SWS Rockets Roller Derby: July 2011

SWSR ARE HOME !!

DIARY OF A DERBY TRIP GONE WRONG

We are happy to be home, thanks to everyone who wished us well, and congratulated us on our win and safe return

AS PROMISED here is The diary of a derby trip gone wrong …

Day 1 – Friday Arrival:

SWSR were sooo excited to finally land in Tassie, we hired our team a bus, set off to the mansion to get ourselves unpacked, getting settled in for a few hours, with most of the crew heading on out to theCadburys chocolate factory to buy loads of chocolate and fatten up before the big bout tomorrow…arriving back at the mansion to find the rest of the gang with all fireplaces roaring trying to make the huge house warm before the sun goes down…

with some of the girls taking a walk along the river and meeting “Officer duckman” for the first time…. our favourite resident duck in Rosetta… then taking a trip to the local pub and dinning on the fine Tasmanian cuisine at the bistro, winning toys in the game machine, going home, showering and feeling snug in onsies and dreaming of sweet victory for the night to come …

Day 2 – Saturday Bout Day:

We thought we would make the most of our trip to Tasmania thinking we would only be there until the next morning, so we decided to head out early and suss out the local markets… with alarms set, we jumped in the bus and drove to Salamanca Markets bright eyed and bushy tailed, what a sweet little markets this place was, with an assortment of local foods, produce and hand crafts, it was a nice way to spend a few hours, with gloves on, beanies secure and SWSR hoodies everywhere, we ran into a Victorian Roller Derby girl, who wished us luck for the bout later in the night…

Arriving back home after the Markets, SWSR got set on getting our makeup, clothes and gear ready, grabbed a quick bite to eat down at the local pub and jumped into the bus and headed off down to Aurora Stadium to get ready and warm up for the bout ahead..

The Bout was even better than we could have anticipated, with a close game until the end, skating against a group of girls who couldn’t be more welcoming and accommodating, we were lucky to have popped our first bouting cherry against such and awesome league.. With much excitement we headed off to the after party, back to the Mansion and into our warm beds ready for our flight out the next morning

Day 3 – Sunday – Flight Cancelled:

With alarms set and our flight ready to leave early, we hand back the keys to the mansion and the coach house and head off to the airport expecting to be flying out at 8.25am. We drop off our bus inside the airport, which by this stage is full of already angry passengers, after finding out that Jetstar have cancelled all flights out of Tasmania until the Ash Cloud settles which is hanging over the southern part of Australia due to Volcanic Ash from Chille.

Things could have been worse, however we were told we would not be able to fly out until at least Tuesday, so we hire another bus, pray that we are able to stay at the fabulous mansion once again and head back to the Rosetta.

After arriving back there we were told that the Mansion had been booked that night, however we were lucky enough to secure more accommodation at the same property in the “River House” which was modern, warm, and most importantly we were able to see our favourite duck again, who decide to make our patio his place to hang out.

Some of the crew decided to head out to the highly talked about MONA Museum and were very glad they did, not only was it a winery, micro brewery, an assortment of wines to taste and tour, there was an eatery with local produce, but most spectacularly was the Museum of Old and Modern art, with free entry .. the huge four story building contained a personal collection of some totally amazing and creative works or art.. from a Tasmanian eccentric who opened up his property to the public to display his collection of mummified (BC) bodies, to his assortment of art consisting of skulls, stuffed animals made into sculptures, Huge paintings and visual graphics, with films screen on the roof, on walls and on sculptures, to some amazing pieces of design like the large head you could peer into which was visually amazing, to the huge rock which opened up to a hotel corridor which gave the appearance of it never ended and you were a giant….a wall completely dedicated to plaster vagina's, human organs, as well as a real bubble Porsche…

The most talked about display at the museum was the man-made ‘real’ poo machine which you can witness doing its business at 2pm daily.. this was one we couldn’t miss, and was truly disgusting, it was fed in the morning and we went to witness the event at 2pm…the smell was vile.. it was exactly like the most disgusting poo you had ever smelt.. it wafted trough the air as soon as it came out “with the tour guide instructing us that “it was a runny one today and to stand back in case of splatter” … needless to say after gagging on the way out, it was still very awesome to see..

After a huge day at the museum Dinner was cooked that night by an amazing chef, and SWSR support crew member “Johnny”, who pulled off successfully satisfying the hunger of three vegetarians and 12 meat loving eaters… it was a great dinner, filling our stomachs….. for more excitement, some of the girls and guys headed off to the After after party.

Day 4 – Monday – Port Arthur & Dinner with SIS:

While we were down in Tassie and were fortunate enough to have a bus, we decided a road trip was in order and headed out on the 1 and ½ hour drive to the Historical Convict Penal Site of Port Arthur.

What an amazing day out; taking the guided tour in the morning, dinning in the café, looking through the museum of convict artefacts, taking the ferry ride across the Port with a brief tour about Point Puer and The Isle of Dead, and again stopping on the island taking a guided tour of the Isle of Dead, looking through the old headstones, seeing the amazing period buildings and almost demolished remnants of the past which are being restored to its former glory, the hospital, the Mill/Prison barracks, the crumbling Church, viewing the prison cells, exercise yards and the house’s of the former residents, Guards and Doctors, some of which are known to be the most haunted house’s in Australia, and some that still contained the same period furniture of its past, unfortunately we were unable to stay long enough for the ghost tour, but the day we had was truly a memorable one.

Once arriving at Port Arthur you are given from a deck of playing cards your very own, which has a number outlying your convict, when entering you are welcomed by these convicts which you can then read about and begin your tour of Port Arthur ! The place was amazing and beautiful, besides all of the sad stories, and horrible events which have taken place there over its long existence, and recent history it is a place that we as a group were lucky enough to enjoy and experience, and would love to do again..

After the huge day out we headed back to the River house, with an invite from SIS for Dinner… after such a huge day, cooking didn’t seem like an option, so some of the Girls and Guys headed out to Dinner, to talk derby, eat some fine food, drink some tasty beer, and catch up on our extended trip to tassie with the wonderful girls of SIS !

Day 5 – Tuesday – Flights Cancelled:

Once again the alarm was set early with a few of us heading off to the airport to check on flights, once again to our disappointment, we were told they were still cancelled, having to pack and leave the River house, and with money fast disappearing, we moved back into the Mansion and set the fire places blazing again, some of the members decided to stay at home and watch the bout video SIS were kind enough to drop off that morning, while some of the others went to the Cascades Brewery for a tour and drinks, stopping off at the woman’s Prison along the way .

The Brewery was another historic building, dating back to the early 1900’s with its own history of a convict, sadness and turmoil. The Brewery tour was fun and ended with a tasting (of your choice) of the cascade beers on offer..

The woman’s Prison was a mere shell of its former past, with only remnants of the buildings left, after the tours it was back to the mansion for some seafood, sausages and noddles :)

Day 6 – Wednesday - Tension in the Air:

By Day 6 tension was in the air, with 18 people living under the same roof, with commitments back in Sydney, a lot of girls begin to get desperate to get out of Tassie. and home.

Some of those commitments were work, others were holidays already pre booked over seas, with flights leaving Sydney in days !..

With Jetstar unable to tell us when we would be able to fly out, it was inevitable that the group would try to find alternative ways to get home and we handed back the Keys to the Mansion, and the group splits;

Group 1 drive to Davenport, for either the spirit of Tasmania (10 hour ship cruise), or a flight

Group 2 go to Launceston to catch for a flight to Melbourne in hopes of catching a connecting Sydney flight home

Group 3 stay in Hobart and bunk together in a hostel and pray the Ash Cloud will clear soon.

Group 2 make it to Sydney that night, and pray that the rest of the girls make it home soon themselves, they were thankful to be sleeping in there own warm beds, in temperature that they were actually used to :)

Day 7 – Thursday - Ash Cloud Disappearing

Group 3 hear that Jetstar are now resuming flights and make a dash for the airport, so once again the remaining crew get up early and are lucky enough to secure a flight out that very afternoon and return safe home on a direct flight straight to Sydney on Thursday night… however in the excitement of possibly getting home, one of the remaining members of the support crew was unfortunately left behind and did not get on the flight.

Group 1 who successfully caught the spirit of Tasmania the day before lands in Melbourne, flies out to Sydney and are sleeping in there own beds that night

Day 8- Friday – Everyone is Home

The last remaining Support crew member makes a dash to the airport Friday morning, luckily gets a new flight and catches the next available to Sydney.

The Skaters who were going on holidays also managed to get on there connecting flight on Sunday and had an enjoyable holiday after a very stressful week of cancelled flights in Tasmania !

All Photos by SWSR Members

Friday, July 29, 2011

Monday, July 18, 2011

Sunday, July 10, 2011

MaLICE IN Derby Land – Date Change

Friday, July 8, 2011

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Friday, July 1, 2011

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