Merry Christmas

The team at Lazyshark would like to wish all our members and business partners a Happy Christmas. Whether you are spending it basking in the glorious sunshine on a beach in Australia, hiking up a mountain in New Zealand, or huddled round a roaring fire in snowy England we hope you have a day packed full of festive cheer.

Celebrating New Years Eve

With New Years fast approaching the team at Lazyshark have taken a nostalgic trip down memory lane to recall a few of their classic (both good and bad) New Years Eve celebrations:-

1. Sydney, Australia - One of the world's best New Year street parties is meant to take place in Sydney, so it was with great disappointment that I discovered that I was rotared to be working....until midnight! Naturally no-one would swap with me, and so my New Year in Sydney was spent working in a packed A&E unit; then cheering the New Year in with the various drunks in the waiting room before dashing down to the beach to catch the end of the night. Apparently the fireworks that year were legendary!

2. France - Millenium in rural France staying in a friends parents idyllic country farm property. Massive meal followed by a walk to the nearest town where we met a load of locals and ended up partying the night away back at the cottage. Entente Cordiale!

3. Glasgow - Spent a New Years Eve here during my student days. Pub crawl in central Glasgow followed by the Tunnel club until the wee early hours. Remember having to walk about one and a half hours home at 5am - no joy flagging any cabs down... Then crashing at a friends flat - 12 people squashed into a tiny space. Found a spot in the airing cupboard floor!!

4. Trafalgar Square, London - Saw the New Year in at one of London's iconic landmarks some 15 years ago now. Sadly was a bit of a damp squib as it was before the days of fireworks and other organised visual celebrations. Just remember being herded into the packed square, freezing cold with no drink to toast the moment. Then no-one really knew when midnight came so there ended up being loads of sporadic mini celebrations across the square. Not one of the greatest places for seeing in the New Year but it was a great party before and after 12 midnight!!

5. Mendoza, Argentina - One of the most unusual, but beautiful New Year celebrations I have enjoyed was spent in the Argentinean wine growing region of Mendoza. We hired bicycles and cycled around the various Estancias on New Year's Eve to 'select our favourite wine', enjoying the experience so much we forgot which was our favourite and had to go back for seconds! New Years Day was spent eating large amounts of beef at the famous Argentinean 'Parillas' - the best barbeque I have ever tasted, all washed down with lashings of the local Malbec...

Mr and Mrs Smith go down under

Reading the papers at the weekend there was an article about Mr and Mrs Smith venturing into the Australia and New Zealand market. I am a member of this boutique hotel club and have stayed in a couple of their recommended hotels - Fawsley Hall and The Miller of Mansfield whilst on UK breaks and always been very impressed.

Although the majority of their listed accommodation is on the more expensive end and out of the financial reach of most backpackers (unless you win the pools or lotto whilst on your travels down under!!) they have introduced a small section on budget Australian boutique hotels.

I know that staying in dorms night after night on a long backpacking trip can sometimes get a bit taxing and you often long for just one night of private time with a little bit of luxury to recharge the batteries. If you have a few spare dollars to splash out on something that little bit more special then I can recommend you check out Mr and Mrs Smith. Enjoy!

Brighton Santa Dash '09

Where do you find 2,000 Santas at 10.30 on Saturday morning?

Yes, the 2009 Brighton Santa Dash took place last weekend along Brighton/Hove seafront. Much to the bemusement of the onlookers, we completed a 5 kms course dressed from head to toe as St. Nick himself.

Managed to wear the beard for a full 1 km before it became so tickly that it had to be jettisoned!
More than mince pies, Mariah Carey or Christmas markets, if you really want to experience the festive spirit there is nothing more guaranteed to get you ready for Christmas than a Santa Dash - heartily recommend.

Sports Personality of the Year 2009

The voting public delivered a shock result last night - Ryan Giggs, Sports Personality of the Year 2009. In fact Giggs himself was visibly shaken at his unexpected win to the point he had obviously not planned any kind of acceptance speech.

I myself voted for Jessica Ennis but fully expected Jensen Button to walk away with the main prize. But back to the main man himself. What can you say about Giggsy... The most decorated in English football history - 11 Premier League titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 4 FA Cups. Still going strong at the veteran age of 36. For an outfield player to be playing at any kind of professional level let alone for one of the best sides in the world (and what's more as a member of their starting eleven) is unique. On top of which he, alongside Rooney, has been United's best player for the last couple of seasons. Still at Old Trafford when he celebrates his 40th birthday..? Unlikely, but it looks like he still has a few more seasons in him.

As an ardent Arsenal supporter the Giggs wonder goal in the 1999 FA Cup semi final against Manchester United at Villa Park still haunts me but I am nevertherless big enough to salute a deserving winner of the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year 2009 in Ryan Giggs. A true legend of the game - just wish he had been wearing the red of Arsenal and not Manchester United for the last 20 years..!!

The race for Gold at London 2012

As a passionate sports fan I can't wait for the London 2012 Olympics to start. Team GB won their best ever medal haul for 100 years at the Beijing games with 47 in total - 19 Gold, 13 Silver and 15 Bronze. This won us 5th place in the overall medals table - one place ahead of Australia who won one less medal in total and one less gold over the course of the games. After being embarrassed by the Aussies at the last 5 or 6 Olympics this was a rather sweet moment. It even riled them into claiming us Brits could only win medals when we were sitting down! You know you have got under the skins of the Aussies when they have to resort to such stinging banter... it is their way of giving a backhanded compliment!

So it is with regret I read that the Australian government, following a report on sports funding, are redirecting monies away from the Olympic sports such as taekwondo, archery and water polo to more mainstream non Olympic sports like Aussie rules, cricket and surfing.

This has caused more than a few ripples of discontent amongst the Australians who have a passion for sport like no other nation. Personally I am sad that the Aussies are getting in their excuses early about them having to compete on an uneven playing field. When we out medal them at London 2012 I don't want it to because of funding!

Happy 80th Birthday to The Ghan

2009 marks the 80th anniversary for the legendary Ghan - named after the Afghan camel drivers who opened up Australia's interior. On the 4th August 1929, The Ghan departed Adelaide for its inaugural journey bound for Alice Springs. However it was only as recently as 2004 that the line was finally extended to Darwin; due to multiple problems with money, aborginal land right issues (famously recounted in the Bruce Chatwin book 'The Songlines'), and flooding.

Today The Ghan operates a luxury service between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin. The classic rail journey takes 48 hours and covers 2,979 kms, taking you through the heart of Australia, crossing deserts and the rusty reds of the McDonnell ranges heading northwards to Katherine and tropical Darwin.

Sadly journeying on the Ghan across the middle of the Australian outback is an experience I have not yet enjoyed. I have heard from friends who have done it that it is simply breathtaking. For info on fares and the journey check out Australia's Great Train Journeys.

Boring Boring England

So the tedious autumn rugby internationals have come to an end for England with 2 losses against Australia and New Zealand and 1 hard fought win against Argentina. A good return for Martin Johnson and his team? The way he was talking up England's performance in his NZ post match interview you would have thought so.

However returns of one try in over 240 minutes of rugby is poor. Plus it makes England dull and boring to watch. With the RFU now charging between £70-£85 for a match day ticket, car parking fees of up to £30, £5 match day programmes, £7.50 for a burger with cheese, £4 for a pint etc...the costs to watch England play rugby at Twickenham are astronomical. Maybe if we were playing free flowing edge of the seat rugby that was a pleasure to watch I would still entertain the thought of parting with this sort of cash but not to watch 80 minutes of England playing ping pong kick ball with the opposition.

On the bright side if England continue to play such soporific rugby then fans will vote with their feet and refuse to pay sky high ticket prices. Then the RFU will be forced to lower their prices. I am a mad rugby fan and I long for the day that England once again entertain the capacity Twickenham crowd with some quality champagne running rugby. I'll be the first in the queue to buy my ticket when this day arrives and I might even buy an overpriced £7.50 burger with cheese!