Australian sharemarket up 34.9% since March

[the australian] The S&P/ASX200 "has now risen for five consecutive months and has soared 34.9 per cent since closing at five-and-a-half-year low of 3145.5 on March 6, a date that now appears to mark the bottom of the bruising global bear market."

Tour of Lord's - The Home of Cricket

Tour of Lord's
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

As a follow up to our day at the Ashes at Lord's, Andrew and I went on the MCC Tour of Lord's today, an opportunity to see inside the Long Room, the Players' Dressing Rooms, and to visit the Investec Media Centre.

Full set of photos in the Tour of Lord's set on Flickr.

Lunch at wahaca, Covent Garden, London, UK

Late Night Dinner at Les Quinze Nits, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona: Les Quinze Nits
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Ashes at Lord's

Ashes at Lord's
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

I was fortunate enough to get tickets to the first day of the second Ashes test at Lord's.

England won the toss and elected to bat, getting off to a good start with a fantastic opening partnership between Strauss and Cook. Australia fought back after lunch, with England ending the day at 6 for 364.

England went on to win the test, their first against Australia at Lord's since 1934.

Full set of photos in the Ashes at Lord's set on Flickr.

Phil Ivey in the November Nine

Phil Ivey is in amazing form.

After winning two bracelets already at the 2009 WSOP, he is now a member of the November Nine, having survived a field of 6494 to make the final table of the $10,000 entry fee 2009 WSOP Main Event.

The tournament resumes on November 7th. The ESPN coverage should be awesome.

Dinner at The Marquis at Alkham, UK

ENO's Madam Butterfly at the London Coliseum

Drinks and dinner at The Cut Bar, London, UK

Late night dinner at The Wolseley, London, UK

Gin and tonic, at the bar



Deep fried Whitebait with tartare sauce

Medium rare Rib Eye Steak Frites

Gem heart salad

Minted peas



and a glass of The Wolseley Médoc 2004 Château Loudenne

Glastonbury 2009 - Recovery Day

Glastonbury Highlights - 14
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Sunday was very much recovery day at Glastonbury. Lots of exhausted festival go-ers sprawled out on the few remaining patches of grass. The smell from the toilets, the trash, and all the people who had gone five days without a shower, permeated throughout the campsite.

We slept in, then packed up our campsite in preparation for a middle of the night departure to avoid the massive queues on the Monday.

We finished the festival with an inspired performance by Nick Cave and Bad Seeds on the Pyramid stage, then raved to The Prodigy for a short, but incredibly energetic performance on the Other Stage, before making our way back to London.

I arrived home at 5:55am on Monday morning, had a long shower, and then pretty much slept for the entire day.

Full set of photos are in the Glastonbury 2009 set on Flickr.

Glastonbury 2009 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen - 02
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was the headline act on the Saturday night, performing a two and a half hour set, including a six song encore.

So much energy, barely a rest between songs, and lots of involvement with the crowd.

It was great to see Steven van Zandt (a.k.a. Silvio Dante from The Sopranos) back in his original role lead guitar role for the E Street Band.

Glastonbury 2009 - Kasabian

Kasabian
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

To be honest, I didn't know much about Kasabian prior to going to Glastonbury. From what I understand, they're much bigger in the UK than they are in Australia.

Their set on the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday evening was awesome. Great live sound, and a very involved and passionate crowd. Definitely worth seeing again.

Glastonbury 2009 - Spinal Tap perform "Stonehenge"

Spinal Tap - 03
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Spinal Tap reformed for their 25th anniversary, complete with new drummer, for a set on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday afternoon.

The highlight was undoubtedly Stonehenge.

Glastonbury 2009 - Lady GaGa

Lady GaGa
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Lady GaGa put on a fantastic performance on the Other Stage on the Friday night, including an acoustic version of Poker Face. In her 75 minute set, she did three outfit changes, including a Madonna-esque boob flamethrower!

Glastonbury 2009 - Muddy Friday

Muddy Festival Site on Friday
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

On the Thursday night we had a downpour. As the rain cleared on the Friday morning, the masses descended onto the festival site, creating a sea of mud. Good thing we brought along our Wellington boots.

Glastonbury 2009 - Setting up Camp

Setting up Camp - 03
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

177,500 festival go-ers, 10000+ staff, 14000 toilets, 5 days of camping and music.

This is the calm before the storm. The grass is green. The tent site is clean, and I'm still feeling fresh.