Wotcha Cronulla! Some of you may not have heard from me in a while (I can hear the collective sighs from London!) so I thought I’d take up Madam Hon. Secretary’s offer of providing a report from ol’ blighty where I’m currently holed up. (edit – yes, this article has been published in the Cronulla Capers!)
To sum things up, since leaving the World Team in Hamburg, I’ve managed to stay alive, even without the help of Kevin and Sandra bailing me out of foreign hospitals. I’m dead set having a blast over here; from Oktoberfest to Hogmanay, no festival has been too outrageous, no cathedral too sacred, I’ve been doing my best to prop up the British economy by pumping £1,000s into the struggling pubs, and while on the tube today, I read in the paper that the bulls are running scared and talking industrial action after they heard I’d booked a flight to Pamplona.
But in all seriousness, things are going sensational. My job is going well, as the Web Manager working on a project called National Family Week. And as previously reported, in order to burn the beers off, I picked up an oar and joined the Putney Town Rowing Club pretty much as soon as I landed, and that has turned out to be an excellent move. Not only is it a great social club (like Cronulla) but we landed a sweet deal signing a new coach a few months ago – Andy Holmes, who is a double Olympic Gold Medalist in the rowing for Great Britain (with Steve Redgrave in ’84 and ’88). To put that in perspective, it’s a bit like the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ coming to coach the boat section at Cronulla surf club.
Anyhow, we have been training like demons in preparation for the summer regatta season, having just finished off the winter head races. I made it into the top men’s 8 boat crew for the biggest race a few weeks ago – the Head of the River from Mortlake to Putney on the Thames. It was an unforgettable atmosphere, and a week later we had the spectacle of The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge. Great to watch!
Last weekend for Easter, my plans to visit Wales were scuttled at the last moment, so I jumped on my trusty bike and cycled around the Cotwolds region – 250km in 2 days, a brilliant effort I thought. Rode all that way and then got a flat 2km from home. And in two days time I’m heading to Bercelona for a week for the PTRC’s annual ‘training camp’. 6 solid days rowing and coaching, followed by an enormous pissup at the end. Quite simply I have never been fitter in my life, and I’m loving it!
So what else have I been up to? Well apart from tripping all over England and Scotland, I’ve been (back to) Germany, and visited Austria, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, France and in two days time I can add Spain to that list. Plenty more left to do so don’t expect me home any time soon. And why would I come home? The airfares in Europe are ridiculous – the train from London tothe airport costs more than the flight to Sweden does, and I can’t get enough of travelling, I’ve definitely caught the bug.
But please know that I do miss you all back home (seriously, I have had some massive homesickness at times). Life away from the best beach in the world takes some getting used to – I haven’t been for a swim in a pool, let-alone been near the ocean – for months now. But that’s all gonna change with the summer which is rapidly approaching. The seasons are remarkable over here – only two months ago, I was literally watching icicles forming on my oar as I rowed, wearing four layers of kit. Now, I’m back to thongs and wifebeater. Typical Aussie, and much to the amusement of my rowing mates, it took until the temperature dipped to -7 before I actually caved and went to buy a pair of long tights to row in.
Well I shouldn’t waffle on too much longer. I continue to spread the good word of Cronulla SLSC as your honorary officer overseas. Thanks to those back home who continue to keep me in the loop about the goings on at the club – it’s still think it’s amazing how I am on the other side of the world, yet I often find out the gossip days and weeks before even my Dad or some of the boaties!
I’ll be thinking of you as I’m lying in the sun on the beach at San Sebastian, enjoying 10pm sunsets, getting my tan back and sipping on icy cold German bier. I’ll be hoping that the weather hasn’t gone to shite for you all back in Oz. Remember – as you all huddle on the Monro Room balcony of a Friday night, fighting for the last spot in the sun that tries desperately to peek through the overcast sky – to be thankful, for at least in Cronulla there is probably a good chance of some shelter from the howling southerly as it settles in each arvo.
And one day, when the weather warms up again, just maybe I’ll come home…
Yours faithfully,
MATTHEW BRUCE
Foreign Correspondent | Cronulla SLSC
