30 June 2010 - Jenny's Anniversary

Jo and I would like to thank everyone for last nights little ceremony under the Anzac Bridge as we finished our dragon boat training session. It was a complete surprise and we were very touched - in fact a little overwhelmed.

We also thank you for your support, words, cards and the beautiful necklace that was made for Jo, which she is wearing today.

Anniversaries are times to celebrate, reflect, and to reaffirm your values and goals. Today is a day we do this with Jenny in our thoughts and heart. She inspires and guides us from above.

Thanks again.

Love .. Geoff and Jo x-x

Jo - St George Private Hospital - Wed 30 Jun 2010 (picasa)

Anzac Bridge - Wed 30 Jun 2010 (picasa)

Jo, Jenny and Geoff - Flowers from PD's - St George Private Hospital - Wed 12 Mar 2008 (picasa)

Jenny and Geoff - Cape Leveque Sunset - Wed 09 May 2001 - (picasa)

Jo and Jenny - Chamiox - Sep 2005 - (picasa)

Jenny - Coffs Harbour Xmas 2006 - Mon 25 Dec 2006 (picasa)

St George Private Hospital ICU Waiting Area - 9:16am Wed 30 Jun 2010 - (picasa)

Jenny - Lord Howe Island/Mt Gower - Oct 2001 (picasa)

Favourite Photos: - Vernazza, Cinque Terre/Italy - Boats

This is another photo from our walk along the Cinque Terre, this time the boats in the Harbour of Vernazza, the fourth town heading into the Cinque Terre from the far town, Riomaggiore.

Just like the colour, composition and in particular the two small figures in the landscape - upper right and middle left.

Boats - Vernazza/Cinque Terre - 13 Aug 2005

Favourite Photos: Perisher Valley 2001 - Snow Gum

Red - Bloody Gum - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)
As mentioned before, we did spend a lot of time down in the Snowy Mountains. Our first winter trip was in June 2000 where we stayed at the Boonoona Ski Lodge. The Ski fields open for the season on the June Long Weekend and we were one of the first into the Lodge for the 2000 Winter. There was a fair bit of snow around and the Lodge Manager had told me about seeing the odd Snow Gum turn red during the cold winters. Was pleasantly surprised to stumble across one the next day as can seen above. The red colouring of the bark is the natural draw card to this photo, but for me I like the misty background and the complimenting lines of the branches of the tree in the background tree in the background - I really enjoy the central branch that spirals backwards from the tree.

When recently looking back through the photos from this trip I noticed the photo below where I am wearing a Red Jacket (even my chin, cheeks and nose were red from the cold) - a nice coincidence which I did not notice back then. Always fun looking back through old photos to see things you did not see back when they were taken.

Red - Geoff - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)
Another photo below, this time of the background tree in the photo above. I would return Summer and Winter for a number years to photograph both these trees. Ultimately, in Jan 2005 I would capture this one using my Shen Hao Large Format Camera (HZX45-IIA), which is yet another Favourite Photo for another day.

Gum Tree - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)

Favourite Photos: - Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre/Italy - Sun Bathing

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre/Italy - 12 Aug 2005 - (picasa)
Really love the colour, flow and bordering of this scene.

The Cinque Terre was Jenny's selected location for our Europe 2005 Journey after the IDBF World Dragon Championships in Berlin. She had heard about it from one of the members of her Cancer Support Group who had recently been there. We were staying in Levento, a headland to the west of the Cinque Terre. Decided the best way to do the 20km Walk from Riomaggiore to Monterosso al Mare was to catch a ferry from Levanto to the far town of Riomaggiore. Have many nice photos from this walk which took us all day - it was quite a challenge due to the hot weather. Definitely one of the highlights from that trip in 2005. Jenny, Joanne and David all went for a swim at various locations along the way.

The above photo was one of the first of my digital photos that I had printed professional (at about A3 size).

Jenny and Joanne - Blue - Cinque Terre - 12 Aug 2005 - (picasa)

Shanghai 2010 - Picasa Collage

Shanghai 2010 - Picasa Collage
(click on image to zoom in - selected available in picasa folder)

Favourite Photos: Shanghai/China 2010 - Expo 2010 Volunteer

Expo 2010 Volunteer - Green - Shanghai/China - Tue 05 May 2010 (picasa)
Like another Favourite Photo - The Bookends of Fowey (see below or click through here for more detail on these types of photos), I could not get my camera out quick enough to get this one. Just another really simple colour photo.

Just back from Australian Dragon Boat Nationals in Adelaide (4 days around Anzac Weekend) and Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Wujin (near Wuxi and Shanghai, a bit further east) from 30 April to 2 May 2010. We were fortunate enough to have a day at Expo 2010 (being held in Shanghai) during the opening week.

Bookends of Fowey - Blue - Fowey / Cornwall (UK) - 09 Sep 2009 (picasa)

The Warrior and the Good Fight

The warrior rarely knows the result of a battle when the battle is over.

The activity of fighting will have generated an enormous amount of energy around him and there is always a moment when victory and defeat are both equally possible. Time will tell who won and who lost, but he knows that, from that moment on, he can do nothing more: the fate of that battle lies in God's hands.

At such moments, the warrior of light is not concerned with results. He examines his heart and asks: 'Did I fight the Good Fight?' If the answer is 'yes', he can rest. If the answer is 'no', he takes up his sword and begins training all over again.

From the Manual of Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho - (more here).

'..Time will tell who won and who lost..' - Premier Open 200m Final - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)
Makes me think of 200m Dragon Boat Racing. At club level, it's all over in 45-46 seconds and at World Championship level, for the top countries (i.e. the Philippines and China), it is closer to 39-40 seconds. Always finish a 200m race not really knowing the result, though more often than not I always have a strong feeling we have done it.

The 200m is a great leveler where placing margins are in the 1/100's of a second. I enjoy the flurry of 200m racing where it is important to put all the training into action, and to not hesitate or make mistakes. There is no time to think, you just have to do what you have trained yourselves to do.

Somehow we have squirmed through the National Finals where we have competed - 2006 (Nagambie/Vic after a dramatic final rerun), 2007 (Sydney/NSW), 2008 (we did not go to Perth), 2009 (Kawana/Qld) and 2010 (Adelaide/SA).

Keep on paddling.