HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE

MONDAY 7th FEBRUARY

  With the temperatures having fallen drastically yesterday afternoon, I tucked in under the bedclothes when I went to bed but couldn't get off to sleep at all, and when I did kept on waking during the night.  No such problems when it was hotter!

  It was an early start to the day - I was awake at 6.30am and we left at 7.00am.  Robert dropped me off at Mount Druitt where I caught a train going to Strathfield just as soon as I got to the platform.  It was virtually empty and I took a window seat.  The carriage soon started filling up but the seat next to me was the last to be filled, so I had the seat all to myself for three quarters of the journey.  (Nobody whisphered "B.O." to me so I assumed it was just coincidence that my adjoining seat remained vacant for so long!). When I alighted I spotted that the train on the adjoining platform was bound for Epping so quickly jumped on it.  It was only when the train had moved off I realised that it was the Newcastle train and the first stop was Epping.  Never mind - it got to Epping in about 5 minutes and I only had an 8 minute wait for a train back to Eastwood.  I caught the 545 bus home and unpacked my bag, had a shave, watched a couple of episodes of Spooks and wandered down to Eastwood where I indulged in a brunch at Bo Jo's along with a pot of tea, and then bought some essentials like milk, bread and cheese and walked back to the residence.

  I spent a couple of hours working on the 1961 hits until Robert arrived and we went off to watch Nick play in the indoor final at Epping.  The game was against their biggest rivals whom theTigers had beaten 5-4 last year after being 1-4 down at half time. This time they were 1-2 down at half time, but there was to be no brilliant come back in the second half this time.  The two first half goals conceded in the first half consisted of a score direct from a free kick for a foul tackle that looked perfectly fair to me (the referee was a female - nuff said!), the second was a clearance from a defender that riccocheted from an attacker straight into the goal - so two pretty unlucky goals.  The least said about the third goal the better, it was just one of those lapses by the second half goalie, Tom who let a gentle ball go through his hands and through his legs and gently dribble into the goal.  It has to be said that he scored a superb header in the first half.  I saw Robert stamp his feet at the end of the match, which was good, nobody likes losing.  He played well in flashes, but also seemed to lose interest in patches and turn his back on the game.  I would like to see 100% commitment to the game from him not just 75%, because he certainly has the skill.

  After the game the players were given their awards, both losers and winners.  The Tigers then went outside

for a debrief and to have their photos taken.

And of course it was the assistant coach's (today promoted to coach) birthday.  Yes it was Jane's 40th as Nick was quick to tell everyone - now that he has announced the news far and wide I feel no need to be coy about announcing it here!  There were some presents and a cake with one candle lit which Jane blew out with nick's aid.  She had her photo taken with the team - unfortunately my camera had run out of space on the card and by the time I deleted some old pics they had virtually dispersed, well not totally.

With the players all going home we headed for Carlingford where "Auntie Crock" (Lisa Crocker - Jane's old friend) was waiting for us, and we went round to the Chinese restaurant around the corner.

The portions were so large I came away with a doggie bag and tomorrow's lunch is all taken care of!

SWELTERING NO MORE!

SUNDAY 6th FEBRUARY

  It was another extremely hot and humid night, and when I eventually got up it was overcast with no direct sunlight.  The walk with Reilly was not so much of an endurance feat without the sun mercilessly beating down but it was still quite hot and humid.  As the day progressed the temperature came tumbling down and by mid afternoon there was a breeze blowing making it positively cool! According to the TV News the temperature has come down to around 28 degrees. Apparently quite a few beaches was virtually deserted yesterday as it was just too hot, and people preferred to go to airconditioned shopping malls instead.

  I went out with Robert to purchase chicken necks for Reilly.  Rob had seen a sign advertising 5 Kg for $11.00 on the road to Windsor.  We drove around a bit and then found the sign which was a bit mis-leading but eventually found the farm in question only to discover that they weren't open on a Sunday.  So it was back to Woolies in the Plumpton Shopping Centre where Robert got some chicken necks but at a distinctly more expensive price.

  The last one dayer in Perth started about 2.00pm and England appear to be heading for defeat as I watch the England reply to Australia's 279.  They are 200-9.  I'm sitting out in the summer house with a singlet, two shirts and a jacket on (apart from my shorts that is), along with a hot cup of tea.

  The recent cyclone that hit Queensland in the Cairns area was apparently one of the fiercest to hit Australia for a hundred years or so, but thankfully there was apparently only one loss of life, and that was a chap asphixiated in a room running a generator indoors.  It has just been one disaster after another.

HOTTEST FEBRUARY DAY IN SYDNEY SINCE 1953

SATURDAY 5th FEBRUARY

  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!

WAITRESS DOWN THE CAROUSEL

FRIDAY 4th FEBRUARY

  It was a pretty industrious morning: after a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich I took Reilly for his morning walk and then knuckled down to doing record work for several hours.  Pav arrived  in the early afternnoon and had a couple of beers with us.  Trade has been a bit slow in the plumbing business since Christmas and Pav reckons he has only been working half days most of this week.  Robert reckons that it is due to his lethargy and sheer downright laziness in chasing up work.  Rob set about with a vengeance repairing the damaged lock on his car.  After Pav inserted the final screw to fix the damage inflicted by his wife Les on Robert's driver's door, it was universally decided to adjourn to the Carousel pub down the road.  We sat outside in the beer garden as both Rob and Pav wanted a smoke and I didn't mind the heat.  Dougie then arrived, the pub is close to his round of sales calls, and he joined us in the garden.  There was then mention made of the the waitress in lingerie in the sports bar, so we decided to try our luck there.  I caught sight of her at the bar over Robert's shoulder.  She appeared to be a blonde.

She eventually headed our way and Pav explained that Robert was English and his ancient father was with him and it would be greatly appreciated if she would pose for a picture with the group.  As I was holding the camera this meant that the group consisted of Robert, Dougie and Pav.  I only just managed to keep the camera steady and that was only because her panties were not fully in sight!

  We left shortly afterwards only to be accosted by a man in the car park asking if anybody had ticket no 86 in the raffle.  Pav pulled out the winning number and went home with a dozen prime T-bone steaks!  We returned home in time for dinner which as always was excellent and then we took Reilly for his evening walk.  I continued with record work in the summerhouse accompanied by a few more bottles of beer and the loving company of Reilly who has now been forgiven his misdemenours.  I sent an e-mail to Angela with a copy to Bridie suggesting that if they come to Australia, they might like to carry on and accompany me to New Zealand and see Scott in Christchurch - now there's a thought!

NICK SITTING

THURSDAY 3rd FEBRUARY

  Reilly still in disgrace so he got taken for a walk by me but was then banished again to the garden.  I put in a couple of hours on record work, and then I departed with Robert to pick up Nick from school.  The weather continues to be in the upper 30's and although it was cloudy in the first half of the day it was hot and humid.  The clouds cleared in the afternoon and it was just hot.

  Jane had things to do so we looked after Nick who apart from playing several games of Wii Pro2009 with Robert, spent some time on the computer.  The rest of us didn't do much, I dozed on the settee and watched a few programs on the TV.  My main activity was to go down to the Pizza Hut and pick up a couple of pizzas  that Robert had ordered on the phone along with some cans of cold drinks.  Apart from watching Jingles whizzing around chasing a small ball, I cannot really claim to have done anything very productive.  We got back to Oakhurst about 10.00pm, just in time for a beer, and to post this blog.

WAROONGA

WEDNESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY

  Reilly was in the doghouse this morning; he had wrought havoc with a potted vegetable in the back garden.  Robert told me he was banned from the summerhouse for two days as a punishment for his misbehaviour.  I took him for his morning walk, albeit I didn't talk to him or stroke him in order to let him know how naughty he had been.

  Robert had no work today so he decided to visit Robin in hospital in Waroonga.  He dropped me off in the village and I had an iced coffee and read the Daily Telegraph.  I then moved to the adjoining cafe and ordered a mango smoothie.  Robert arrived before I received the smoothie so he got a can of lemonade and joined me at my external table.
  On the way home Robert called in at a local pub on the way home where we quaffed a couple of beers in the outside seating, trying the Hunter Valley beer called Blue Tongue (as in lizzard).

We returned home, where I got changed and we drove over to the shopping centre at Mount Druitt.   On the way back we stopped at the nearest pub to home, the Carousel Inn and had a final schooner.

I'm trying to get some colour into my upper arms!  Reilly was taken for an evening walk without any words exchanged or contact made and he remains banished in the garden.  I watched an exciting finish to the one-dayer at the SCG which sadly England lost by 2 wickets.  I completed all the photo captions for Frontline Books and duly e-mailed them off to Deborah Hercun.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

TUESDAY 1st FEBRUARY

  Another scorching day with the temperature rising to 43 degrees.  Took Reilly for a walk at both ends of the day.  In between I received an e-mail from Frontline Books in London with a selection of some 70 photos they want to use and asking me to write captions of some 30 words for each of them.  It also gave me access to more photos that I hadn't sent to Dr Bydon in Warsaw so I selected a number of those and sent them off.  And that really took care of most of the day and evening. I'm just over half way through doing the captions.  Thankfully I bought Englert's album over with me from Eastwood, as there are detailed descriptions of quite a few of the photos in there, which is a lot better than relying on my memory! Bridie phoned telling Robert she was thinking of coming over with Angela in late March.