne Kangaroos - the 'home' team. The match itself took on a huge significance as the 'Roos' number 5 - Jason McCartney - was severely burnt in the Bali bombings and last night was his comeback match after 8 months out with horrific injuries. It was a truely moving spectacle as a number of teams who lost players were represented by fellow team-mates at the start of the match. Jason himself wore a shirt with 88/202 stitched onto it in remembrance of the 88 Aussies and 202 poeple that died last October, and received an exceptional ovation from both sets of fans at the start of the game, despite only being named on the subs bench. So the scene was set...on the walk to the ground I had secretly decided I would cheer for Richmond as they play in black and amber (Cambridge) and the Roos play in blue and white (Boro Scum) and it is against all my principles to cheer for anything in blue and white, hell I even boycotted Thomas Cook for 5 years when they sponsored Boro...BUT the Aussie guy I sat next to was a Roos season ticket holder and he was such a nice guy, explaining all the rules, and exchanging sporting anecdotes that I did the unthinkable...cheered for a team in blue and white. By the end of the 100 minutes play (spread over 4 quarters) I was as wrapped up as anyone...

It was a great match - Luke said we'd chosen a hell of a game to go to afterwards...and going into the final 1/4 the scene was set with the scores within 3 points. Then the moment the whole crowd (and to be honest me, being a bit of a sentimentalist, too) had been waiting for. With the Roos trailing by 3, McCartney, obviously struggling to keep pace with the game somehow managed to catch a ball (a mark) some 25 yards out and thus had the opportunity, with about 5 mins to go, of kicking a goal to put the Roos into the lead by 3. The whole crowd roared as he stepped up and cooly slotted the ball over. He was mobbed, fans hugged each other and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The drama clearly hadn't ended as the Tigers went straight up the other end and slotted a goal of their own. So, into the last 2 mins and the Roos attacking saw them in good field position, but without a clear opportunity until their number 5 somehow managed to get a scuffed kick away under pressure which was taken on the full by another forward for an easy goal and a 3 point victory. It was fitting that when the final siren sounded Jason McCartney has the ball in his hands and was then surrounded by not just his team-mates but the players from Richmond. All around us grown men were shedding tears, yet were exhalted, there was no doubt we had been a part of something that'll go down in Aussie sporting folk historty for decades to come. He was then hoisted shoulder-high and did an impromptu press conference where he announced his retirement, which was no real surprise as footy is a hell of a physical sport and he could only play with full compression suit and gloves. He has agreed to stay on with the club until the end of the season and has then got a role lined up in the media - good luck to him too. Having been a sports fan since my father first took me to football matches when I was 10 I have seen many memorable things both live and on telly...Cambridge at the Millennium (although we got hammered), the Eagles winning at Wembley, Goran winning Wimbledown etc etc...but this was possibly the most emotional sporting night I have ever witnessed - absolutely magical...we were so lucky to be a part of it. (Click HERE for offical webisite and aftermatch comments)

So, we said our goodbye's to Luke and Flic - you won't find 2 nicer people, and extended invites to England - hopefully one day they'll be able to take us up on the offer...if not I could always get a gang together and visit them for Scav Hunt!!! We're now in the campervan office and, after having a good look at the 2 1/2 berth van have decided to go for the 4 berth one instead so they're spending a couple of hours cleaning it for us. Not sure of our route yet but we'll be taking in most of the Great Ocean Road en route to Adelaide. We also want to get to Phillip and Kangaroo Islands and do a bit of whale-watching. We're disappointed to be leaving Melbourne so soon, it's a great city, really vibrant but very different to Sydney. Who knows, one day we may be back, I for one, hope so.