SETTLING IN EASTWOOD

WEDNESDAY 8th DECEMBER

  It was a bit of a soporific start to the day in our compact bijou pad, but it has all the requisites including a DVD and CD player as well as cooking facilities and the upstairs sleeping accomodation.

  After updating the blog Mark and I set off for Eastwood Town, about a ten minute walk away.  We found the Bo Jo Cafe that Rob had recommended, and had breakfast whilst thoroughly digesting the Australian press analysing the aftermath of the Test defeat.  Oh joy!  I came close to spilling Mark's cup of tea all over him but in the event it only went in the saucer and on the table without touching his designer T-shirt!
  We went shopping at Woolworths which hasn't gone bust over here, possibly because it is a food supermarket.  Suitably armed with such essentials as coffee, milk, bread, butter, cheese, fruit and juice we trudged pack to the pad which has a nasty uphill section.  This wasn't helped by my back giving me gyp, although there was some consolation in Mark being a fellow sufferer with his hip.

  Rob came round after work and picked us up and took us to Carlingford.  Nicholas has certainly grown since I last saw him.  He was a bit diffident in greeting Mark, but we exchanged high fives.  Nick got all his presents including one of the Chelsea shirts, that he wore for the rest of the evening. I got a chinese takeaway and some very palatable Slovakian beers, and after we had all eaten, Nick showed Mark and I some adding, subtracting, multiply and dividing games on the computer playing against other kids all round the world.  I was quite impressed by his maths and speed of calculation.  After that it was football with a soft ball.  I was winning handsomely 4-0 but he eventually clawed his way back. By the time I had scored 8 every subsequent goal was disallowed!  With the score at 8-8 I told him that was it, a fact endorsed by his father, and amidst some protest, Nick admitted defeat in his endeavours to get me to play up to the winning goal.  Tomorrow is the last day of school.

  We went to the Epping Hotel and had a few beers.  The place is packed with youngsters on a Wednesday and we must have been the only people in there not to be asked to show their ID before entering!