Robert and I sat outside in the early hours, consuming bottle after bottle of German beer when I got the idea to try contining people on Skype. We got through to Adam and could see him but not hear him. He eventually gave up on us. Robert then spotted that there was a volume control on Skype and it had been turned down to zero. We raised the volume and unsuccessfully tried Jim (obviously still at work), Peter in Warsaw (presumably out), Mark (wandering round Manchester?) and then ran out of Skype contacts. As I still had £9.78 credit on my Skype account, I suggested we tried phoning some telephone numbers. We tried Bridie and I accidentally must have got her mobile number as she answered us from a shopping centre! I told her I had sent an e-mail and duly got a reply later saying she hadn't yet spoken to Angela. Robert then suggested we try Gil and we successfully got through and Robert then had a lengthy chat with him. Spurred on by our success we tried Andrew & Denise but were only able to leave a message on their ansaphone. Undeterred we tried Andrew on his mobile, and quickly raised him. He soon proved that he was completely up to date with the blog, quoting various events from it. By the time my credit had run down to £7.28 we called it a night, not to mention that it was gone 2.30am.
The morning arrived all too quickly and I lay around a while and didn't stir until 10.00am. I beat Robert by about 2 hours. By this time it was already mighty hot but I thought it best to get Reilly out now rather than later. Almost immediately he chased an animal and it was myterious little deer-like animal. This time I got a rear end view as Reilly chased it away from me. I thought it might have been a hare, though definitely not a rabbit. Robert said later that he preferred the minature deer theory.
We set off for Calingford and took Nick to Epping to register for the coming season with Epping Tigers football team. We then drove to the Macquarie Shopping Mall where Nick (via the auspices of Robert) and I bought birthday presents for Jane, and were served by an extremely pleasant young lady. We then all bought cards and I found a section which had a selection of "40th Birthday" cards and picked one. Nick also visited Big W where he found some "Beanz" that were purchased with part of the Christmas money that was still left over in my pocket. Nick had an ice cream and Rob and I had thick milkshakes. I had ordered a raspberry one but it was white in colour with little particles of chocolate in it, certainly not what I had ordered. Anyway it was cold and wet! We got back to Carlingford just before Jane, who had been to visit her mother. A quick change of clothing saw Nick ready to go off to a party. What a social whirl these youngsters lead!
A drive back to Oakhurst with the radio on yielded the information that it was 41 degrees in the city, the hottest February day in Sydney since 1953. I later caught a snippet in the background on the TV which I thought said that it was the hottest day for 83 years, but I may have been mistaken. Upon returning I decided to have a lay down and had a snooze for half an hour or so. Upon getting up I noticed that Robert had followed my example. As I sit and compose this blog in the summerhouse, I have turned on the electric fan for the first time as it really is quite still and sweltering. Reilly is lying at my feet panting giving my toes and occasional lick. Although the sun is starting to set, it is still a little early for the evening walk. Today for the first time I have consumed quite a large quantity of water, I think the combination of a hangover and the heat have left me a wee bit de-hydrated!
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