A quick postscript to my previous post:
I came down with gastro on Monday.
Though to be honest, it probably wasn't the burger that I ate at the bowling club. All symptoms point to a virus, so it probably wasn't nasty bacteria in the food.
I'm still getting over it today, five days later. DeepSpice has had it too, but not the kids. Having sick kids is horrible, especially if you are sick too. But in its own way, having healthy kids when you are sick is worse. They are full of energy when you are absolutely not.
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Friday, April 27, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Lawn bowls
Oh poor neglected blog... I know I still owe another post about the remainder of our holiday to Sydney. I've been horribly busy ever since we got home. That's the downside to a one-week holiday - one spends the next 3 weeks catching up on everything!
So in the meantime, here's a quick post about BallFiend's highlight of the weekend. But first some background. When BallFiend was about 2 years old, he happened to see a bit of the championship lawn bowls on TV, and has enjoyed watching it ever since.
BallFiend has also asked to play lawn bowls (and ten pin bowling) on numerous occasions. I
took him ten pin bowling when he was about 3 and a half, but so far he
has never done lawn bowls. So when I saw an ad in the local paper saying that the local lawn bowls club was having a free "family day", I asked BallFiend if he wanted to go. And unsurprisingly, he did.
We bowled with another family that included three kids and their dad. The youngest kid was just 2 weeks older than BallFiend and the oldest was probably about 11 years old. BallFiend was easily a better bowler than any of the kids. On his best shot, he put the bowl only about 70cm from the jack. (And my best shot was only about 10cm better than this!)
For me the afternoon was a 'sociological experience'. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. When we arrived, I was offered lunch - a free BBQ. (Despite being free, the food really didn't appeal to me: still-frozen supermarket white bread with cold snags and burgers, distinctly grey in colour. But I could not refuse the effervescent hospitality as every bowling club member, in succession, insisted that I have some lunch. The fact that we had already had lunch at home did not deter them.) Lunch was periodically interrupted by one of the ladies of the club ringing a bell to announce raffle prizes, or that more snags were on the way and various other things.
Blokey old blokes chortled and chatted around the bar. Ladies bustled about tidying up. And the best bit was the interior of the club room! It was straight out of another era... I'm not sure which one but definitely nineteen-something! (If you've seen Crackerjack, you'll know what I mean!) All that was missing was a portrait of the Queen.
But it was on our visit the the ladies toilets (BallFiend received an urgent call of nature, thus rescuing me from having to finish my lunch) that I was treated to the quintessential bowling club interior decor:
In case it is hard to see in the picture - the floor is covered in a plush blue carpet, the hand basins are circa 1950, and there are a lovely finishing touches on the vanity bench of fake flower arrangements and those gorgeous yellow tissue-box and soap dispenser covers. But even more delights awaited: the baby-blue coloured ceramic toilet bowl and seat in matching blue had BallFiend completely fascinated.
BallFiend is still six to twelve months too young to start playing competition bowls. But they are dead-keen to have more members (currently they have about 65 men and 20 women), so I reckon he could sneak in... Not sure that I'm up for it to take him along though. Going back in time was fun for an afternoon, but I don't think I could do it on a regular basis.
--
So in the meantime, here's a quick post about BallFiend's highlight of the weekend. But first some background. When BallFiend was about 2 years old, he happened to see a bit of the championship lawn bowls on TV, and has enjoyed watching it ever since.
 |
| BallFiend watching the Women's Triples Final from the Queensland Open, 17 October 2009. |
We bowled with another family that included three kids and their dad. The youngest kid was just 2 weeks older than BallFiend and the oldest was probably about 11 years old. BallFiend was easily a better bowler than any of the kids. On his best shot, he put the bowl only about 70cm from the jack. (And my best shot was only about 10cm better than this!)
For me the afternoon was a 'sociological experience'. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. When we arrived, I was offered lunch - a free BBQ. (Despite being free, the food really didn't appeal to me: still-frozen supermarket white bread with cold snags and burgers, distinctly grey in colour. But I could not refuse the effervescent hospitality as every bowling club member, in succession, insisted that I have some lunch. The fact that we had already had lunch at home did not deter them.) Lunch was periodically interrupted by one of the ladies of the club ringing a bell to announce raffle prizes, or that more snags were on the way and various other things.
Blokey old blokes chortled and chatted around the bar. Ladies bustled about tidying up. And the best bit was the interior of the club room! It was straight out of another era... I'm not sure which one but definitely nineteen-something! (If you've seen Crackerjack, you'll know what I mean!) All that was missing was a portrait of the Queen.
But it was on our visit the the ladies toilets (BallFiend received an urgent call of nature, thus rescuing me from having to finish my lunch) that I was treated to the quintessential bowling club interior decor:
 |
| Vanity unit in the Ladies' toilets. |
BallFiend is still six to twelve months too young to start playing competition bowls. But they are dead-keen to have more members (currently they have about 65 men and 20 women), so I reckon he could sneak in... Not sure that I'm up for it to take him along though. Going back in time was fun for an afternoon, but I don't think I could do it on a regular basis.
--
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Land of the Roaches, part 1
This post comes to you live from Sydney, where we have been holidaying for the past few days.
Day 1 - Thursday 5th April
The trip began on Thursday morning with the kids' first time on an airplane. This was was soooo terribly exciting for BallFiend that he uttered nothing but "oh my god!" and "I just can't believe it!" for about the first half-hour (and that was just while we were in the car park and walking to the terminal).
The next half hour was filled with more fascinations as BallFiend watched our suitcase disappear through a hole in the wall on a conveyor belt, then went through the security screen process three times (the first two times he set off the alarm because he kept insisting on brushing his hands against the sides).
Next stop was for a babycino at the cafe - partly to appease Thumper who was getting annoyed with begin strapped into her toddler harness - but also to have a quick chat with a friend from work (who coincidentally was on her way to Sydney as well with her son and hubby, on the flight immedately before ours). After saying goodbye, we decided to kill time by showing the kids the sights of Tullamarine airport. However, we had barely walked 10 metres before we bumped into some more friends. After a short chat, we continued on our way, checking out the souvenier shop, the toilets and the chocolate shop before going to the Gate. The kids happily watched the goings-on at the airport out the windows and were particularly interested in watching the luggage being unloaded.
The plane ride was uneventful because the kids were (thankfully) well-behaved. BallFiend loved the sensation of 'lightness' as the plane took off. But I was surprised how disinterested he was in watching the view out the window (he was too busy playing with the tray-table). DeepSpice sat next to Thumper in the row behind me. Apparently she was a lot more restless than BallFiend especially later into the flight.
After landing, we collected our bags (more fascination for the kids - watching yet another conveyor belt), found our airport transfer car waiting right outside and were on our way. It was all so quick that we arrived at our accommodation only 35 mins after the plane landed.
The apartment is in a great location - just a short walk from the apartment where Gran and GrandPaul are staying and an even shorter (about 1 minute!) walk from the Lord Wolseley Hotel (which has quickly become the default dinner venue). Our apartment does have a number of shortcomings though... more on that later.
After settling in, and getting Thumper into bed for her afternoon nap (which required me to lie next to her until she fell asleep as it was her first time in a 'big bed' - as we had decided not to bother hiring a portacot for her), I wandered down to the local supermarket to meet Gran and shop for some breakfast supplies. While I was out, DeepSpice told me that he removed the carcasses of some seventy or more cockroaches from the kitchen! (Even so, there were still more to be found later: under the kids' beds and in pots in the kitchen cabinets).
All I could say was "ewww!" and feel glad that I hadn't had to see it.
After dinner, we got some very exhausted kids (and parents) off to bed. Unfortunately though, it was all too much for Thumper and she had terrible trouble falling asleep. So DeepSpice spent about an hour lying in bed with her to try and help her settle down.
I collapsed in front of the TV, with the balcony sliding door wide open (trying to catch some breeze to make the muggy climate more bareable) and was enjoying some peace and quiet when a massive, cockroach came flying in and started buzzing around the room. I freaked out and froze for a few moments, then called out to DeepSpice. But not getting any response, I realised that he had probably fallen asleep next to Thumper and that I was going to have to fend for myself. I grabbed an glass and managed to trap the revolting thing under it, right in the middle of the floor. Not wanting to have anything more to do with it, I tried to ignore it while waiting for DeepSpice to re-appear. It kept scuttling and buzzing about inside the glass and creeping me out.
My Facebook 'friends' were of little help, offering no sympathy and generally unhelpful suggestions like "whack it with a shoe (but gently so it doesn't explode too much)" and "wrap it in paper towel then stomp on it" (there's not a piece of paper towel, newspaper or anything like it to be found in this sparsely-furnished apartment). Not one friend offered to immediately fly up to Sydney to deal with it for me. Some even used my cockroach trauma as an excuse to reminisce about when they lived in roach-infested Sydney flats. I note that all these people now live in Melbourne.
What I don't get is why in the ongoing Melbourne vs Sydney debate, the cockroaches don't ever seem to be mentioned. As far as I am concerned this settles the debate once and for all. Sydney can score as many points as it wants on any scale it likes... whatever. Melbourne doesn't have cockroaches.
When I couldn't stand looking at or listening to the roach anymore, I dared to venture past it and went downstairs to rouse DeepSpice. It turned out that both Thumper and DeepSpice were still awake, so I swapped spots with DeepSpice, sending him up to dispose of the roach while I took a turn at trying to settle Thumper. Either I had a magic touch, or she had just become worn out enough, because she fell asleep next to me in about 10 minutes.
Day 2 - Friday 6th April
Our second day started off with a play at a local playground whilst waiting to meet Gran and GrandPaul. Then we all walked over to Darling Harbour. The walk there was bloody awful, across a pedestrian bridge that runs directly under the Western Distributor freeway - it's noisy, grimy, dark and dismal place. In complete contrast, Darling Harbour is great! Full of plants that green-up the whole area so you feel like you are in the tropics, and there's an amazing playground which BallFiend and Thumper absolutely loved!
After a while, we dragged the kids away so we could visit the Chinese Garden of Friendship. But of course being 'Good Friday', it was closed. So we decided to take a ride on the Monorail instead. But after two failed attempts to locate a station - first at the Convention Centre (the Sydney tourist signposting leaves a lot to be desired!) and then at Chinatown (the stop has been permanently closed but they let you walk all the way up two flights of escalators through a ghastly, glitzy shopping mall from the street entrance before they tell you this!) - we took a break at Paddy's Markets. GrandPaul needed to buy a hat, and DeepSpice and I decided that it was about time the kids had some lunch. So we followed Gran and GrandPaul into the chinzy hell that is acres of cheap imported plastic crap and before we could blink, BalFiend had found a ball that he wanted to buy. (And he has barely stopped nagging about it ever since.)
Then we finally made it onto the Monorail and did one full circuit, then another half circuit to get back to Darling Habour. Our plans to spend the afternoon at the Maritime Museum were abandoned as Thumper was flagging (admittedly so was I) so we all went back to the apartment for a rest.
Dinner was at Blue Fish and was very good! (And very welcoming of children too.) Then we took the kids home to bed; this time, BallFiend was the trouble-maker but he was finally asleep by 9.15 pm.
Next instalment - Day 3 at the Chinese Friendship Garden and the Powerhouse Museum and Day 4 at Taronga Zoo.
--
Day 1 - Thursday 5th April
The trip began on Thursday morning with the kids' first time on an airplane. This was was soooo terribly exciting for BallFiend that he uttered nothing but "oh my god!" and "I just can't believe it!" for about the first half-hour (and that was just while we were in the car park and walking to the terminal).
The next half hour was filled with more fascinations as BallFiend watched our suitcase disappear through a hole in the wall on a conveyor belt, then went through the security screen process three times (the first two times he set off the alarm because he kept insisting on brushing his hands against the sides).
Next stop was for a babycino at the cafe - partly to appease Thumper who was getting annoyed with begin strapped into her toddler harness - but also to have a quick chat with a friend from work (who coincidentally was on her way to Sydney as well with her son and hubby, on the flight immedately before ours). After saying goodbye, we decided to kill time by showing the kids the sights of Tullamarine airport. However, we had barely walked 10 metres before we bumped into some more friends. After a short chat, we continued on our way, checking out the souvenier shop, the toilets and the chocolate shop before going to the Gate. The kids happily watched the goings-on at the airport out the windows and were particularly interested in watching the luggage being unloaded.
The plane ride was uneventful because the kids were (thankfully) well-behaved. BallFiend loved the sensation of 'lightness' as the plane took off. But I was surprised how disinterested he was in watching the view out the window (he was too busy playing with the tray-table). DeepSpice sat next to Thumper in the row behind me. Apparently she was a lot more restless than BallFiend especially later into the flight.
After landing, we collected our bags (more fascination for the kids - watching yet another conveyor belt), found our airport transfer car waiting right outside and were on our way. It was all so quick that we arrived at our accommodation only 35 mins after the plane landed.
The apartment is in a great location - just a short walk from the apartment where Gran and GrandPaul are staying and an even shorter (about 1 minute!) walk from the Lord Wolseley Hotel (which has quickly become the default dinner venue). Our apartment does have a number of shortcomings though... more on that later.
After settling in, and getting Thumper into bed for her afternoon nap (which required me to lie next to her until she fell asleep as it was her first time in a 'big bed' - as we had decided not to bother hiring a portacot for her), I wandered down to the local supermarket to meet Gran and shop for some breakfast supplies. While I was out, DeepSpice told me that he removed the carcasses of some seventy or more cockroaches from the kitchen! (Even so, there were still more to be found later: under the kids' beds and in pots in the kitchen cabinets).
All I could say was "ewww!" and feel glad that I hadn't had to see it.
After dinner, we got some very exhausted kids (and parents) off to bed. Unfortunately though, it was all too much for Thumper and she had terrible trouble falling asleep. So DeepSpice spent about an hour lying in bed with her to try and help her settle down.
I collapsed in front of the TV, with the balcony sliding door wide open (trying to catch some breeze to make the muggy climate more bareable) and was enjoying some peace and quiet when a massive, cockroach came flying in and started buzzing around the room. I freaked out and froze for a few moments, then called out to DeepSpice. But not getting any response, I realised that he had probably fallen asleep next to Thumper and that I was going to have to fend for myself. I grabbed an glass and managed to trap the revolting thing under it, right in the middle of the floor. Not wanting to have anything more to do with it, I tried to ignore it while waiting for DeepSpice to re-appear. It kept scuttling and buzzing about inside the glass and creeping me out.
My Facebook 'friends' were of little help, offering no sympathy and generally unhelpful suggestions like "whack it with a shoe (but gently so it doesn't explode too much)" and "wrap it in paper towel then stomp on it" (there's not a piece of paper towel, newspaper or anything like it to be found in this sparsely-furnished apartment). Not one friend offered to immediately fly up to Sydney to deal with it for me. Some even used my cockroach trauma as an excuse to reminisce about when they lived in roach-infested Sydney flats. I note that all these people now live in Melbourne.
What I don't get is why in the ongoing Melbourne vs Sydney debate, the cockroaches don't ever seem to be mentioned. As far as I am concerned this settles the debate once and for all. Sydney can score as many points as it wants on any scale it likes... whatever. Melbourne doesn't have cockroaches.
When I couldn't stand looking at or listening to the roach anymore, I dared to venture past it and went downstairs to rouse DeepSpice. It turned out that both Thumper and DeepSpice were still awake, so I swapped spots with DeepSpice, sending him up to dispose of the roach while I took a turn at trying to settle Thumper. Either I had a magic touch, or she had just become worn out enough, because she fell asleep next to me in about 10 minutes.
Day 2 - Friday 6th April
Our second day started off with a play at a local playground whilst waiting to meet Gran and GrandPaul. Then we all walked over to Darling Harbour. The walk there was bloody awful, across a pedestrian bridge that runs directly under the Western Distributor freeway - it's noisy, grimy, dark and dismal place. In complete contrast, Darling Harbour is great! Full of plants that green-up the whole area so you feel like you are in the tropics, and there's an amazing playground which BallFiend and Thumper absolutely loved!
After a while, we dragged the kids away so we could visit the Chinese Garden of Friendship. But of course being 'Good Friday', it was closed. So we decided to take a ride on the Monorail instead. But after two failed attempts to locate a station - first at the Convention Centre (the Sydney tourist signposting leaves a lot to be desired!) and then at Chinatown (the stop has been permanently closed but they let you walk all the way up two flights of escalators through a ghastly, glitzy shopping mall from the street entrance before they tell you this!) - we took a break at Paddy's Markets. GrandPaul needed to buy a hat, and DeepSpice and I decided that it was about time the kids had some lunch. So we followed Gran and GrandPaul into the chinzy hell that is acres of cheap imported plastic crap and before we could blink, BalFiend had found a ball that he wanted to buy. (And he has barely stopped nagging about it ever since.)
Then we finally made it onto the Monorail and did one full circuit, then another half circuit to get back to Darling Habour. Our plans to spend the afternoon at the Maritime Museum were abandoned as Thumper was flagging (admittedly so was I) so we all went back to the apartment for a rest.
Dinner was at Blue Fish and was very good! (And very welcoming of children too.) Then we took the kids home to bed; this time, BallFiend was the trouble-maker but he was finally asleep by 9.15 pm.
Next instalment - Day 3 at the Chinese Friendship Garden and the Powerhouse Museum and Day 4 at Taronga Zoo.
--
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