On this day in history...

Twenty three years ago today, Mrs Holt Press and I were married.
In Geelong, the spiritual centre of the sporting universe.

We celebrated by going out for dinner at Albie's Bistro.
I had Reef n Beef. Mrs HP had Atlantic salmon.
It was very nice.

Over dinner I asked her if she thought we'd last another twenty three years.
Easily was her instant reply, the first twenty three years is the hardest!

Cats and Camping

The drama trip went well on Thursday although it was a long tiring day.

We had a pleasant surprise when my brother Bruce arrived in town for work and came round to watch the first game of the footy season. Sadly for him the Tigers got clobbered by Carlton.

Tonight I've just "snuck" home from a camp for an hour to watch the footy and see Geelong hold on to beat Hawthorn in the Grand Final rematch. I'm helping to run a Warriuka camp for SU this weekend but we got all the kids settled into bed and I grabbed the chance to come home, I couldn't stand not nowing what had happened. It was close in the end but inaccurate kicking by the Cats made it seem closer than it should have been.

I'm just about to head back to camp now.

I picked up a bargain this afternoon in Jetset's Friday arvo sale, a return airfare fom Perth to Melbourne for $198!! That will see me in Melbourne for round 9, including the Friday night game, Geelong v Western Bulldogs!!

I'm so glad the footy season has started again.

Go Cats.

Morning Duty

I've had to cut short my painting and blogging tonght because in the morning I'm driving a bus load of drama students to Perth to go and see a production of The Glass Menagerie and we leave at 7.00.
This of course does not fit well with the normal Holt Press schedule!

Thus I am going to bed early. Early for me at least.

BTW, the footy season starts tomorrow night! Yeehaaaa!!!

Go Cats

Day out at the Footy

One of my new roles at school this year is to be the contact and liaison person for the SW Football Academy run by Clontarf. It's an indigenous education initiative aimed at improving attendance and participation of Aboriginal students, using football as a strategy and incentive. If the kids do the right thing they get toplay footy for Clontarf.
There's a Clontarf program at Newton Moore in Bunbury and this year Busselton has become a satellite project out of here. My task is to monitor the indigenous kids at the school and encourage and support their participation in the program.

Today that meant takng three boys to Bunbury to play in a game against Sevenoaks College from Perth. Sounds simple and straight forward doesn't it?

But! Tracking down and getting commitments from some kids is not that easy.
So when Gavin rang me yesterday to check all was on track for tody, I couldn't give him a solid guarantee we'd be there, or how many, but I was hopeful...

Come this morning there was a significant distraction to my football plans, in the form of a gas leak!! There was a STRONG smell of gas permeating the school, with staff and students wondering where it was coming from and fears as to what it might mean and whether it posed a risk. I joined the hunt for the source, without success, so I then informed the Deputy Principal and Business Manager and suggested we needed to take action. Thankfully after a few phone calls and discussion with othe people it was discovered that there was a gas leak in town near some roadworks(!) and the gas was spreading through the neighbourhoods.


Emergency under conrol, it was back to the footy. I located the three boys. None of them had brought their footy gear!!! One was still planning to come, the other two said they weren't coming!! After a little bit of gentle persuasion and a couple of phone calls they changed their minds and we set off; first to a couple of homes to pick up boots and gear, then onto Bunbury for the game. We arrived a little late so that by the time the boys were changed and ready the game had started. They came on at quarter time and despite not knowing their team mates managed to get themselves into the game and do quite well. Two of them kicked goals and all showed some glimpses of football talent.

Newton Moore, the Kaardas, won the game although it didn't end up as one-sided as the first quarter suggested it would be. Sevenoaks kicked 6 unanswered goals at the start of the third quarter before NM steadied and went on to win.

I was pleased with a few of my photos of the game, capturing a few of the high-flying exploits of the kids on both teams. Indigenous kids often love to go for the big speccy mark.

The boys seemed to enjoy it although they didn't have much to say. They'd been quiet on the way up in the car too, except for constant changing of their beat music on the car stereo; they flicked through the songs constantly till they found one they liked, and when the level of swearing in the lyrics became too great, I'd flick to the next one!!!
Maybe it was the music, or being out in the sun, but I ended up with a headache and had to buy a packet of panadol to deal with it.


Things warmed up once we went to Hungry Jacks for lunch and they started to talk up their performances in the game, each trying to outdo the others with tales of skill and courage. By the end of lunch they'd all been stars who were about to be drafted by Hawthorn or Carlton!

On the way home I had an inspiration and stopped to buy some chocolate bars. I announced we were going to have a footy quiz and the first kid to get three questions right would get the chocolate bar of their choice! Suddenly they were excited and interested!
I was dismayed however at their lack of football knowledge!! They could play, but they didn't know much about the game!!
None of them knew any of these and took a long time and many hints before they got the answers.
Who won the 2004 AFL Grand Final?
Who won the 2007 Brownlow Medal?
Who has kicked the most goals n history?
Who is the captain of Hawthorn? (Two of them professed to be Hawthorn fans!!!)
Who is the coach of Carlton?
Which teams have only won one premiership?

On the plus side, this kept them entertained all the way back to Busselton, and they all managed to get a chocolate bar in the end!!


I didn't get to see much of Favourite Daughter on her big day a I had to work late and had a Youthcare meeting tonight. She had a mixed day. She was unhappy at work because of a mistake she'd made the previous night and the boss' reaction to it. But she had a really lovely day out with her Mum, visiting wineries, galleries and tourist spots up and down the cape. She also got some lovely presents and some encouraging text messages from her friends. A group of them are going camping for a couple of nights at the end of the week to celebrate the occasion.

Happy Birthday to my Favourite Daughter

Favourite Daughter is about to be a former teenager. In 5 mintes time she will turn 20. Woohoo!
Happy Birthday Possum, we love you.

I've got some blogging to catch up on but I don't have time to do it now. Maybe tomorrow night. This is a busy week though.

Spurs 1 Chelsea 0

Oh yeah!!!!

Skipping Girl Vinegar

I came up to Perth tonight to see Skipping Girl Vinegar play at the Fly By Night Club in Freo. My friend Chris from Melbourne plays in the band and it was great to see them live.

Go here to check them out and listen to a couple of their songs. One Chance in particular is a ripper.

They were the support act for Kate Miller-Heidke, a most unusual performer.

Alex and The Heir came with me, having come down to Busso last night to deliver Favourite Daughter's car. The house was chockers last night, with VTES and Zac W staying as well!

I had a very quiet night in the cab, particularly as I had a late start after footy traing and then couldn't get the car started!!! Even after an hour of trying! I ended up switching into the wheel chair cab and would have had a dismal night except that a bloke wandered into the 24 hour servo while I was there and wanted to be taken to Witchcliffe, a $110 fare! I was happy to oblige although he was a bit strange, telling me weird stories and repeating everything three times!

I'm staying at the Ballajura Motor Inn tonight where the hospitality is always good but sadly they no longer have Foxtel and thus I can't watch the Tottenham v Chelsea game. I'm following it on the web instead. 0-0 at half time. I'm having lunch with Chris and the band at Cottesloe tomorrow; I want them to see the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition before they fly home to Melbourne tomorrow night.

Crash

Our computer has crashed! The kids are having withdrawal symptons!
I've run a repair program on it and it "looks" like it's fixed, ie. everything looks normal, but it isn't! IE won't open and gives odd messages when you try. Same with Windows mail. The firewall is off and refuses to be turned back on! All in alla most unsatisfactory situation.
On the positive side, my laptop is still working, thus this post is made possible.
I suspect a visit from a technician whose hands will require greasing with silver will be required before normality is restored.

I had a very eventful day at work but am too tired to blog about it now. I'll catch up some time over the weekend, in between taking The Heir and Alex up to Perth tomorrow arvo and going with them to see Skipping Girl Vinegar play at the Fly By Night Club in Freo tomorrow night. Tickets $25 at the door if you want to come and check them out, them being a funky little band from Melbourne that my mate Chris plays in, he being a school chaplain over there. That is clearly not one of the best constructed sentences I've ever posted on the blog but it is 4am, it's been a long and challenging day and I'm too tired to make it any more coherent.

Great Investment

The best $20 I've ever spent was on this pair of bent nosed pliers on the weekend!
I've had a loose tooth for weeks that has been getting progressively more sensitive and painful. I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago and he made an appointment to deal with it and another troublesome tooth in about a month. Unfortunately neither I nor my tooth could wait that long! On Saturday night in the cab it was driving me crazy and I was giving it a hammering with my tongue trying toloosen it to the point of dislodging. No luck but come Sunday I headed straight to Bunnings and bought a DIY dental instrument. The tooth was way up the back, actually being a wisdom tooth that never fully developed. The dentist called it a microdont, which must be a technical term for piddly little tooth. I positioned myself in front of the mirror and probed toward the back of my mouth in search of the elusive little dont. It wasn't even visible but I knew where it was because every touch was painful. I had to fly blind but managed to get a grip on it at the third attempt. Steeling myself for the anticipated pain I jerked the pliers downwards as quickly as I could, and lo and behold it came out without the slightest resistance, or pain! Not even any blood! Just a tiny little clump of enamel nestled in the end of the needle nose. What a relief! Saved myself a bit of money too!!

Life Cycle

Working, painting, sleeping, working, painting sleeping, working, painting ...

Tottenham Win Again

Spurs' revival continues helped by a 2-1 away win against Aston Villa. Glass Dave had recorded it for me and I went round to watch it after work. Shame DJ told me the result when I arrived! At least Spurs won though, better than finding out they'd lost.
I fell asleep toward the end; Dave and DJ had gone fishing and woke me up on their return with 10 herring.

Pictorial catch-up

Mum & Walter came over for a quick visit today, just long enough to help hang a curtain and give me a haircut.
Mum leaves for the USA and France on Thursday and will be away for 68 days! Bon Voyage!




Newest member of the Holt Press "family", Victoria, henceforth to be known as VTES - Victoria The Exchange Student, on this blog.





Frozen Chook Bowling @ Phat Phriday



"Justice Mercy Compassion" Now finished (and ready for sale!)



A collection of US presidential election badges bought on ebay, now hanging in The Hair's room as he is the most politically inclined of all the Holt Press offspring.




New "curtain" in Victoria's room

The Cats win but it's not all good news!

The final margin was 76 points as the Cats won the NAB Cup. Collingwood have been something of a bogey team the last few years so it was good to belt them, even if it doesn't really count.

There was some bad news; Josh Hunt looks like he has done his knee and if so will miss the whole season. That will be a terrible blow for him and for the club. Josh was my nephew Daniel's best man and apart from being a very good footballer is a nice bloke too. I hope for his sake the injury isn't that serious but the initial response suggests they are expecting the worst.

Joel Selwood on the other hand could do no wrong and won the Michael Tuck Medal for best on ground. He was brilliant. It's hard to believe he hasn't even turned 21 yet. I think I might put $10 on him to win the Brownlow, before his odds shorten too much!

Talking about football, I had my first run for two years at Masters training tonight! It almost killed me! That is a slight exaggeration but I did struggle to make it all the way through training and my first few touches were ordinary in the extreme! I've been wanting to get back to playing footy for ages so I'm glad to have made the first move but I really hope it gets easier or I may not survive!

The Cats are Cruising to the Cup

95 to 38 with one quarter to go, the Cats have been awesome. There was a very interesting interview with Mark Thompson at half time which shed some light on his reaction to losing the Grand Final last season, and an insight into the character of the players and the club.

Collingwood scored a couple of goals in the 3rd quarter but had no answer for Geelong who are racing away, despite still more poor kicking at goal at times. Tom Hawkins again!!!

Go Cats!!

Things are Looking Better at Half Time

That's better!

64 to 24 at half time. Collingwood added one point while the Cats kicked 6 goals to burst away. There were still some terrible misses, most notably from Tom Hawkins, but lots of goals went through as the Cats running play-on game moved up a couple of gears.

Joel Selwood is looking like Brownlow material!

Go Cats.

Quarter Time Update

23 points apiece at quarter time but Geelong have missed several easy shots at goal! That revives bad memories of last year's real Grand Final where inaccuracy cost us dearly. Hopefully our kicking will improve!

Go Cats

Let's Hope the Cats NAB the Cup!

One hour to go until the NAB Cup Grand Final (on TV) In reality the game is nearly over and I could be listening to it on the radio but I always prefer to watch the game, and to do so without knowing the result. I'm hoping the Cats beat the Pies of course but it is always a little wierd knowing that the result is already determined before I watch the game.
So, Go Cats. And if you already know the score and Collingwood won, don't go telling me, or stirring me! It may only be the pre-season comp but I still want the Cats to win.

Meanwhile Phat Phriday returned for the first time this year today. Favourite Daughter and Winchester came and helped me run it and we had a good turnout. Our traditional first program each year is Frozen Chicken Bowling and it proved as popular and as messy as ever, especially once the plastic bag tore open and the chicken started coming apart!

I received some very positive feedback from a teacher this afternoon, commending me on the job I've been doing so far this year and telling me that he has had many comments to that effect from other staff members,"into double figures Marcus" (referring to the number of comments!) "so go home and have a good weekend!"
Fair enough.
It is nice to hear that my work is being noticed and appreciated. I'm certainly feeling better and more positive about the job this year.

40 minutes to go until the footy starts!

Go Cats!

Not just cause I love Geelong; like all decent footy fans, I hate Collingwood. Imagine how much they'll carry on if they win! It's bad enough having Carlton regaining their arrogant swagger with everyone tipping them to make the top 4! We don't need Collingwood crowing as well!

Family Update

The Hair is away on a Red Cross Cadets camp so the house is unusually quiet.
It will return to normal tomorrow, and increase in volume come Sunday when Victoria moves in. Victoria is a German exchange student who is coming to stay with us for the next three months.
Her previous placement wasn't working out and we were asked to consider having her. We discussed it as a family then went through a screening interview to determine whether we were dodgy characters. Apparently not.
Hopefully Victoria will feel relaxed and at home with us.

Favourite Daughter has been doing the cooking at tea time for the last week or so which Mrs Holt Press is really appreciating. The food has been great.

Sport Boy has started going for a run and doing push ups in the morning before school. The messages from the coaches at the soccer academy and the tennis development squad seem to have inspired him and he told me yesterday he's been feeling better since he started exercising more. Good old endorphins.

One of the other taxi drivers rang me this arvo to ask if I'd mind swapping shifts with him this weekend, my Friday for his Saturday. It just so happens that Geelong are playing Collingwood in the Grand Final of the NAB Cup on Friday night and I'd been trying to work out a way to be able to watch it. Problem solved!
I'm also hoping to go to footy training tomorrow arvo for my first run with the Masters team in a couple of years! That will be a shock, to the team, and to me!!!
Only a couple of weeks until the real footy season starts again, I can hardly wait.
The Cats are hungry and looking for redemption!!

Dethroned

I was humbled at the Scrabble Club last night! A new lady came for the first time and she beat me! I don't like losing so that wasn't fun but she irritated me by her manner, falsely modest, pushing the rules, bringing an "International Scrabble Word Lister" which none of us are familiar with, and getting her nose out of joint when I wouldn't accept certain words that weren't in our standard reference dictionary. She won all three games she played but kept insisting it was luck when in fact she was an exceptionally good player! She made at least four 7 letter words on the night. She kept talking about the other scrabble club she played in and implying that our rules weren't really up to scratch etc. I played her last and although my letters were pretty ordinary was competitive until near the end when I made a couple of mistakes and opened up scoring opportunities which she pounced on.

By the end of the night I wanted to ................... but, violence is not a solution! I can't go doing that to people, no matter how annoying they are, and it would have looked like sour grapes anyway because she'd just trounced me!

I'll be hungry for revenge next month!

Funeral Message

This was the message I gave at the funeral this afternoon.

I did not expect to be here. The news of Vicki’s death came as a terrible shock. As I said to Jason and Miranda when we met yesterday, this news felt personal. I didn’t know Vicki as well as you did, but I knew her and cared about her. I knew her husband Max when he was a teacher at Carine High School. As the school chaplain I walked beside him and his family as he battled and eventually succumbed to cancer. I had the honour of conducting Max’s funeral and many if not all of you were there on that sad occasion. A few years later I had the special joy and privilege of marrying Jason and Olga and rejoiced in the news of the births of their two little boys. And today I come to serve the Greive family again in their time of need. I think you’ll understand me when I say I wish I wasn’t here. I wish I didn’t need to be here. But, death is a harsh reality, it touches us all in the end and so, in another way, it is an honour to be here, to celebrate Vicki’s life and honour her memory.
My over-riding impression at the time of Max’s death was the depth and strength of the love he and Vicki shared for each other. It was obvious to all. It had been the sustaining power of their long and happy relationship and the foundation for their family, helping Jason and Miranda grow up into the special people they have become. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that when Max died, part of Vicki died too. Life was never the same. How could it be? The loss of a love that strong was always going to be a heavy burden and Vicki has had many struggles and difficult times since then. Never-the-less, there have also been good times, the arrival of new family members as their kids got married and then that most special of all blessings, grandchildren. Vicki loved her three little grandsons and they loved her very much as well.
The family are keen that we not dwell on the sadness of Vicki’s passing, but rather that we celebrate the good times and remember the special moments and events of her life.
I want to acknowledge the love that was so evident in Vicki’s life, for Max and for her family.

What I’m about to say may sound a little odd, but bear with me and hopefully the context will make sense. I am not the first person to make the observation that the world is in a bit of a mess. On a global scale the economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, terrorism threatens the lives of innocent people in countless countries and global warming has altered the world’s climate with potentially catastrophic impact. Violence, crime and drug related incidents affect our lives and safety. There is a lot of bad news in the world, so much so that some people refuse to watch the news or read the paper because it is too depressing.
Against this backdrop of doom and gloom I want to offer two pictures of hope and light.
First is the love and commitment of family, and friends, the bond that ties people together through all of the ups and downs of life. It is love that provides us with the strength to survive even the worst of times. It is love that gives us reason to hope that things will get better. Love that allows us to get back up when we fall or get knocked down. Love that gives us the courage to seek forgiveness when we fail and grace to enable us to forgive when others fail us.
There is no magic formula for love, no secret ingredient we can buy to obtain or create it. The key to love is hard work, toughness and commitment. Love requires effort and perseverance.
In their marriage and their family, Vicki and Max had that sort of love.
The second ray of light that can overcome the darkness of the world and it’s troubles is faith.
As I observe the world and people I see time and time again the impact of lack of faith. Without faith and belief in a higher power where do people turn to find meaning and purpose? What is the point of life and existence unless we live in relationship, firstly to others, our family and friends, and then to God our maker. I believe it is God’s love that empowers our love. I believe it is God’s calling that gives our lives meaning, lifting us above the empty pursuit of material gain and mindless pleasure. I believe that it is discovering and seeking to live out God’s purpose for us that completes us. Faith and trust in the love and mercy of God will carry us through life no matter what may beset or derail us. By contrast, I believe it is the absence of faith meaning and purpose that has led to a generation of lost and hurting young people who don’t respect themselves or other people and who live purely for the moment without consideration for the needs of others or for the impact and consequences of their actions and choices.
There is within every one of us, a yearning for truth and love and meaning and purpose.
I encourage you to acknowledge and recognise it within your own life and to pause and reflect on what it is that gives your life meaning. What is it that you most value and cherish?
What do you want your life to be remembered for? Who are the people you want to invest your time and love in to make the world a better place?
Just in case you haven’t worked it out, people will not praise you for the size of your house but for the love that dwells in your home.
They will not celebrate the value of your car or the power of your home cinema, they will talk about your character, the way you treated people, the love and respect you showed to others.
People won’t care how much you know, but they’ll know how much you care.
I urge you then to work out what is most important in your life and then pour your energy into that,
to recognise the people who need your love and to pour your heart into them,
to discern the spiritual truths of life and to pour your spirit into their pursuit.
Life is too short and love matters too much to do otherwise.

The Heir Leaves Home (Again)

The Heir and I set off just after 10 and had an uneventful trip to Perth. He dropped me off in Scarborough while he went to deliver the trailer load of stuff to his new abode in Bentley.
I met with Jason and Miranda to discuss their Mum's funeral and everything was sorted out and planned for tomorrow. They were in fairly good shape considering the circumstances.
I prayed with them before I left.
The Heir picked me up after he'd had a quick swim at Scarborough Beach, one of my favourite places when I was a kid.
From Bentley I took the scooter and went to meet Sally Warren and Callum so we could go to the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Cottesloe Beach. It was brilliant, just as it is every year, and there were hundreds of people up and down the beach admiring and interacting with the 50+ sculptures.
I briefly dropped in to visit Rose before swapping the scooter back for the car and bidding farewell to the Heir.
I've spent this evening writing the message for the service tomorrow. I'll review it in the morning just to see if it still feels OK. It was challenging to write, trying to strike the right balance and capture the tone and feel that the family are wanting.
I'm glad the service is not until 3.00 tomorrow; that will give me time to do a few things in the morning. I may look around for a pair of trousers, the ones in my suit are really ugly, I never like wearing them, the tailor must have been on drugs when he designed them.

It was Mrs Holt Press' birthday today and I arranged for her and Favourite Daughter to pick up her present in my absence. I was quite nervous about whether she would like it but when I spoke to her this evening she said she did so I felt relieved. It is a painting of a vineyard done in water colour that I bought at an art auction fundraiser for the bushfire appeal. Another bloke kept bidding against me, pushing the price higher than I really wanted to go but I figured that with the money going to such a good cause it was ok to keep bidding until I got it!

I'm at Chatteau d'Taffrail for the night.

Reunion

We went to the Augusta Mission Team reunion this afternoon at the Edwards' place at Australind. It was good to see everyone again and share some stories of life since mission then pray for one another. There is a very strong "family" feel to the team which I think all of us appreciate and value. Mum and Walter were there too, one of the last times we'll see Mum before she sets off on her big adventure to America and France. Must remember to tell her that I got Skip's address and they're living in San Diego now! Very handy seeing as that's where she'll be staying with Paul and Vicki when she first gets to the US.

The Heir is moving to Perth tomorrow in preparation for going to Uni in second semester. I helped him load his belongings into the trailer and then we fiddled around trying to fix the lights. A couple of replacement globes did the trick. We're setting off fairly early tomorrow as I'll be meeting with the family at lunchtime in preparation for the funeral service on Monday.

Then I settled back in my armchair to watch Geelong beat Carlton to advance to the NAB Cup "Grand Final" against Collingwood next weekend. As I've said before, the pre-season tournament means very little, but I'd rather win games than lose them. There is some extra incentive: I think any team who wins the NAB Cup and the premiership in the same season gets a million dollar bonus from the AFL!

Tomorrow is Mrs Holt Press' birthday. Unfortunately with the Heir and I needing to get to Perth by lunchtime we won't be around for much of the celebration, although I have got her a nice surprise present!

Justice Mercy & Compassion

This is the painting I've been working on for the last two nights. Obviously it's similar to others I've done but this time I painted on board and put it in a gold frame. It's a mixed media piece combiningg acrylic paint, glue and pieces of metal.
Price on enquiry :)

Bad News

I received an unexpected phone call today.

It was bad news.

Terrible news.

A lady I know in Perth died suddenly on the weekend.

I was stunned, saddened, overwhelmed.

Her son rang to tell me.

A couple of years ago I performed his wedding ceremony.

A few years before that I conducted his Dad's funeral.

Now his Mum is gone too.

I cried.

I've dealt with lots of bereavements in my work.
They upset me but they don't normally touch me personally.
This news did.
It felt personal.
It feels personal.

I know this lady.
I knew her husband.
I know their children.
I care about them.

They have asked me to conduct the funeral service which will happen in Perth on Monday afternoon.
I said I would be honoured to serve their family in this time of grief and sadness.
I am not looking forward to it.

I have not been feeling good tonight.
Ironically I had just completed a questionaire for my psych as a follow up to my appointments with her. My "scores" were good, I was not feeling anywhere near the same intensity of depression and despair that I was when I first started seeing her.

This news has sent me into a bit of a spin.

I've been agitated, impatient, short-tempered and driven since I got home.
I cleaned up the entire carport and all the leftover stuff from the garage sale.
I haven't done any painting for a few weeks but tonight I painted a complete picture and worked on two others as well.
I said things I shouldn't and wouldn't ordinarily say.
It occurred to me that there is some connection between my feelings and behaviour and the news I received today.

I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Mrs HP and the kids have been understanding and supportive. The Hair gave me a big hug and told me he loves me.
I don't mean to take out my feelings and negativity on them but I guess they are in the "firing line".
Not that I've been destructive or done any harm to anyone, but I have not been feeling as happy or at peace today as I have for quite a while now.

If you pray I'd value some on my behalf, and for the family in Perth in their grief.

Thanks

Long Weekend

I don't know what Labour Day is but I am awfully glad today was a public holiday because of it! Long weekends, gotta love 'em!
I needed some R&R after the beach carnival exertions.
Not that it was all rest, on top of my usual Friday night taxi shift I'd forgotten I was also doing Sat night this week! Then I got a call from Kingy this arvo asking if I could cover his shift tonight!! It was only five hours because it's Monday, and I only had three jobs but one of them was to retrieve a family who had written off their car about 40km out of town on the Jalbarragup Rd. They weren't hurt thankfully, especially as they had three little boys. Their trailer jack-knifed causing the crash which tore both front wheels off their car.
I dropped them off at a motel in town after they politely declined my offer that they could stay at our place for the night.

Friday night was pretty quiet and I was so tired that I actually pulled over to a dark quiet place and slept for a couple of hours! Consequently I didn't make much for the night.

Sat night by contrast was very profitable with an $86 fare to Margaret River followed by an $81 fare to Dunsborough and a $68 return fare to Busso in succession.
The MR fare was to take home a girl who told me she worked as a "skimpy" barmaid who had just had an unpleasant experience whilst working topless at a bucks party. I talked to her about her work and her experiences. The money is her main reason for doing this sort of work; she had earnt $800 for the evening!! Prefacing it with the comment that she'd probably never been asked this by a taxi driver before, at the end of the trip asked if I could pray for her! She looked slightly stunned but accepted my offer and looked and sounded quite moved afterwards.

On Sunday night Mrs Holt Press and I went to the Tropfest short film festival at Mad Fish Winery near Cowaramup and thoroughly enjoyed it. They screened the 16 finalists in the competition, selected from over 600 entries. There were some excellent films, many with great humour, plot twists and interesting story lines.
It drizzled for much of the evening but a couple of extra large garbage bags purchased for the bargain price of 50c proved affective in keeping us dry.

Close but not close enough

Disappointment for Tottenham at Wembley after losing to Man U on penalties.
It was 0-0 after extra time and the dreaded penalty shoot out was our undoing.
Spurs played well throughout the game and had chances as did United. Ronaldo almost won it right on full time but hit the post. For most of the second half Spurs looked the more likely scorers with Lennon and Modric playing very well but the strikers were off target and in the end it was heart break for the under dogs. Rats!

Carling Cup Final

I'm off to Glass Dave's to watch the Carling Cup Final and hoping that Spurs can beat all-concquering Manchester United to win the cup for the second year in a row.

Realistically Tottenham are the underdogs but we were against Chelsea last year too and that didn't stop us. Come on you Spurs!