Our arrival at Caloundra

Dear readers


Where is Caloundra? It is in the Sunshine Coast. It is 1 hr north of Brisbane.

So what has happened since we left Perth?

Here are some photos of the going away party.

Parents waiting for check in

The Leonards family

Xiang and his family

This is Xiang's first trip away from his family. He is excited.

The Leonards

I was just told , this is the first time Sophie and mum are separated from dad. What a great family. I also missed Tiana and Ben who were at the airport earlier.

The Gudkas

This is Heer's 2nd trip away from his  family. He is doing well.

Kim and Olivia with Alex. Parents missing.

The Tans.  Captain, Manager, Umpire and asst coach

The team complete

The team and supporters

Heer saying goodbye. Is there a tear in  his eye?

The team on the airport tarmac

Breakfast at Brisbane airport

It was a long flight. Luckily we got a meal in the aircraft. When we arrived at Brisbane airport, we had to wait an hr for our coach as the one we were supposed to get had an accident. The team had to go back to the airport to find comfortable spots to catch a nap.

By this time I was dead tired as I did not manage any sleep on the plane. Kim had to drive after we had some issue with his GPS which insisted on starting the journey from Kim's home at WA.

We finally got to Caloundra and the Watermark Resort. It is quite nice and the players immediately went for a swim at the pool.

Annie, Tonia and myself went shopping for food. We went to ALDI first and were shocked to find out we had to pay 15 cents for plastic bags.

We decided to go to Coles as we are more familiar with their products. $400 was spent on supplies today. We made chicken rolls for the players for lunch before departing for the   Sunshine Coast Badminton Centre at Nambour.


When I returned to the resort I found out Olivia was in tears as she realised she had left her badminton shoes in Perth. Quick phone calls were made to try and solve the problem. I made a call to Will Mckehnie from the Sunshine Coast Badminton Centre and he told me he had some Victor shoes which could be Olivia's size.

Olivia subsequently told us sheepishly that she found her shoes. What a drama.

What a view from the resort.

Kim relaxing after lunch

Will was good enough to meet us there and to hand over the keys. Will is the president of the Sunshine Coast Badminton Centre. He graciously opened the hall for us and even entrusted me with the keys to use the hall tomorrow.

What a great guy. He also showed me the Victor shoes and I found out they were pre 1996 designs. Lucky for Olivia.

The hall was great and I also saw some antique wooden rackets in the offices of the club.

Great club

These are the 1996 shoes.

Great courts and great club judging from Will's attitude towards looking after visitors.

After Nambour we headed back for home and dinner cooked  by Annie and Tonia and myself. Dinner was steak and chicken with rice and salad. Heer had tofu sausages and eggs. He is happy.

After dinner Kim and I discussed strategies. It will be an interesting competition.

I am too tired now. Got to sleep soon. It is 11 pm Queensland time or 9 pm Perth time.

Night.


Comments from readers

Cool updates on the blog and love the pics and the views!  Please wish the team the very best of luck and I hope you guys give it your all and have heaps of fun!!!  

Jiten Bhatt

Hi Raymond, Annie, Kim and Team...

Loved the photos of the departure-- and of Kim sitting basking on the balcony... I can see that the life of the Coach is very easy!

It would not be a sporting trip if someone did not lose some important item-- eg Olivia's shoes-- which of course, were not lost at all.... so a happy ending.

Here in Perth it is 34 degrees today-- so similar to Caloundra I suppose.

Looking forward to more blogs

President Judy Cousins