"Where every concept pleases, and only man is vile."
Three will go into one boy’s small chair. Even if Oliver is more concerned with eating the television remote.
Togetherness is big at Chez Todd although whether it’s based on familial love, trying to get Mummy’s attention or just a fondness for the best seat in the house is open for conjecture.
I went away for four days last week and all I managed to get out of it was 650 photos. And into trouble with SWMBO.
This is probably the only one of interest, the attendees at the Lend Lease ICT Asia Pacific conference 2006 (also known as the love-in). I can’t recommend the venue highly enough though, it’s a lovely hotel if you are ever in need of accomodation in that part of the world.
I’ve also developed a new found respect for professional photographers, especially those that cover social events (like weddings), becuase this stuff is bloody hard to do well.
Mark this day. The Identity Cards 2006 bill is now law. People in the UK, please enjoy your police state. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
Update: It gets even better (or is that worse?) there is now an official ID cards web site which tails us all how wonderful they are.
Update 2: According to this reasoned analysis it will never work anyway. Roll on the Poll Tax like public dissent.
Look, I’ve been slandered on video. Damn those Bucks!
People have often accussed me of being a "nerd" or a "geek. It’s nice to know that I now have proof of how hip and cool I am.
I challenge you, dear reader, to do any better. Unless you’re a 13 year old boy with an unhealthy technology obsession you will be hard pressed to beat me.
My fellow Australians, and particularly those commentating on sporting events can I remind you that the name of your country is Australia. It is neither pronounced nor spelt "Awstraya"
That is all.
The Todd clan spent last weekend in picturesque Jervis Bay. It was rather nice. Even after the rather horrible exit from Sydney in the rush hour traffic on Friday afternoon doubled our travel time. The weather was just about perfect and the location,White Sands fantastic. We had a choice of beaches within two minutes walk of our cabin and I even managed to grab a paper on Saturday morning. I still haven’t read it of course, but there’s every possibility that I’ll get to scour a page or two in the coming week. At the very least my Dad will get to update his knowledge of Australian current affairs when he and my Mum arrive back from Melbourne sometime tomorrow.
Of course there had to be a comedy incident. Everyone gathered at our cabin on Saturday night for convivial conversation, the odd cold beverage and some traditional Australian food. As the host with the most I was in charge of the barbecue, with vocal support from the imposter, and was doing a great job of not burning the sausages or the steaks. Until the accumulated fat in the drip tray under the burners caught fire. It got a bit dodgy for a while but thanks to an old towel of mine and a dustbin full of water we soon had the conflagration under control and I even managed to rescue most of the meat I’d cooked.
Sadly I don’t have any pictures as my camera was amongst the items that were accidentally left at home on Friday. Mind you, even if I’d had it there I was too busy watching the flames to take any photos. I believe Pyjama Eric may have got a couple of decent shots of the demise of my old towel though. When we reported the incident to the park manager on Sunday he did mention that they only clean out the drip trays every six months. I think the one in our cabin was last changed five months and three weeks ago, but at least it’s somewhat cleaner now.
Regardless, SWMBO declared the weekend a great success, not least because JFGP has started to take to this potty training lark and is going to save us a fortune in disposable nappies.
I think, thanks to Mil Millington, that I’ve found the present to end all presents for my father. Say hello to the Butter Wizard. It is quite possibly the useless gadget to end all useless gadgets.
A certain small boy of my acquaintance is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, except he pronouns it "Thomas the Tanken Engine".
So much of a fan is he that when we went on our excursion to the Hunter Valley last week we had to take a Thomas DVD with us. The good news was that this provided many happy hours of baby sitting service for us, although the occassonal adult did get to sit with him and watch the stories.
Here we see JFGP and his Granny settled down for some viewing.
It seems like ages since I’ve posted anything of note, for which many apologies. My excuses are many and varied, including sickness, apathy, the arrival of my folks from the mother country and the return of my new computer to the shop so that they can fix it’s wireless card.
Regardless, I’m back having just had a week’s holiday including a couple of days in the Hunter Valley. We stayed at Lovedale Cottages where they have a very friendly dog. He’s called Zen and he’s pictured here getting friendly with JFGP.
Our trip to New South Wales’ primary wine region was considered a success because SWMBO only bought half her usual quantity of plonk. Even so when we got home she complained that we had too much and that we had to start drinking more. A sentiment that I have wholeheartedly embraced.