ANZAC Day

I'll preface this post with a short description of ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day commemorates the anniversary of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops who fought in Gallipoli, Turkey during WWI. More generally nowadays, it serves to recognize the general contributions of troops from both these nations over the years. Today, the 25th of April, is ANZAC Day.

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So I got an email from the KEA network of North America (Kiwi expats) with info for an ANZAC Day service here in SF. When I used to live in LA, I used to want to go to KEA events all the time but lacked the vehicle access to be able to do so. Now, free of that restriction, I decided to make a day of it and do my first ANZAC Day ceremony properly. Follow along with the pics.

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About US$10 worth of arts & crafts supplies doesn't look all that impressive there (in fact, it looks like a downright mess).

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But after a bit of cutting, manipulating and gluing...

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Voila! Some makeshift poppies to wear at the ceremony (and send to family).

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Fast-forward a bit and imagine a log cabin full of folks from down under (admittedly, the majority were Ockers...er...Aussies). Lots of readings, some bugle, a bit of sing-song (national anthems) and some dignitaries laying wreaths. All in all, quite an enjoyable, though brisk (in a good, well-paced way), ceremony.

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Photography 101: Don't take pictures against bright backgrounds. Oops. Me, my suit, my poppy and a bright background.

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One wreath each for the countries represented today: USA, UK, Turkey, Oz & NZ.

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With absolutely beautiful weather gracing the outdoors, why not BBQ? The highlights of the meal above = bbq lamb, lamb sausage, beets and ANZAC biscuits. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about eating all of this often during the ceremony...

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Like I said, gorgeous weather. I enjoy the occasional fancy shindig to dust off the suit, but I would've been much better served in a t-shirt & shorts.... We can all be thankful for little miracles and somehow I managed to keep the beets (and other colorful foods) off my white shirt.

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Great weather, BBQ and a bunch of expats? That's a recipe for backyard cricket. There I am, center frame, wicket keeping for the San Francisco XI. Actually, I was playing with a bunch of Aussie kids. I know cricket is a gentleman's sport but running around with that shirt, those pants and the dress shoes didn't help my game at all...

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Brilliant day, brilliant weather. Couldn't have asked for anything better (heck, it even started with rock climbing in the Presidio since the ANZAC day festivities took place only 5 minutes away from my gym's city location). Can't wait for summer to come. I need to brush up on my cricket skills and coerce a bunch of my friends to play.