Monday 6th March

Cooler today. Well it was this morning anyway. Hot again this afternoon - we were baked waiting for the Isle of Man flag to be raised at the official 'Flag Raising Ceremony'. We were told to be ready (best bib and tucker) by 3.30pm and even after loads of photos were taken and we'd managed the 300 yard walk to the ceremony site, we were 35 minutes early. Keen as ever to be at the head of the queue, the IOM were the first nation to be welcomed to the Games. We all enjoyed some gymnastic dancing (watching it, not doing it), before the speeches (Robin Oake was on top form), the flag-raising, and 'Oh Land of Our Birth'. A girl with a guitar and a bloke with a didgereedoo performed an Aboriginal song beautifully to finish the ceremony. There are 71 countries in all, and I imagine the novelty will have worn off long before number 71 for the performers.
Training was an hour or so walking steadily around Princes Park. There are loads of runners in Melbourne, and so far, following them has led to the best training laps. Tomorrow I'm getting up and out early to head to Albert Park for a longer session.
NOTE: After some long-distance legal advice (free - so it wasn't from a proper lawyer), I have opted to alter the title of this blog away from Melbourne 2006. I'm hoping that viewers will be redirected to the new version, but I have my doubts. I have just 'lost' today's photos by saving them onto an inaccessible hard-drive, but I cling to the hope I'll get them back tomorrow. Ever the optomist...