The Knights lost the grand final by a point a couple of weeks ago! Sue and Duncan had been using our tickets quite regularly in the back half of the season as my neck pain, as well as tremors, made it extremely uncomfortable to commit a couple of hours to the football. The poor things often got rained on in terrible conditions, but they persevered and got mixed rewards in terms of the team's success. The Knights just scraped into the top 8 to play finals, but the were given very little chance of progressing past the first week.
No-one seemed to have told the Knights! They just kept on winning against the odds, not only victors, but giant killing victors, including a rampaging South with a full complement of stars, the flawless minor premiers Warriors in a sold out and hostile Eden Park and then the might of the Panthers (4 times premiers in the last 5 years). It was harder to believe as each weekend passed and the Knights were still marching on! It had a real energy around it and the team seemed to electrify the whole town, much like the feeling around their first grand final in 1997. Bunting and signs bloomed anew aftr each week's heroics, houses were painted red and blue, and tickets for their upcoming matches sold out in minutes. It was a truly amazing time and although finally outclassed by an experienced, star-studded Roosters outfit, they still nearly stole the show in the last few minutes. Sue and Duncan went to live sites and open training sessions during this period, but despite their best efforts couldn't secure tickets for the grand final, although they did travel to the early semis. So, we lived vicariously for the past month or so through them and the palpable excitement in the town!
Cass and Valerie had a superb trip to Darwin and Adelaide, their mode of transport between the two cities, the world famous Ghan train. They filled their days with various "off train" excursions, including getting up close and personal with frightening numbers of crocodiles and visiting various famous national parks like Kakadu, as well as taking scenic flights over the rarely swollen waters of Lake Eire. Cass has made many trips to Adelaide over the past few years, so she used her local knowledge to book them in for some delicious cuisine, a highlight being La Buvette.
While they were travelling I spent some of that time being admitted to private hospital in Sydney yet again, in the hope that Dr. S could adjust my settings to alleviate some of my ongoing symptoms. That had no effect whatsoever, so that was a torture I didn't really need! "Torture" is an exaggeration: I was fed 3 times a day with rather pleasant meals and had a comfortable room. I just get very annoyed at the freezing temperatures, the constant beeping and alarms all night as well as the checks of my "vital signs" at all hours of the day and night!
Anyway, nothing on the medical front has changed, my day-to-day routine is fairly mild and repetitive (see previous post) and Cass has to find alternative arrangements to accompany her to the cinema, concerts, restaurants etc. Hopefully, I'll get some better news soon!