Australia 2025

Day 8 - Mandurah

Today we hit the hotels gym which was the first time I had been in a one for about 6 years i.e. pre-pandemic.

One of the items on my list was to replace the laces in my walking boots which caused quite a problem as there weren't many outdoor shops in Perth as there are in the average UK town. Anyway, job done, We walked around the main high street to find the Salvation Army playing Christmas carols in the 30+ degrees heat. Weird or what?

After this, we met Brian by Elizabeth Quay and caught the train to Mandurah - a yachting resort west of Perth. It's a very clean place and obviously full of boats. It's also supposed to be Justin Langer's ( an Aussie batsman of years ago) favourite place.

Wer had to catch the 588 bus to the centre and having had some refreshment, we wandered over to the excellent war memorial and watched the dolphins playing in the brackish water nearby. I've not seen dolphins in the wild very often so you do take a moment. After that, we found a cafe by the marina to sit a while.

We caught the 588 bus back to the train station and all- told, 50 minutes later we were back in the hotel.

Being with 2 Yorkies is a laugh but it does take a while to get to grips with their culture. Brian, an ex-education consultant, doesn't listen that well to people, but does have massive experience.

But most of the time it's cock-swinging - have you been here, have you been there, I've been here sort of thing. Both of these people have travelled extensively so both swap stories of Barbados, South Africa or Sri Lanka. Isn't cricket played in some marvellous places? It's one thing I'm grateful for the legacy of the British Empire. Apart form teaching the Aussies to play of course.

Another of their daily topics is the fate of Leeds United. As a former Chelsea fan from the 1960-70's, I hated Leeds especially in the Revie era. They played the most clinical football I ever saw and I could never forget seeing Norman Hunter kick our beloved Trevor Francis around St. Andrews one Saturday afternoon when Blues were a decent side in the First Division back in the 1970's.

Anyway, that out of the way, we decided that a trip to try out the Vietnamese restaurant was in order (the Saigon - original name if ever there was one) and the food and the price was a nice change. We then went onto Perth's most pretentious bar - The Petition Beer Corner - in the old law offices. Full of over-paid and loud executive types and their hangers-on, it's about as up it's own arse as it get in Perth and the beer was expensive and poor. The Yorkies loved it, even at £8 a "schooner". Shocking double standards for this lot.