Wednesday 30th April
I was up later in the morning than planned, rising at 10.00 having had a bit of a lie-in due to the fact that I got up at 02.45 to watch the second leg of the United-Barcelona Champions League semi-final. It wasn't a great game and I struggled to stay awake at times, but I was delighted it was on TV in the first place, and over the moon with the 1-0 result that meant that United went through to the final that was to take place a few weeks later.
After breakfast, we drove to Freemantle – or 'Freo', as the locals call it – a port town south of Perth, and which seemed to be one of the essential places to visit while in Western Australia. We had been recommended a visit to Freemantle Prison, so we took a guided tour around this old Victorian building which had been built by convicts for convicts, and started at the end of the nineteenth century when WA's population was growing and the crime rate was getting out of hand. The goldrush had attracted all manner of crazy people, and the authorities needed to keep them in check. Freemantle Prison is famous for being the site from where a group of Irish rebels – 'The Fenians' – escaped and made their way to freedom in Americay. The guide was very good, he had a good balance between fact and humour, and it took about an hour and a half, and was good value for money.
Mum & Dad stayed on for another tour which told the story of the famous escapes, both successful and failed (including that of 'The Fenians'), guided by a fellow called Brendan from Dublin. I went off in search of the resting place of a former inmate of Freemantle Prison, a legendary wild man of rock and original singer and lyricist of AC/DC: Bon Scott. I had heard that his ashes had been interned in Freemantle Cemetary; it was only a few kilometres up the road from the prison, so I decided to take a look, and add Bon's to the list of famous graves that I had seen over the years. I also happen to be a fan of the Bon Scott-era AC/DC and was interested to see the tributes other fans had made. I walked for about half an hour but had to turn back when I came to a major junction leading to the highway. It turned out that the cemetary was just around the corner.
I walked back to Freemantle Prison and met Mum & Dad, who had thoroughly enjoyed their second tour of the day. We walked into the centre of town and went in search of a decent fish restaurant to the celebrate Mum & Dad's 61st birthdays (it was Mum's birthday that day and Dad's two days before). We had a fantastic seafood meal in a place on the seafront: tiger prawns, battered fish, quid crayfish.... it was really delicious and a real treat for me! It was great to be able to spend time with my folks; we were a long way from home but we were enjoying ourselves.
After dinner, we met up with a couple that used to love beside us in Derry many years ago, and who had been living in Freemantle for a good few years. Mum had contacted them the previous night to say hello and let them know we were close by. We went for a drink and the folks caught up with their friends from years ago. We headed back to the apartment and got some rest ahead of our move further south to the Margaret River area the next morning.
