Essendon v. Richmond

It was an emotional evening at the MCG as over 88,000 people showed up to farewell two of the greats in Essendon football: James Hird and coach Kevin Sheedy. It was their last game in Melbourne and unfortunately the fairy tale ending just wasn't to be as Richmond played a far better match than we did and deserved the win. After the game Sheedy and Hird did a lap of honor around the grounds to thank everyone for their support. The entire crowd stood and clapped for them as they passed by and then the fireworks went off in the middle of the field (freaking out all the seagulls that had congregated there). Despite the result, I was really glad that Michelle and I were able to witness this historic event in person.


Final Score
Essendon: 13.14 (92)
Richmond: 17.17 (119)

Happy Birthday Rosemaree!

This evening Rosemaree, Fran and I gathered together to celebrate Rosemaree's birthday. I met them at Crooners on Lygon Street in East Brunswick. They had a wide selection of food on their menu, and we all had good sized meals. For dessert we headed back to my place as Rosemaree had brought along her own birthday cake- courtesy of someone at work. It was quite yummy especially with the added bonus of Lindt chocolate balls on the top. All in all it was a great night and nice to be able to catch up with them both.

Essendon v. Hawthorn

Michelle and I joined Tash and her family and friends at the MCG this afternoon for the rematch between Essendon and Hawthorn. Just like last time we lost the game- this time by 63 points. It was a horrible and disappointing game full of errors and lackluster play by the Bombers. Our hopes of making the finals are pretty much shot and now all that's left in the season is to send off coach Kevin Sheedy and James Hird with some sense of dignity.

Final Score
Essendon: 7.14 (56)
Hawthorn: 17.17 (119)

Get DEECD

Well, not only do we have two new ministers, but our department has a new name. We are now the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). Thank God we never updated the stationary when we changed our name eight months ago! The new Premier John Brumby announced today that the Office of Children in the Department of Human Services will now sit in the Department of Education. While the decision makes perfect sense it will be interesting to see how this affects our restructure, which just went into effect in May. Now all we need to do is decide how to pronounce our new acronym.