Sorry the second installment was so long in coming, but without further ado... 
So there we all were, the cast were assembled, the challenge beckoned and we headed off on our quest… 
First stop, the assembly point, ‘Jackson’s on George’, where we lubricated the tubes with a lemon squash, (except for Sqizzy, who can claim to be the first to imbibe the amber frothy…) then off to ‘The Heritage Belgium Beer Café’, to sample the traditional Belgium beer serving traditions (wash, rinse, chill, fill, serve,) very novel and no doubt popular with the ‘trendies’ , but as a non-smoking pub, it wasn’t going to hold my interest after one Belgium Laffe… 
By the time we took the obligatory photos, we realized that a leisurely stroll past the former ‘Royal Naval House’ would see us at 'The Brooklyn' right on opening time, so we 're-included' it back onto our schedule (not a bad idea, as we were informed that, incredibly, ‘Harts’ wasn’t open on Saturdays…!) 
A quickie at the Brooky, then off to Sydney’s oldest pub, ‘The Fortune of War’ (license renewed in 1823,) then Sydney’s most expensive pub, ‘The Observer’ (at $14.90 for a Bacardi and an Oyzo, both with Coke, Ned certainly knew when to shout!) and then a lovely lager with Heidi and Heidi, (Bubbles and Bubbles’ look-alike German cousins,) at the ‘Lowenbrau Kellar’… 
(In case you've forgotten what Bubbles and Bubbles look like, click here: http://www.ran-skilledhands.org/forum/v ... c.php?t=84 )
Rob Hall thought he knew of a pub that wasn’t on our list so, anxious to break all standing records, we set off in search of ‘The First Fleet’, then razzed Rob all the way back to ‘The Orient’ when we discovered it too, wasn’t open! (A ‘birdie’ he might have once been, navigator, never…!!!) 
The crew settled in for a lunch break at ‘The Orient’, some even sneaking in an extra grog, chatting up the tourists, before a blast on the whistle saw us heading under the Harbour Bridge to the yet untouched west-side pubs. 
Next was the ‘Captain Cook’, where we learned we’d missed two pubs on the earlier section of the run, so as we headed off to ‘The Palisade’ we committed to finding the missing pubs on the return leg… After 'The Palisade', we hit ‘The Lord Nelson’ where regrettably, ‘Sqizzy’ had to pull the pin for a prior commitment. He was duly awarded his ‘Certificate of Achievement’ for effort; it was, after all, he who had the first of the day..!
Then it was onto the ‘thong-slapping pub’ ‘The Hero of Waterloo’ where Buck found out that loading a film into a camera was becoming increasingly challenging...! I was here that Roger had to leave us so that he could make his pre-arranged link to Liverpool, so as he was already celebrating his 60th birthday the day before leave was granted…we awarded him his 'Certificate' and bade him a sad farewell…  before heading off to the 'Harbour View'... (or was that the other way round...? Things getting hazy now, did I miss any...?!?!) 
On the downward leg now, we discovered ‘The Glenmore’, where other pub-crawling teams were wrapping up their day, one group in full tradition golfing outfits, then it was on to ‘The Australian’, where we were accosted by a group of 'delicate debutantes' who insisted on having their photo taken with our ‘warrior group’…
Finally we arrived at the ‘winning post’, our final venue, ‘The Mercantile’, where we were joined by Geordie Moult, who’s presence we requested by phone earlier in the day, and then by Bill Chick and Brian Mosely, another couple of Chippies (who’d intended to surprise us a the Brooklyn at the start of the day by joining our troupe, only to discover we weren’t at 'The Brooklyn', and it didn’t open ‘til noon… pays to read the latest updates on the website…!)
Relaxed now, we settled in for some serious drinking, beating off the throng of adoring women with sticks…!
Rob, Steve, Charlie and I held the honour of an alcoholoic beverage in EVERY establishment except 'Jackson's on George' although Sqizzy definately got one up on us there...!
The last 'official starter' left standing as we departed 'The Mercantile' was the guest of honour and initiator of this great event Muppet74, Steve Wilson... Well done Steve...!
So Roger, Buck, Rob, Squizzy, Steve, Charlie, and later, Geordie, Bill and Brian, Ned and I would like to thank you all for making it a great day to remember, and one I'd definately repeat again in the future...!
Charlie, hope you made it home O.K., Steve, hope you enjoyed your 'few beers with the boys', Bill, Brian and Geordie, hope you can join us for the full day next time, Rob, thanks for joining Ned and I at 'The Survivours Luncheon' at 'The Oaks' on Sunday, and Buck, I look forward to receiving the photos, which I'll be happy to upload for the benefit of those who didn't make it on the day...!!!
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