Local Blogger Plate

 

If you've been reading my comments you'll recognise the significance of this particular number plate which I snapped a couple of days ago in town!
Not much gets past us at Holt Press!
Welcome to town!

I dragged myself out of bed after 5 hours sleep and went down to the antiques and collector's auction at Rumens. When I got there they were up to item 120. When I left they were up to 270. The item I most wanted was 548!!!
Luckily a mate from the taxis, Graham was there and he agreed to bid for me on a couple of items, within the limits I gave him. He rang back a few hours later to say he'd gotten all three for a total of $42. They were bags of metal items, badges, plaques, hooks,filagree work etc. I particularly wanted the one bag that had the most filagree plates in it as I have ideas about using them in my painting.
I'd had to leave the auction to go and do an afternoon shift at the Art Geo Court House gallery, my first in several months. It was quiet so I spent the time listening to the cricket and painting.
When Graham rang to report on the auction I went round to pick up my items and it was like walking into an Aladdin's cave! He has been collecting things for over 40 years and the house was crammed with all sorts of interesting things from Matchbox cars and old phones to 45's and mannequins! I looked enviously through his collection of badges and pins!
he has plans to buy a property with a shed and open a private museum so he can put all his stuff on display!

Tomorrow is a significant day. The Hair turns 17. Mrs Holt Press is away in Bunbury tomorrow helping Mum at a craft show so we had dinner and birthday cake tonight in his honour. I'll do something special with him tomorrow.

Friday Night Drama

I had a reasonable night in the cab tonight, it started quiet but got really busy at peak hour (midnight) and didn't let up for the next three and a half hours. I had some drama about 11.30. I picked up abloke who was drunk and had fallen asleep at someone's house. When he woke up they were all gone. He complained about having to get a taxi home. He needed to stop at an ATM to get some money and while he was doing that a girl I know came running up in tears and great distress saying that her boyfriend had been hit in the eye with a stubbie and pleading with me to take them to the hospital. Of course I agreed, even though they had no money, but told them I had to drop customer #1 off first. When he got back in the car he was a bit surprised to see three new faces in the back, and being innebriated, began asking loudly who the %*&# they were and what they were doing in his cab. The bloke with the cut eye was already yelling and swearing and breathing murderous threats about the kid who had thrown the bottle at him and his girlfriend was losing it too, so there ensued an ugly shouting match in the cab as I was simultaneously trying to deliver #1 home and referee the conflict. Neither side were seeing reason, their capacity to do so no doubt clouded by excessive alcohol consumption, and in the kid's case, the anger, emotion and adrenalin of the original violence.
I finally got #1 out of the cab at which point, despite me having told him numerous times I was taking them to the hospital, he suddenly spotted the blood and gaping wound and said "What happened to you?"
We made it to the hospital a few minutes later, having endured a further stream of threats, expletives, and pleas for calm!
I did not envy the medical staff in the ER having to deal with this bloke. He was not seeing reason and he was highly agitated, a volatile mix!

The highlight of the night was getting a question right on Rod Quinn's quiz on the ABC Overnight show and going in the hat for the prize. Sadly I didn't win.
Rod gave me more latitude than normal in answering the question, perhaps because there'd been a long line of unsuccessful attempts before me and time was running out.
The question: 30 odd years before he won two Oscars, what important event did Jason Robards witness?
Think you know the answer?
Leave a comment.

Personalised Plates

 

I know they're a bit hard to read in the collage , just click to enbiggen and they're much easier to read. See if you can work out which is my favourite.

Just in case you were wondering, no I haven't given up on my hobby of taking pictures of personalised number plates, as these pictures attest. People are often bemused when they see me pull out my camera or phone and take a picture of the back of a car, especially if its theirs!
The number plates blog has been sadly neglected but the photo collection has grown to vast numbers, it's amazing how many people have their own plates.

Poverty

Today is Blog Action Day on Poverty, thus this post is on the topic of poverty.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of God is theirs.
Jesus

Whoever among you would be great, must become as nothing.
Jesus

The first shall be last and the last shall be first.
Jesus

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus

Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.
Samuel

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?
Jesus

A man's worth does not consist of the value of his possessions.
Jesus

The world has been in economic turmoil for the last few weeks. Banks and corporations have failed, share values have plummeted, governments have been forced to commit billions of dollars in rescue packages to stop complete melt down of whole economies.

Mankind through history has for the most part put its faith in money as the answer to all of life's problems and challenges. More money = less problems has been the mantra.
Building and holding on to wealth has been the focus of most of the western world, and now increasingly it is being adopted by the eastern and developing world.

I like money, or I should say, I like having money.

But having money does not protect against or prevent things going wrong in life.
Illness strikes the rich and the poor alike. The rich can afford better health care, but they can't insure against the inevitable, we will all die in the end.

We are relentlessly pursued by the marketers, advertisers and sellers, to buy buy buy, because our lives can't be happy or complete without whatever it is they're trying to sell us.

But this pursuit of money and things does not bring peace or contentment. It's more likely to bring dissatisfaction and discontent.

Two of the world's most famous women died within a week of one another, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. One had a life of wealth and luxury, power and pleasure, yet lived a sad and troubled life and died a sad and tragic death.
The other lived a life of service devoted to some of the lowest and the poorest people on earth. She lived a life of joy and fulfillment and was an inspiration to millions. At her death, Mother Teresa's only reputed possession was a bucket.
We would ordinarily consider the former rich and the latter poor, but I'm convinced it was the other way round.

Jesus, who had so much wisdom, love, compassion, power and faith that his life and teachings continue to draw millions of followers two thousand years on from when he lived, had only one possession at the time of his death, the robe he wore.

Somehow, in the big scheme of things, mankind seems to have gotten it wrong. The secret of happiness and peace and fulfillment is not in how much money we have or how many things we own. It is in knowing who we truly are, discovering our purpose, and connecting with our creator.

There is a lot of money in the world. But there is still a lot of unecessary death and suffering as a result of preventable disease, unclean water, lack of sanitation, insufficient health care and unequal distribution of resources. And don't mention the war!

The saddest part is that there is more than enough money to adequately provide and care for every person on earth. We can afford it. We have the means and the technology.
But we lack the one vital ingredient to make it happen.

We lack the will to do it.

The unified and committed will of the people with the power and resources at our disposal, and that's us, to make sure that the world is fed and provided for.

We think of poverty as being a lack of money, and it is.
But do we ever stop to consider that poverty is also being poor in attitude, poor in commitment, poor in will?

I am by Australian standards, fairly poor. My income is low and my assets are few.
Yet, in world terms I am one of the wealthiest people on the planet. I have much more than 95% of the rest of the world's population. I live in comfort and safety, I eat three times a day, have fresh and hot water at my disposal, a range of gadgets and appliances that make my life comfortable, two cars, a steady job, and a blog.

Am I rich or poor?

Ultimately I believe it has nothing to do with my possessions and everything to do with my attitude.

Scrabble Group

There was a shift in the cosmos tonight, the delicate balance of the universe was disturbed, or my universe at least. I lost my first game tonight at Scrabble Group! This is a rare occurrence and the ladies took great delight in my defeat! Sue (top right) did the damage, courtesy of two seven letter words and their 50 point bonuses, the first of them on a triple word score! I had clawed my way back into the game and was planning my next move when I was blind-sided! She had committed the almost unforgiveable sin of Scrabble moments earlier by complaining she had too many "s"es! Not only did she have two, but also a blank, and an opening on the board, and proceeded to make "GRASSIER" for 86 points and that was the ball game!!

I was bent on revenge and redemption in my next game and Gael (bottom left) was the poor victim on the receiving end of my Scrabble wrath!
I made three 7 letter words in a row, and a 4th late in the game, racking up a score of 482 and winning by over 200 points! You can see the board in the picture, I couldn't let the moment go without a picture for the blog!!

Game three was against Marg (bottom right) who refers to me as "His Lordship", and it was a dour affair, a board full of three letter words, crammed tight for space, neither giving an inch. I eked out a 20 point win with 332! I felt better! My reputation was restored!
I was back on my Scrabble throne and the universe had returned to normal!!

Monday

Sport Boy's wrist is still giving him a lot of pain, it seems to get worse late in the day and toward evening. There's little we can do except give him pain killers and even those don't seem to help much. I sat and watched Wipeout with him when I go thome from work and the snuggle and laughter helped a little. He has to go back to school tomorrow but I'm not sure how he'll cope. He has a low pain tolerance threshold.

I went back to work today, thankfully it was quiet, with the kids coming back tomorrow. I had a long post mortem of the grand final with Chris, who apart from being a Hawthorn fan is a good bloke! There'll be more reminders and taunts to come over the next few days I'm sure!

I finished another painting tonight, one that I started at the retreat at New Norcia last week. It's similar yet different to other recent stuff and I'm not sure whether I like it but there's so0 much work and detail in it I'm not about to paint over it even if I conclude I don't!
I was watching/listening to Enough Rope while I was painting, what a contrast!
His first guest was Imran Khan, the former cricketer, a highly intelligent and articulate man who may one day be Prime Minister of Pakistan.
His second guest was Kevin Bloody Wilson, a foul-mouthed racist yobbo! He denies the racist tag but I'm not sure how, his songs are full of offensive terms and attitudes towards indigenous people, and many others besides.
Australia has a long history of yobbo comedians and characters, many of whom, like Paul Hogan and Sir Les Patterson are very funny without crossing the line. Wilson doesn't just cross the line, he jumps up and down on it's grave! As you can tell I'm not a fan.
Somehow, one of his albums sold 3 million copies! As Mrs Holt Press remarked as she took her leave, "That's a worry!"

Signs of the Times Pt 2

While I was at Country Week with Sport Boy I went cruising the streets of Cockburn checking out the piles of unwanted goods on the verges awaiting pick up by the council. I found an old banana lounge which I used throughout the week to sit comfortably while watching the soccer. I couldn't resist photographing this particular pile of rubbish, a sign of a discontented footy fan!

Spotted in a shop in Bridgetown.

Sport Boy and The Hair waiting at the hospital after SB had a plaster cast put on his right arm. He's still in pain but not as bad as yesterday.

He and I took a drive this arvo, to watch some of the Moto-X, then on to the Margaret River Chocolate Company, where for some reason Winston gets preferential treatment.

Signs of the Times

A few signs I've spotted in recent weeks. I have a long history of teasing Mrs Holt Press about the relative merits of her favourite store, Spotlight so when I saw one closed down I couldn't resist blogging it. The others all reflect the decreasing literacy standards of 21st Century Australia. Sorry the blackboard one is blurry, I was trying to take it quickly without attracting the shop keepers attention. If you can't make it out, "coming" is spelt "comming".

In the Wars Again!

Mrs Holt Press has gone to Northam for the weekend on a training course, leaving me in charge of the bairns.
You know this story is not going to end well.
Sport Boy went round to play with Ben yesterday.
They were riding the scooter.
He tried a "bunny hop".
His wheel got stuck in a drain cover.
He fell over, landing on his outstretched hands.
He got some minor gravel rash and badly jarred his wrists.
He's been in HUGE amounts of pain and discomfort.
Two trips to the hospital, one last night, another this morning.
The x-rays don't show any breaks but the pain is still really bad so he's in a cast for a week, feeling pretty miserable.

Mrs HP may never go away again!

Happy Birthday Mum

Sunday October 5 was Mum's 70th birthday. The family gathered to celebrate the occasion with dinner at Elmars in the Valley, a German restaurant in the Swan Valley.
Everyone had a great time, especially Mum.
Afterwards we met back at Alan's place for coffee. The kids shared their feelings and memories about their Nan then I read a poem I'd been composing over the preceding couple of hours. It started with the idea of sharing 70 memories of Mum which The Hair listed in the car as we drove over to Bridgetown to pick up Walter. I then had the bright idea of turning it into rhyming couplets!
Here's the result.

The Ballad of Jacqui B.

A long time ago, I don't remember when
But by the calendar three score and ten
1938 was the year
That my Mum first appeared

Somewhere around the town of Hurstbridge

In a little house without a fridge

Alec and Elsie brought forth Evelyn's sister
And named her Jacqueline Muriel Burmeister
Some time later they moved to Northcote
To a house at 373 Clarke St
Down the road to school at Westgarth
Up the sidestreet to the park
A great place to play but don't be late
When Pa whistled from the gate
One day Graham copped a whack in the head
A boy had kicked him his sister's said
Up to the park stormed Nan, a neck to wring
Till they confessed "it was the swing"
In Melbourne, Footy's king of the pack
And the Burmeister family were yellow and black
Cheering on the Tigers in the rain and mud
Watching the exploits of Captain Blood
Back in the days of carts and horses
Following with a bucket awaiting nature's forces
One day a milk cart too long lingered
And crushed Mum's hand, hence her dodgy finger

A few years later Jacqui's eyes were drawn
To a handsome dark haired young man
Peter and Jacqui soon said "I do"
The day Jacqui first used shampoo! *
Not long after to Birchip they moved
A place a long long way removed
From family friends and civilisation
Not much to do except procreation
Thus first child Alan was born
Mum gave birth all alone
The nurse had retired for the night
And Father Peter was nowhere in sight
A litter of pups took his attention
While Alan made his ascension
Other towns followed as did more kids
Vicki next then Mark** and Squid***
The family moved down to Geelong
On Aberdeen St they belonged
Peter and Jacqui parted in Cook's centenary
And both headed for different scenery

Wiggs Rd Moolap was Jacqui's new home
Casa Moodella with an acre to roam
As a single Mum Jacqui worked hard
raising four kids, working at a garage
Weekends at Northcote, holidays at Nathalia
to see the Gallaghers and Nanny "Falia"
Riding bikes her back covered in flies
"Leave them there they're not in my eyes"
Collecting blue willow china plates and bowls
Replacing Mark's thirteen worn out soles
Driving the Morris Minor to Barwon Heads
Up the hill it felt like lead
After several attempts that were very stressful
In reverse she was finally successful

In 1974 Jacqui moved west with Arthur in toe
Across the Nullabor the Valiant did go
To Burnside St Bayswater rented from Neil and Joan
John Forrest High was our new school and home
From there to Watermans, West Coast Highway
Home decorating? She did it her way
With million dollar views up and down
Painted out with mission brown
New friends the Mentleins, Udo and Viv
Just up the highway from where we lived
After a year of turmoil one son was transported
To live with his father in a town called Rosewood
But another child arrived when Shannon was born
One new kid in the family and one kid gone
At Christmas one year for my Spurs obsession
She got a book signed by Spurs, a precious possession

Talking of obsessions I'm reminded
Mum was once addicted to Eucalyptus Diamonds
Her art and craft interests are myriad
I well remember her ceramics period
Now her home is over-run with bears
Family photos surround the stairs
Santas and Christmas decorations
Are just some of her fixations
On the other hand some phobias I should mention
Number one on the list the "Deadly Huntsman"
Many's the time she's been bailed up by a spider
Paralysed by fear by herself beside her
There's something else that could terrorise
Dogs, especially those BIG in size
One time on our way to Phillip Island
She and Lorna were cornered by a giant canine

Some years back Mum got the urge to see
The home of the brave and the land of the free
Off she went around the world
All on her own, a single girl
To Britain first, and Shakespeare's home
London, Oxford and the Cotswolds roamed
Then off she flew to see New York
And listen to the yankees talk
The Empire State and Central Park
Befriending Joshua and the Clarks
Seeing all the wonderful colours of Fall
New England's treasures she loved them all
Keith and Michelle said you're welcome here
In the home of John Deere
San Francison was a real highlight
The hills, the bay, the street-car lights
Then finally down to San Diego
To visit a very special amigo
Paul and Vicki were splendid hosts
And showed her the Californian coast
It was a trip jammed full of memorable places
Special people and friendly faces
The travel bug gave her a good hard bite
Twice more with bags packed she's taken flight

Without a husband, all on her own
Jacqui said "I'm not meant to be alone"
I'm the sort whose made for marriage
So Udo placed an ad for a German motor carriage
He answered the ad in the personal column
And scored a ring, a bit like Gollum

When "Poor Walter" went down on bended knee

She netted husband Number Three

They went together to Germany

To visit old friends and family

Then back to Mum's favourite place

Two more trips to the United States

Even though she's 70 now

I suspect that still somehow

She'll dip once more into the cookie jar

And go back again to America

Mum's special gift is hospitality
Her Christmas dinners have earnt immortality
Ham and pork, roast veges and trimmings
Everyone's plate over-brimming
And just when you've recovered from that
Out come the pancakes to lay you flat
You can rock up unexpected at any time
And be fed a banquet every time
She's moved around from west to east and east to west
Till finally now she loves Fridgetown best
Her beautiful little house set on the hill
With beds and bears and love is filled
The welcome mat's out, the door's not locked
The fire is warm and the pantry's stocked
Mum often welcomes travelling guests
And provides a comfy place to rest
But the guests she wouldn't trade for quids
Are her children and grand kids
Now Walter and Jacqui are the elders of our clan
Our wonderful Mum and beloved Nan
We love you dearly, we honour you
We thank you for everything you do
Your love is unconditional, it's never in doubt
Nothing we do could ever wipe it out
What's without question is your loyalty to friends
Your love and generosity never ends
You put other people first in every situation
Your commitment to family is beyond estimation
We wish you Happy Birthday in your 70th year
And many more to come, for Mum we give three cheers.


* Shampoo was a new invention, up until then people washed their hair with Velvet soap
* Marcus (that's me)
* Bruce

Back in Town

I'm home.
I'm going to bed.
I'll blog tomorrow.

Brrrrr!!

Cold wet and miserable describes Busselton today, a good day to stay indoors and paint.

Sport Boy and Callum kept one another company all day and tonight they went to the movies to see Journey to the Centre of the Earth while Mrs Holt Press and I went to church. It was the first time I'd been in several weeks due to work and taxi committments.

Tomorrow we head back to Perth for Mum's birthday.

Country Week Ends in Victory

We're home from Country Week. Everything went really well and Sport Boy had a GREAT time.
His team won the 3rd v 4th play-off game this morning, coming back from 1-0 down to win 2-1.
There was great excitement on the sidelines and lots of emotion from the coach.

Callum aka BBQ Sauce Boy has come back with us for a couple of days so he and Sport Boy are enjoying each other's company. We're heading back to Perth on Sunday for Mum's 70th birthday celebration, then I'll go on to a retreat at New Norcia for a few days.

Meanwhile I'm taking a short break from the taxi while it's quiet to have some dinner and update the blog.

The Hair survived his solo occupation of the house for the last couple of days, although there was a sink full of dirty plates to greet us. He has since cleaned them up!

Country Week Report

Wednesday arvo in Freo, the kids are playing QZAR and I'm blogging!
Country Week is going pretty well so far. Sport Boy's team have played 6 games for 3 wins 2 losses and a draw. Their play has improved with each game and this morning's game against Albany was a ripper that they were unlucky to lose 2-1. Sport Boy has played well but gotten knocked down and injured multiple times! I'm trying to remind him that it is a contact sport and encourage him to bounce back up rather than staying down on the ground. He seems to take it as a personal insult when someone tackles him!
They play two games each day and we've had plenty of spectators. Mum, Mrs Holt Press and Favourite Daughter have all been to watch him play.
In between games there is a bit of a gap so yesterday we took them tenpin bowling. It was an expensive exercise! At one stage Adam had an 8-10 split and I rashly said "I'll give you $10 if you get that!" It's a very difficult shot, the sort of thing you might fluke 1 in a 100 times. So, you know what happened of course, he knocked them both down and the kids erupted in cheers and laughter and I had to cough up 10 bucks!!!

We kept them at camp last night while the older kids went to the movies so that's why they've come to QZAR today.
We've been working hard to get them to bed on time and keep their fluids up and their diets healthy in order to perform at their best.
Sport Boy is having a great time.

Two days to go.

One Small Consolation

Despite the disappointment in the footy yesterday, we were able to celebrate one victory. Sport Boy took out the handball competition held at half time in the front court of The Esplanade Hotel, where we watched the game. He score 44 points which not only won him the kids section but the adults as well!! The prize for the adults was a carton of beer so they gave that to the runner up. Sport Boy won a medal, gets his name on the perpetual trophy on display at the pub, and best of all, $50!!
He was pretty stoked about the prize!
"That's an answer to prayer Dad, that's how much spending money we're allowed to take to Country Week!"

Personally I'd have traded it for a Cats premiership!

It's Sunday night and he's sound asleep which is just as well because in 5 hours time we have to be up in order to catch the bus to Perth at 5.30am!!
Country Week starts tomorrow, at Beale Park in Spearwood. His team's first game is at 10.30 so they'll be getting straight off the bus and running out to play!!

I asked him how he was feeling about it when I put him to bed.
"I'm pumped Dad!"
What more could a little boy who loves sport want than a week of soccer games in Perth?
Mrs Holt Press and I are both going up to watch him play and I'll be staying at the campsite with the teams, helping supervise. There are 5 teams going from here, from U12's to U16's, all staying at Woodman Point, a campsite I am very familiar with, having run numerous leadership camps and footy camps there.

I'm not sure what the computer access will be like and therefore with what regularity I'll be able to update the blog. I'll be trying hard.

Not the Result I was Looking For!!!!

Rats Rats Rats!

The Hawks beat the Cats!

You can't kick 23 behinds and expect to win a Grand Final.

Hawthorn were good but Geelong let themselves down badly in front of goal.

Pity The Heir who was at the MCG, his first Grand Final and his team loses.

I'm disappointed but not devastated, perhaps because we won it last year.

I've never liked Hawthorn and I like them even less now!!

Hopefully this loss will burn deeply inside the Cats and drive them on to victory next year.

To go through an entire season with just one loss and not win the premiership is a very disappointing result. Gerard Whately was unequivocal on the ABC, the Cats choked when it mattered most! I tend to agree. They had some very good players but it's about the whole team getting the job done and they failed.

It will be a long wait for a shot at redemption but bring on 2009!

D Day

My 12 hour shift has just finished.

Dawn has broken outside.

The Grand Final Breakfast has started on TV.

In 6 1/2 hours time my beloved Cats will take on the Hawks in the 2008 AFL Grand Final.

Before that I need to get some sleep!

GO CATS!!!!!

Six Pack are Premiers

We won the volleyball grand final tonight but little thanks to me, I did not have a great game. It didn't help that I was subbed off and on throughout to play only in the back court and struggled to find my touch or get into the game when I came on. It got a little better as the game progressed but it was not a very enjoyable game personally. But, we won and I played my role so I'm pleased with that.
No more volleyball for 6 months though. It's disappointing when the season finishes.
There'll be beach volleyball over summer, if the shire manage to fix the beach!

Tomorrow is the last day of term and I'm going on a year 8 excursion, mountain biking through the Boranup Forest near Margaret River.
I've got the all night shift in the cab on Friday night so I'll only have a few hours sleep before the Grand Final.

Go Cats!!

Film Director catches cab in Busselton

I had a brush with fame recently when I picked up Peter Carstairs in the taxi from the finale of Cinefest Oz, a French-Australian Film Festival held in Busselton a couple of weeks ago.

The finale party was at The Goose and I took him to Dallyellup, near Bunbury which gave us plenty of time to chat about making movies and the Australian film industry. Peter directed the film "September", a coming of age story centred around the relationship between two friends, one black, the other white.

I haven't seen the film so I can't comment on it, but I did like the director!

He lamented the fact that the movie lost money despite being well received critically, but confided that almost all Australian films lose money.

He was staying at his parent's place in Dallyellup which backs up this fact.

There's just two days to go until the end of the school term, and three days until The BIG GAME. Lots of people seem to be tipping Hawthorn to win. They're in with a chance for sure but people should not quickly forget how dominant Geelong have been this season, having lost only one game. Carlton in 1995 and Essendon in 2000 had similarly dominant seasons and both went on to win the flag. It's no guarantee but it should provide the best guide as to the likely result on Saturday. Two teachers at school, Chris and Cam are both Hawthorn fans so there's a fair bit of ribbing and repartee happening at the moment.

The second biggest sporting event of the week occurs in Busso tomorrow night, the A Grade Volleyball Grand Final between my team, Six Pack, and traditional rivals Breakaways.
This will be my first A Grade GF. Two seasons ago I fell and broke my ankle when my team were two sets to nil ahead in the preliminary final and went on to lose 3-2. Hopefully this time I can make amends.

It's on its way

After a few dramas with Ticketmaster and a few phone calls to sort it out, Mrs HP picked up the sacred object (Grand Final ticket) in Bunbury and later this afternoon delivered it into my hands.
It was not easy to part with!
But, I steeled myself and put it an an Express Post envelope and mailed it off to The Heir.
It could arrive (in Geelong) tomorrow.
It should arrive by Thursday.
It better arrive by Friday!!

QOTD: "Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible" - Placards held by Belgraders celebrating the downing of a NATO stealth bomber.

Close But No Cigar

I feel very disappointed for Gary Ablett who for the second year in a row was favourite for the Brownlow medal and didn't win. Adam Cooney from the Bulldogs beat him by 2 votes.

Considering Ablett effectively missed 5 games with injury it was a great effort to get so close but the look of disappointment on his face as the final votes were read spoke volumes. In the end, too many other Cats players scored highly and took votes off him. Jimmy Bartel did worse than everyone expected but Joel Selwood, Joel Corey, Cameron Ling and Steve Johnson all got lots of votes. Just one more game would probably have been enough for Ablett to at least share the medal.

On the plus side, it may well spur him on to even greater heights in the Grand Final on Saturday and make him and the team more determined (if that were possible) to win the premiership.

At this time of year football becomes very personal!

Mrs Holt Press arrived home safely at 4.00 this morning after a very cold and uncomfortable journey in the Big Blue Beast. Consequently she slept for most of the day.

I had a psych appointment this afternoon then refereed a volleyball preliminary final before coming home to watch the Brownlow.

The other big news is that I got a ticket to the Grand Final in the Geelong member's ballot, that's what the previous post depicts, my successful number, 14615839.

However, in a twist of irony, I'm not going to Melbourne for the game! I can't afford it.

So, in possibly the single most sacrificial act and magnanimous gesture of my entire life, I am giving my ticket to The Heir! He is already in the eastern states, currently visiting Pop at Gympie, and flies to Melbourne on Wednesday. Half his luck!!

Go Cats!

Yeehaa!!

Not Long Now

Mrs Holt Press will be home in a couple of hours and I think we'll all be glad about that. I looked around at the things that hadn't changed since she left a week ago, like the dishes in the sink, the clothes on the line, the gas bottle unordered... I'm going to plead my case on the basis that I was sick! Wish me luck!

Favourite Daughter is also coming home for a visit, she has a break from her course at the end of her first term. Sport Boy had to move back into his own bed, which meant having to relocate the pile of clothes, shoes and recipe books that had accumulated on it over the last month.

He woke me early this morning in order to take him to Bunbury for a country week round robin, the team's last major practice run before the big event in a week and a bit's time. It was COLD, WET, WILD and WINDY which didn't deter the kids but had the parents rugged up and huddled into whatever shelter we could find.
Being woken early was bitter-sweet. I'd only had 4 hours sleep after a very ordinary taxi shift on Saturday night, I started at 4.00 and by 10.00 had only had 7 customers!! Thankfully things picked up after that but the night ended on an unpleasant note, with the worst smelling customer I've ever had, man he stank!! I had to drive all the way to Dunsborough with my window fully down just so I could breathe and considering that the foul weather started last night that wasn't an attractive option, but, the stench was worse!!

The soccer went well even though the Leewin kids didn't win a game, the coaches were upbeat and positive and the kids enjoyed themselves, all looking resplendant in their new, personalised, over-sized tracksuits!!

At the end we headed back to Busso in time for the Cornerstone club presentation awards. Sport Boy missed out on a trophy this season, partly perhaps because he missed a number of games through illness, but in a very pleasant surprise result, The Hair won the trophy in the 16's team for best team player of the season. All the trophies were awarded on the basis of parent's votes throughout the season so it was a most impressive achievement.
My focus on the presentations was seriously disrupted by a succession of phone calls to and from Mrs Holt Press and others as a result of Favourite Daughter running out of (lpg)gas on the way to work this afternoon (in Perth). Thankfully Greg and Demelza live close by and were able to come to her rescue and get the car going again so she could get to work. It certainly pays to have friends all over the place!

All things being equal, the two boys will both go to school tomorrow and I will return to work.

And the countdown to the BIG GAME begins tomorrow night with the Brownlow Medal. I'd love to see Gary Ablett win it but I have a sneaking suspicion Jimmy Bartel may just get up again.

GO CATS!!

And so it comes to this, the final two...

It's the Cats v the Hawks!

Geelong v Hawthorn in the biggest game of all, the 2008 AFL Grand Final.

Bring it on!

I find out on Monday whether I got a Grand Final ticket in the member's ballot. Fingers crossed!

Go Cats!!

GO CATS

The Cats are in the Grand Final!

It was a close game, high intensity, low scoring, nerve wracking, but ultimately rewarding. All that mattered was winning and Geelong did that. Sport Boy was a fidgeting jumping bean, at certain stages of the last quarter he couldn't bear to look. I wasn't as worried as him but I still had moments of discomfort and if the Bulldogs had kicked straighter it could have been much closer, and more uncomfortable.

We can relax now, at least until Saturday! I expect we'll be facing Hawthorn who have been the next best team all season and with the mercurial Franklin pose a genuine threat. But, they've still got to beat St Kilda tomorrow. Hopefully they'll bash the daylights out of one another!

Improvement

Both The Hair and I were feeling a bit better today although my tummy is a bit tender and unsettled. I went into work for a couple of hours and did a couple of tasks that needed doing.

After arguing with their website and their staff I finally managed to change Mrs Holt Presses flight home from Tassie, at a price of course!

Sport Boy wanted to go to soccer training at Margaret River this arvo but I had volleyball commitments at 6.30 and no other way of getting him there.

Tonight was the first night of finals at volleyball. I reffed the B Grade game then played in the A Grade semi. We started slowly and lost the first set but hit back strongly and won 3-1 to go straight through to the Grand Final. Apart from a couple of trips to the toilets in the breaks to cough up muck I got through the game ok.

I should make it to work for a few hours tomorrow. I'm doing a couple of interviews with some people for the White Crosses project.

Tomorrow night is a BIG night, it's the AFL preliminary Final between Geelong and the Western Bulldoigs. The Cats are hot favourites to win but I have strong memories of last year's prelim final when we nearly lost to Collingwood. Mrs HP, Sport Boy and I were at the game and it was incredibly nerve-wracking. I hope they are more convincing this time. Having only lost one game all season they deserve to be favourites and their form has been great so I'm pretty confident. I was at the game in Rd 16 at Kardinia Park when we kicked 10 goals in the last quarter to win comfortably. Finals are more intense, there's a lot more to lose, but it was a convincing victory, especially without Gary Ablett and Cameron Ling.
In the past I'd have been very worried before such a crucial game but nowadays Geelong are a different entity, which is not to say they can't lose, but I'll be very surprised if they do.

Holt Press Health Report

There's not a lot to say when you spend most of the day in bed! My sickness is lingering, not severe enough to really incapacitate me but just enough to make me dangerous (contagious).

Every now and then I have a coughing episode and up comes a nasty blob of yellow-green substance with an unpleasant taste and odour.

The rest of my symptoms have settled down, or perhaps migrated!

All the way to Tasmania!

Mrs Holt Press rang today and her croaky voice immediately revealed that she is not well. She was missing her course and spending the day in bed and feeling pretty miserable. She asked me to rearrange her return flight, bringing it forward a few days. Originally she was going to go and visit her parents after Tassie but she is very mindful of not giving them her sickness, especially considering their advanced age and declining health. It's a real shame the way the trip has turned out, she's been looking forward to doing the Fusion course for 12 months, and also taking every opportunity to visit her mum and dad.

Looks like she'll be home Saturday.

The Hair is still not well but I did at least manage to get Sport Boy to school today!

There've been a few stories on the news about the ever advancing march of the Cane Toad across the top end of Australia and into WA. Another example of human interference leading to global swarming. I watched a documentary on Kakadu National Park tonight in which they said that the arrival of the cane Toad will lead to the certain extinction of a water monitor in the park, amongst other devastating effects. I know Pop's method of toad warfare works, spraying them with Dettol! But I don't think there'll be enough Dettol warriors to stop the plague spreading all the way west. And as you can see from the picture, not even snakes can defeat them!!!

Dad's Day Ditty

It was Fathers Day a couple of weeks ago and Favourite Daughter couldn't be here to celebrate it with me, but she did write a poem in my honour and entered it in a competition at a bookshop.

She didn't win their comp, but she certainly won in my eyes.

Here it is.

My Dad is quite a knowledge wiz

a human encyclopedia my dad is!

My dad doesnt drive a Merc

but he does some wicked sick art work

My dad will often go out of his way

to make me laugh, it makes my day!

My dad is often running late

but i reckon he's just great

My dad is someone i look up to

and not just cos he's tall

He is supportive of the things i do

and i love him most of all. :-)

Pretty cool huh?

All Are Not Well at Holt Press

Woke up with a throat made of sandpaper and decided to keep my germs to myself rather than go to work.
Sadly, both Sport Boy and The Hair weren't well either and both stayed home as well. SB slept until 2pm!
He was bright enough when he did wake up but tonight had trouble getting to sleep, a headache and strange feelings were bothering him, he found it hard to explain but it sounded as if all his senses had been cranked up, vision, hearing etc he was quite unsettled.
The Hair hasn't been feeling well for several days as a result of a misadventure at the school sports carnival where he and his mate Zac decided to roll rather than run the 100m. Since then he's been suffering dizziness that won't go away. The Dr gave him some tablets for it but they have a limited effect.
Sport Boy should make it to school tomorrow, not sure about The Hair.
I had a quiet day spent watching TV and trying to avoid swallowing.
I did manage to cook dinner on the BBQ for the boys, some very nice steak, mmmm!

Home Safe and Sound

Home again after a good couple of days in Perth. Mrs Holt Press got away ok and has already begun her course in Tasmania. She says it is very cold there. No surprise there.

Unfortunately, I have been struck down by the same flu bug that afflicted first The Hair and then Sport Boy. My throat is sore, my head hurts, I have a painful cough, shivers and aches. It's not as bad as the flu I had a couple of years ago which was the sickest I've ever felt in my life. Hopefully this one won't get that bad. I won't be going to work tomorrow.

The kids and I went down to Fremantle for lunch at Cicerellos this afternoon, then the boys went and hung out with Favourite Daughter while I went to the Augusta team meeting.
My condition deteriorated during the meeting and I contemplated staying up in Perth for the night but Paul and Sheryl offered to drive my car as far as Bunbury which enabled me to rest/sleep and be able to drive the last 50km home to Busso.

Bon Voyage

Mrs Holt Press is packed and we're ready to go.

First stop Perth, then she flies to Launceston via Melbourne. She'll be in Tassie for a week at a Fusion course followed by a few days with her folks in Geelong.

A month ago there were 6 of us living in the house.

Now we're down to three. 3 blokes in the house on their own for 10 days.

You know what that means!

Dial a pizza, footy on the tv, paper plates etc etc

BTW, today is the maiden run with the new GPS!

PS. Thanks for the comments and words of support following my last post, I appreciate it, especially you Phil, great 2nd and 3rd effort!
My mood has improved. I feel OK so long as I don't think too much about it!!

Disappointment

I'm feeling very low, lower than I have for months.

I applied for a job recently, a job I really wanted, and for which I think I was well-suited and amply qualified.

I got a phone call today telling me I didn't get the job.

I feel disappointed, depressed and mad.

Mad at the employer for not choosing me, mad at God for not letting me have the job, or not moving the employer to make the right choice (me!), mad at myself for getting my hopes up when I should have known better. (There is a history and politics involved that I'm not going to go into but it really shouldn't have surprised me to miss out.)

Yet, I really wanted the job. I really believe I'd have been good at it. I believe the timing and circumstances were right. It is very disheartening to be rejected.

It's hard to be philosophical right now about something this significant. Perhaps I'll feel more acceptance of it in a few days but right now I'm just unhappy.

Role Reversal

I had to play house dad today, Sport Boy is still off school sick and Mrs Holt Press is working this week at the resort so I stayed home and took him to the Dr. He has an ear infection as well as the flu.
I managed a couple of hours at the office this afternoon but was so tired when I got home I slept for about three hours.

Tomorrow is a very important day. It's the one day when Geelong members can register for the ballot for a chance to get a Grand Final ticket. I'm not sure if I'll go to the game if I get a ticket but I'm really hoping I get one so I've at least got the choice. Plan B is to give it to The Heir who flew to Sydney last night and will be away over east for a couple of months and plans to be in Melbourne for the Grand Final. Wish us luck.

BTW, The Heir has reignited his blog, The Posse House so perhaps there'll be a few stories of his travels for us to read.

And with September being AFL Finals month, for those who are of that persuasion I have posted on the Footy Blog tonight.

"Many Paths"

Patrons of the taxi become patrons of the arts.

This is Alison and Jason who I picked up in the taxi on Saturday night. (See yesterday's post)
They came back today to pick up and pay for the painting they'd chosen. It was a semi-commission. They liked the look of this painting but preferred the words on another one they'd looked at at The Ship. So, I offered to do some more work on it and change it to the words they liked. They agreed so I did the work on it last night and they picked it up from me at school at lunchtime. They have a place already picked out for it in their home where the colours match the wall it will hang on. They were happy customers and they made me a happy artist.

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to me! And to you Pop. And happy stepfathers day to Walter.

It's been a good day. It started well when the hot water servcie was still working this morning and I listened to the footy preview while I had my shower.

Clean and refreshed I settled back to watch the Cats demolish the Saints as expected.

Mrs Holt Press prepared a lovely lunch, followed by chocolate pudding and chocolate mousse!

The Hair gave me a great picture he'd drawn of me as an anime styled Cat-Man, very funny. The Heir gave me an art book.

After the football a young couple came round who I met in the taxi last night. I had dropped them off at The Ship Resort so I mentioned my paintings hanging in the pool room. When they rang me later for the return fare they said how much they liked them and I invited them round to see some more. The upshot of all that is that they have decided to purchase a painting and will pick it up tomorrow morning before they head home to Perth!

Favourite Daughter rang and we had a good chat, she is loving the course she's doing at Tabor College and life in Perth is going very well for her which is very gratifying for us as parents.

Happy Fathers Day!

Shock Losses

It's been a day of shock losses.

Adelaide lost at home to Collingwood.

North Melbourne lost to Sydney.

Alan carpenter is on the verge of losing government to Colin Barnett.

And in the biggest loss of all, the Cornerstone U11s lost to the Busselton Redbacks in today's knock-out semi final, 2-1, with the winning goal being scrambled home in the last 30 seconds of extra time!!!!
It was a very disappointing way to finish the game and the season.
Sport Boy had staged a somewhat miraculous recovery this morning and seemed fit enough to play. He did play and played a major part in our goal, but clearly he was struggling and exhausted and that hurt our chances of victory.
So, our season is over. I can have my Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings back!
Sport Boy still has Country Week to look forward to so all is not lost for him.

I'm taking a quick break from the taxi while it's quiet. I'm looking forward to sleeping in on Fathers Day and then watching the Cats play the Saints.

Wacky Hair Day

It was Wacky Hair Day today, organised as a fund raiser for the Breast Cancer Network. A few of the girls got into the spirit of the occasion and received half-melted Mars Bars for their efforts.

I spent the morning at The Times newspaper office going through old papers on their computer system looking up stories on road crash fatalities in the Busselton region. It was both helpful and enlightening and has given me a number of leads to follow up in my "Behind the White Crosses" project. A couple more media outlets have picked up on the story too; a journo from The Weekend Australian rang me this morning and a reporter on ABC Stateline rang me this afternoon, keen to follow up the topic and to see how far advanced my research is. "Not very at this stage" I told each of them but I'm making some progress and the publicity helps to generate the contacts and information I'm looking for. One of the reporters even found my post on the blog and sought me out from that! Ah! The far reaching influence at Holt Press!!!!

My important meeting went well this afternoon (as far as I could tell!) No more news yet but I feel cautiously optimistic.

I took advantage of a rare trip to Bunbury this afternoon to buy a GPS from Retravision who drew me in with their clever advertising, large signs stating "WARNING We will serve you!". I've thought about buying one for a while and have been watching as the prices drop so when I found one today for $99 it was time to bite the bullet. It's obviously at the cheap end of the market but the delivery driver from Retravision who uses the same type in his truck, and bought one for his car recommended it!! I figured it was worth it at the price.
Shame I didn't check out my car's lighter/power socket first! It doesn't work! Or rather, it is dysfunctional! So, I had to find my own way home unassisted. Mrs Holt Press was very pleased with it, and her car's power socket definitely works! I'm also going to give it a try in the taxi, it could/should make life much easier! We'll see.

The footy finals have started and Hawthorn confirmed their status as main challenger to Geelong with a comprehensive thumping of the Bulldogs tonight with Lance Franklin kicking the lazy 8 goals! I didn't watch the game though; tonight I went to see the opening night of the school's performance of "Guys and Dolls". It was good and bad. There were some nervous actors, mistimed dance routines and weak singing voices, but there were also some exceptional performances, with the standout being Anne-Marie in the lead role of Miss Adelaide. It was enjoyable and a good start but I hope they can tighten up on a few things like lighting and sound for tomorrow night's show. They've done a huge amount of work to put the production on, the sets and costumes are excellent and there's a huge cast. Hopefully with the first night out of the way they can do some fine tuning and make it really go off.

Checking on Pop

I heard on the Triple J news at lunch time that three people had been killed in a car and truck crash just near Gympie in Queensland. Dad lives in Gympie so I thought I'd better check he was OK. I wasn't too worried but felt the need to call just in case and when he took a long time to answer my pulse rate rose a beat or two. Thankfully he answered the phone then said ironically in response to my question, "How are you?", "I'm still alive"!! I was very glad to hear it. With the critical question dealt with, we embarked on a good long conversation, ranging from Vicki's health to family relationships to house properties and (inevitably) blogging.


Pop professes to hate telephones but I'm not sure why, I invariably have good conversations with him on the phone, punctuated with much laughter at both ends. With only a little bit of hinting he also encouraged me to wish him an early Happy Fathers Day as he will probably be at Greenies on the day.

Not a recent picture but the first one I could find on the computer!
Is this a preview of me in 10 years I ask myself?

Sport Boy is not getting better, in fact he's possibly getting worse, making the likelihood of him playing soccer on Saturday getting slimmer and slimmer. He did come with me to watch the team train this afternoon which was probably more cruel than comforting. The team have trained well this week so at least they'll be well prepared for the game, but with Sport Boy and Ben A sick and unlikely to play the task will be tough.



My volleyball game tonight was very probably a rehearsal for the Grand Final, between us (Six Pack) and Breakaways. There's a pretty intense rivalry between the teams and with the finals only two weeks away it was a close tense game. We lost the first set but came back strongly to take the second then held on in a tight finish to take the third set and win the game. Stu, the captain, said it was my best game of the season so I must have done something right! I did feel pleased with my game and even got 3-4 spikes in for winners, no mean feet when it requires getting this hulking frame airborne at the net!!
I reffed one game and got someone else to do my second one so I could come home and keep working on my current painting. I'm in the groove at the moment so I like to keep going when the creative juices are flowing.



I have a very important meeting tomorrow afternoon at 2.30. You know the drill, can't say anything more at the moment, but I will give details as soon as I can.

What's Up Doc?

I had to come home from work early today to look after Sport Boy who is very sick and very miserable. If his health stays like this he won't be playing in the soccer semi-final on Saturday, and if he doesn't play, the team may well not progress to the Grand Final!

There is good news though. The Hair returned to school today for the first time in a week and a half!

I rang my sister Vicki today and we had a good long chat. Her health continues to be a problem and she's had a tough couple of years but she and Rex celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this weekend which is fantastic.

The Heir is interested in going over to the farm to help work on the harvest and I rang to discuss it with her. He leaves for Sydney on Monday and is planning on spending a few weeks in the eastern states. He's also hoping that A. Geelong make the Grand Final, B. I get a GF ticket in the member's ballot, and C. That I'll give it to him rather than go over myself!!

It doesn't hurt to dream!!!

I also rang a couple of mates, Letchy and Cam to ask their advice on something important coming up shortly. I can't say any more right now but will let you, my faithful reader, know when there's news to report.

Busselton Road Deaths: Behind the White Crosses

As my Dad says, "Click on photo to enbiggen"

I was on the front page of the local paper, The Busselton Dunsborough Times, this week in a story about a project I'm working on called "Behind the White Crosses".
It stems from my frustration and heartache over the increasing number of young people being killed in car crashes. Three boys from Busselton wrote off a car two weeks ago but miraculously survived. Three kids in Perth weren't so lucky on the weekend, all three are dead and two more seriously injured. I've done a number of funeral services of young people killed in cars. It's a terrible task. The sadness and grief caused by the death of a young person is overwhelmingly tragic, especially when it could have been avoided. A combination of one or more factors ranging from inexperience, immaturity, speed, alcohol, other drugs, tiredness, excess passengers, distraction and over-confidence born of feeling invincible all contribute to the deadly toll. All of these things can be avoided. There are very very few genuine accidents. There are instead, innumerable crashes, and as a radio talk back caller said today, cars don't crash, drivers crash.

I am hoping to find out as much detail as I can about the lives behind the many white crosses on the roads around Busselton erected as memorials to people killed in car crashes; who they were, their background, family details, age, occupation etc, who they were as people, and also the circumstances of the crashes, what the contributing factors were that lead to their deaths.

Once I've done the research I will put it together in a powerpoint presentation and take groups of students, those about to get their licenses and those who've recently started driving, on an excursion to visit a number of the crosses and crash sites, and try to connect them to the realities of the lives that were lost, to let them see the people not just the monuments, and to tell them about the grief and pain and sadness that their deaths caused and still continue to cause. I've asked for information from people who know details about the various crashes or who were personally touched by a road death and have already received a number of calls and text messages from people in support of my idea. One lady called today to tell me about the death of her brother near Peppy Grove, not far out of Busselton, who was killed in 1991. Even 17 years on she and her family are still feeling the effects of their loss and the trauma they went through.

As a result of the newspaper article I received a call from ABC local radio this morning asking if they could interview me about the project. I spoke to them for about 10 minutes describing my motivation and reasons for initiating the idea and what I hope to achieve. I again asked for information and had more calls from people in response to the interview, affirming my intentions.

Unfortunately, although the local police are willing to assit me with information, the crash unit in Perth where records of all fatalities are kept are not allowed to give out names of victims because of privacy laws. They are going to give me as much information as they can and the local newspaper has also agreed to allow me to search their files for information.

I will commence the excursions once the research is done which I expect will take me a couple of months. Already a number of staff have expressed their support, suggesting it should be mandatory for all upper school students.

All I want to do is try and stop kids killing themselves and other people on the road. I want them to wake up and realise how dangerous driving a car is and how vulnerable they are. I wnat them to understand the risks and think about their actions and choices before it's too late.

I don't want to keep doing funerals for wasted lives.

Hot Water

We were awoken early (and after a very poor sleep!) by Sport Boy shivering and complaining there was no hot water and he was freezing. One of the few drawbacks of life in this particular part of Busselton is not being on mains gas and having to renew gas bottles every couple of weeks in winter, less often in summer. Mrs Holt Press bravely crawled out of bed, where her place was taken by chilly Sport Boy with the electric blanket cranked up to thaw him out, and mumbling something about gas bottles and pilot lights, staggered off to attend to the hot water service. Before all you readers become indignant just remember that I held the fort and attended to family duties all weekend while Mrs HP was swanning around Northam with her friends!
She returned with a grimace saying she couldn't get it lit and was waiting the mandatory 5 minutes between attempts as stipulated by the instructions on the HWS.
Attempts 2 and 3 also failed and the minutes were ticking by.
After the 4th failed effort I knew there was no other choice, we were going to have to call a plumber!

Rather than blow our meagre hard-earned cash on a tradesman I decided to give it a go myself.

Half an hour later, most of it spent on my hands and knees peering hopefully into the underbelly of the HWS, we were no closer to having hot water. I had actually managed to establish one feeble pilot light on about my 4th try only to accidentally extinguish it with my sigh of relief!!
I checked the gas bottle, tried different settings, even the ones the instructions warned me not to, tried poking a burning piece of paper in to the general area required, grunted groaned and prayed. On my second check of the gas bottle (we have 2, when one is empty we switch to a full one and order a replacement, Mrs HP is very diligent in this particular matter) I discovered that although it was quite stiff the tap hadn't been fully opened. Perhaps that was the problem? I doubted it but was willing to try anything by then.

Lo and behold, four flicks of the ignition switch later we had a pilot light! Sadly, it went out before the gas kicked in but it was the most encouraging sign in the last hour and I persevered. Sure enough after a couple more tries the system was alight and the Holt Press hot water supply was being replenished. The delay and subsequent waiting time until the water was hot enough for a shower meant I was late for work. I considered going without a shower until I looked in the mirror and saw that my hair had suffered some sort of epileptic seizure during the night.
Lateness was preferable to the ridicule such a bad hair day would have prompted.


QOTD:
"There's no problem in eating red meat. Now, eating blue/green meat, that's a problem"
Trevor Stillbone

Bring on the Saints

Now the fun really starts, the FINALS! And St Kilda surprised everyone by belting the Bombers today and knocking the Crows out of 4th spot. That means it's Geelong v St Kilda next week for a place in the preliminary final.

On the domestic front Mrs holt Press arrived home safely this evening and reported that the weekend in Northam had gone very well.

Sport Boy returned from his sleepover/soccer excursion tired but happy.

The Heir worked all day and has been in bed ever since.

Unfortunately The Hair is still not well and I can't see him making it to school tomorrow.

Mum has returned home after her trip to Geelong to be with the Banfields in Allan's illness and has been flat out since she got back so it was good to have a good long chat and catch up on all the news, some good, some bad.

I slept late, watched some footy, dozed, cooked hamburgers for dinner then went to a chaplaincy commissioning service at the Uniting Church for three new primary school chaplains in town.
A low key relaxed day of rest.

QOTD:
"The trouble with Italian food is that 5-6 days later you're hungry again."
George Miller