Oz Everywhere!

Incredibly, just about everywhere I went, a little piece of Australia popped up in front of me.

I left home on my bike not long after 6 a.m. to head out on an errand before having a regular, quarterly hospital check-up.

I left the route up to my Wahoo Elemnt BOLT device, and next thing I knew, I was riding up a hill in Hachiojji where I could see eucalyptus trees. I had been looking up news about them only recently, so stopped off, took some photos and headed to the hospital.

The doctor visit went well. He is very supportive and understanding. But I didn’t need to receive help today, and was delighted to receive blood test results that show I am physically fitter now than at any other time in my life!

Getting home, I was surprised to hear from the delivery company. With my pay severely slashed, all frivolous spending has gotta go out the back door, so I had no idea what I’d done…or, thought I had. Fortunately, I hadn’t spent anything: it was a gift of an absolutely spectacular Christmas wreath, crafted by the astounding Alex Endo. It is just exquisite, made of gum leaves and dried flowers and now adorning our front door.

Last year, we also received a wreath. Following the festive season, we brought it inside where it became a favorite of the dinosaur. This year’s wreath is at least double the size, so she’ll have something to look forward to.

The Aussie didn’t end there, though. A quick shower and change and it was off to Komazawa Park for the day’s planned Australian event, the Japan AFL Grand Final of Australian Rules football.

Blessed with a balmy 17 degrees and sunny winter skies, the day was a fantastic one and the match itself a ripper as the Tokyo Goannas held off the valiant Senshu Powers, winning by 9 points. The Goannas have a majority of ex-pat Australian players and the innate skills bore out against the kids making up the Powers, a team comprised of university players, who only started playing in adulthood. All in all, it was a much more enjoyable match than Mrs. Kangaeroo and I had been expecting, and it proved to be a fun day. Being able to watch after getting stuck into some decent tucker, including a pretty tasty lamington, was the, well, icing on the cake?

Things weren’t to finish there, though.

We got on the Keio Line train to head home and I noticed something about the baseball cap being worn by the kid sitting opposite me. A quick Google search confirmed my suspicions: it was a West Coast Eagles cap. And then the kid confirmed it when he turned his head and I could read the club logo on his headgear. This is the first time I’d ever seen a member of the Japanese general public wearing Aussie Rules paraphernalia, so it was a bit of a thrill, especially in light of what had been happening throughout the day.

Finally, I got one last taste of Aus. Tomorrow I have to spend the day working for the community, so wanted to get a blog post done tonight. But the connection was as poor as anything that Aus famously fails to deliver, so I could use none of the really decent photos I got during the day.

Gallery of the Japan AFL Grand Final

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