Easter Monday this year falls on the 25th of April which is one of the most loved Australian holidays, Anzac Day.
Anzac Day commemorates the soldiers of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps who died in the attempt to capture the today named Anzac Cove (Gallipoli Peninsula,Turkey) from the Turkish troops during the second world war.
It’s a very emotional day in the whole country, all the military forces from all the wars are gathering together, participating to marches in cities and towns everywhere, on every tv channel some historical documents show the sad outcome of the said attempt, kids eat Anzac Day bikkies, adults shed a tear thinking about the young ones who lost their lives in the battle fields and then they join friends and family at the local Pub or RSL for a beer and a game of “Two Up”, the only day of the year in which this is permitted by the Australian law.
“Two up” is a gambling game in which a person stands in the centre of a circle of people holding 2 coins in his hand and prior to him tossing them in the air, people gamble with each other whether it will be a head or a tail. But it’s called “Two up” because a person can only gamble either 2 heads or 2 tails.
I’ve seen my first “Two up” at an RSL in Sydney a couple of years ago and I was shocked at the amount of money I’ve seen gained and lost in literally less than a minute!
You can bet just about anything, but you always have to find someone who’s taking that bet.
If you bet 100$ on heads, you have to find someone who agrees on betting 100$ on tails.
I have personally never gambled at “Two up”, but I think the atmosphere is overall very exciting and everyone must have a good time, even the losers (also because they probably won’t lose for long since there’s always a 50% chance of getting it right).
In case the coins draw head and tail the designated person will flip them again... and again and again until there will be either 2 heads or 2 tails.
As I said the moral significance of this day is very strong and during the commemorative ceremonies you never fail to see tears in the faces of the mourners.
And it seems that the weather is going along with it too, since I have yet to see a dry Anzac Day!
Today is no exception.
Rain, rain, rain.
What do you do in a rainy day along the coast between Wollongong and Berry?
You go wine tasting!
That’s how we ended up visiting a couple of wineries and buying a couple (or more) of bottles.
5 reds, 3 whites, 2 Macadamia liqueurs and 1 Chocolate Port!
It’s always nice to go wine tasting, you strike conversation with the owners who become, for the duration of the whole thing, your best friends, advising you on what your taste buds will appreciate most and serving very generous samples in your glass, that only one in a while you will then feel like filling with plain good old water just for the sake of not looking like an alkie in front of the other customers.
Yes, I’m tipsy, Steve is not, obviously, he’s driving.
We drive back to Kiama, hoping for a break in the rain so that we will be able to try a couple of photos at the blowhole, but it doesn’t seem to be meant to be, rain, rain, rain.
Steve drives me to a place that holds some nice memories for him.
I’ll let him talk about it.
Geroa was a small coastal town, just south of Kiama that I spent many weekends as a kid. We managed to stay at the same holiday house, opposite the beach for a mere $5 per night.
That sounds cheap now but even 25 years ago when I last visited, that was still inexpensive.
According to the road sign, the population is 497. That is amazingly precise considering the comings and goings that would constantly occur. That road sign could have also been there for many years. Anyway judging by how full the carpark was at the local pub, I would suggest that all of those 497 would have been in there.
We’re now at the Kiama Inn Hotel drinking a beer and a coke for Silvia (too much wine) and watching St George playing against the Roosters.
A few words about St George.
St. George are a rugby league team (mostly disliked for their dull style of play) that participate in a competition that is played along the eastern seaboard of Australia and also New Zealand. Rugby league is similar to rugby union only more free flowing, with less stoppages and thus in my personal opinion a far more entertaining sport to watch. St. George are based in a region of southern sydney that includes the Wollongong area, just south of Sydney, while The Roosters are based around the Eastern suburbs of Sydney incorporating Bondi. Each year these 2 teams compete in a traditional Anzac Day match.
All this said...off course St George won again....
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