The forecast rain hadn’t arrived today.  Good news for those of us playing golf.  Not such good news for the Australian cricket team, who had folded  for just 85 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart against South Africa.  Australia’s lowest total since they rolled over for 60 at Trent Bridge last year.  Obviously an occurrence that gave me no pleasure and one which I avoided mentioning in the company of a group of sports mad Australian golfers.  To make things feel even more like home, along with the cold weather, we went for an Indian, which was very good, having bought bottles of beer in a Bottle Shop.

I’m trying to get my head around Australian licensing laws.  Most supermarkets and grocery stores don’t sell alcohol.  There are occasional specialist wine merchants or bottle shops (the expression bottle shop is equivalent to an Englishman’s off-licence) but most bottle shops appear to be extensions of bars or hotels.  I had read much about the Australian craft beer revolution but, one excellent beer in Sydney aside, I hadn’t seen much evidence.  On my way to the restaurant I passed a brewpub, where I stopped for a quick half, as I was running early.  The beer I had was excellent, a really hoppy IPA, described as an Aussie IPA.  It certainly had elements of the pacific IPAs I have tried before (mostly from New Zealand or brewed using New Zealand hops) but it wasn’t as tropical fruit-y, which was a good thing.  I’ve since learned that the Winston (the brewpub) is also supposed to do good food.  That’s where I’ll head this evening, I think.

Pictured at the top (my apologies, I forgot my camera so had to use my ‘phone) are most of the group.  My further apologies to Richard C, who I sat next to and who I appear to have managed to crop from the shot.  A really good evening with a really great and diverse bunch of blokes.

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