MCG lunch and reflections

Last week was a busy series of meetings at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).  I am happy to report that mostly I ate well.  I didn't have my camera most of the time - now I have a DSLR it is too attention-seeking.  At the end of the week I took my camera along to take a few photos because I found the venue made me quite nostalgic.  Pleasingly I also had one of my favourite lunches of the week.

Not all of our lunches came in cute cardboard lunchboxes, such as the one below, but I loved the ones that did.  I was aware of the waste because they packed more food than anyone could eat into the lunchbox.  I enjoyed the little salad sandwiches, found the pasta salad a bit dry and the muffin a bit dull.  What I loved about them was the huge chunk of brie packaged up with dry biscuits, dried apricots and candied walnuts (see top photo).  It was amazing.

As well as the cute lunchboxes in the above photo, you can see a plate of colourful cream puffs.  A bit much creaminess for me but they looked gorgeous.  I had a strawberry one but perhaps I might have enjoyed a chocolate one more.

Lunch was also so much nicer when eaten in the deserted stands of the MCG.  As a child I sometimes came here to cricket matches with my family.  At the time the light towers were still a novelty and a new electronic scoreboard had recently replaced the old manual one.

Replays on the scoreboard were great because I am sure I always looked away when a wicket fell.  I knew how to follow a game of cricket but even more, I loved watching the crowd - the witty signs people would hold up and the larrikins in Bay 13.  I had fun doing the Mexican wave and chanting "he's going home in the back of a divvy van" after the police took away a drunk from Bay 13. 

I didn't take many pictures inside the MCG last week as I don't like to do so with work colleagues about.  Above you can see the Members area where we had many meetings.  We had a great view of the empty MCG arena out the huge windows which made the meeting rooms feel spacious.  After the meeting, I had time to take some photos outside.

The gardens outside the MCG are lovely with sporting sculptures, avenues of old trees and old fashioned signs.  It was the Dennis Lillee statue that really brought back memories.  I want dwell too much on how much I loved the world of cricket for a period in my childhood.  Instead I will tell you a story to illustrate it.

After one of our visits to a cricket match, the highlight happened while we were hanging around outside the MCG afterwards.  We chanced upon the Pakistan cricket team going home.  We knew them all from the telly.  We asked for autographs.  It was thrilling to come face to face with the legendary Imran Khan.  Later I remember talking to my brother about how it felt to put his hand on his cricket pullover.  I also have clear memories of holding the autograph book for a team member whose arm has been amputated.  Then, as if we hadn't had enough excitement, we found Tony Greig and Greg Chappell behind the Channel 9 commentators vans.  More autographs.  Oh joy!

It is a long time since I have been to the MCG to see the cricket.  I think my last visit was a football match but my memories aren't that clear.  Nevertheless, I found it quite nostalgic to be there.  The MCG is a Melbourne sporting institution and a great meeting venue too.