Lang Park

Weekend in Brisbane

Dear Reader, 

I am writing this from Brisbane. I’m here this weekend to share some time with my family. May is a month of many birthdays in my immediate and extended family, not to mention Mother’s Day. In years past, I’ve tried to make sure I get to Brisbane so we can do something special together. This year, for many reasons, it was more special than usual. We enjoyed a few different events to spend time together the way families do. 

One event I’m happy to share is that my daughters bought me tickets and took me to a football game (unfortunately, one of them was unwell and couldn’t come along). We went to Lang Park and watched the Dolphins play against the Melbourne Storm. 

The highlight came in the first half when Jamayne Isaako scored his first of two tries. We were seated a couple of rows back from the grass at the south end to the left of the goalposts. Seeing Jamayne Isaako in full flight and scoring right before us was amazing.

I was so happy to see the stands full, and there were so many fans of both teams, mostly in family groups. I was taken by a couple of young boys behind me. They were both less than ten, and I got all warm and fuzzy when I heard the older boy explain the rules to the younger boy, who was asking why the referee had made certain decisions. My daughters and I, plus one of my daughter’s partner, had the best time.

Football entrance tick Dolphins

Lang Park holds strong memories of me growing up. I spent my earliest years just up the road living with my maternal grandparents. While I do not imbibe alcohol, the other strong memory of that area is seeing the XXXX brewery neon sign at night from my window with Mr XXXX winking. For non-Australian readers, XXXX is a beer brand iconic for people from Queensland.

This weekend has been the indigenous round in the NRL, and being in Brisbane meant we could see the traditional Welcome to Country from local Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Island people. I particularly love how Torres Strait Island people perform their Welcome to Country.

Food reviews

I ate well, and while I don’t have many photographs, I did write two reviews for Google Maps. Both were my breakfast experiences.

Saturday Breakfast

“The Gunshop Cafe”, Chermside

Here is my Google Maps review.

Sunday Breakfast

“The Farm House”, Kedron

Here is my Google Maps review.

You may find this interesting.

In other news, the World Health Organization released guidance this week on non-sugar sweeteners. 

The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare also released some reports on obesity in Australia. 

Final thoughts

I hope you have a wonderful week.