Perth Pics

I dropped in to see Rachel and the new addition to the family, Angus. What a cutie, and Angus too! I'm glad it's his mum getting up to attend to him during the night "between 4-8 times a night" and not me. As rachel says in her latest blog post, she is just starting to work out how she wants to parent her kid(s) and is receiving plenty of (hopefully well-meaning) advice from "experienced parents" parenting books etc. I threw my 2c worth into the mix on the understanding that she take it or leave it without prejudice. My wisdom on parenting?
1. You're in trouble when they out-number you.
2. Put them to bed at bed time when you visit friends.
3. Work hard at remembering their names, it helps with communication.

Rachel used to be a chaplain so she'll start coming into her own when Angus hits 13 I guess!

The greying gentleman next to her is also a former high school chaplain who has gone over to the dark side, private school chaplaincy! I dropped in to see "Birchy of Kingsway" as he likes to refer to himself now on Wed morning. We compared notes on working in the public and private system. Many of the kids and their behaviours are similar but the range of responses available to him are greater than for me.
I could have spent all day with him, "networking" but I had to get home sometime. But I gratefully accepted his offer to pray for me and Sport Boy after I told him about the tough time he's been having at school before I left. * There was a welcome breakthrough on that front when SB went and played with a couple of kids today that he doesn't normally hang out with. There have been tensions in the past but he had a great time, riding caster-boards and jetty jumping. He was happier than he's been for a couple of weeks tonight. *

People often laugh or look at me strangely when I tell them that I collect pictures of personalised number plates. The topic comes up when I whip out my camera and snap a shot of the back of a car as we drive past, or I take a detour in a car-park cause I've spotted someone else's piece of automotive self-expression. The more curious sometimes ask how many I've got and are impressed (astounded/horrified) when I tell them over 1000, in fact probably closer to 1500 I reckon! My camera is always on standby in the car, and my phone does the trick when I'm on foot whenever I spot a personalised plate. But it is not an easy hobby to practice. Apart from the derision of family and friends there are hazards and obstacles to overcome, as you can see from the pictures above. Timing is everything! You usually only get one chance and the inconvenient placement of a traffic light pole between you and the subject can foil the best effort, just as the callous disregard of random motor-cyclists for a bloke's hobby can prevent a capture. This bloke appeared out of nowhere just in time to obscure this particular plate in West Perth, no doubt laughing fiendishly into his helmet as he did so.
Then there's the challenge of taking a surreptitious picture when the owner is sitting in the vehicle and wondering what the bloke with the camera/phone pointed in their direction is up to! No, this is no easy pass-time, it's a pursuit requiring skill, coordination, speed, and opportunism.
We personalised plate photo collectors just want to be respected.