First the Series .. Now Chloe is a Slider

Took Ben & Chloe to the local playground on Sunday - Lake Pertobe in Warrnambool. Chloe showed uncommon bravado after a short while and decided she would try out all the slides - of which there are a few.

First she tried the twisty pipe style slide, which was surprising as it appears quite dark inside when viewed from the top. Then she tried it again - about 20 times, laughing & giggling all the way down, around, up again and so-on. This was only spoiled when some older kids (I should say idiots, actually) started muscling in on the action by climbing up through the slide and propping in the middle. Unfortunately, I had neglected to bring a bomb with me, so we moved on.

Then she tried a couple of the larger, longer slides. Really didn't expect this, but she loved it, as long as Grandma was waiting at the bottom for her. Ben joined in, too and they took turns, with him waiting patiently at the top to let her finish each slide.

Finally, she turned to the twisty slide and really enjoyed that. She was sliding down on her bottom, her tummy and her back - giggling the whole time. There were some more older idiots on this slide, too. They kept getting in the way and interrupting others as they slid down - you can see one of them to the left. This jerk just stayed at the bottom of the slide the whole time and no amount of cajoling could get him to move.

Just before leaving she decided to have a little spell, so it was the dolphin rocker for her. It was apparent, however, that while relaxing, this wasn't as much fun as the slides. Then off home to mum & dad and our hectic week-end was over.

Rod fishing is no longer enough

Upon returning from our fishing trip, it would seem that Ben is no longer satisfied with just trying his hand at rod-fishing from the beach. He found Adrian's snorkelling gear and thought this this would definately be the go in the future. Look out, fish - you're in trouble now!!!

Ben the Fisherman ...

Took the opportunity on ANZAC Day to take grandson Ben fishing at Killarney beach (a few kms. west of Warrnambool). He caught three, there's the first to the left - a little fish for a little fisherman. As you can see on the right, he's a very serious fisherman showing great concentration while waiting for a bite. Of course, during this time, yours truly only managed to catch one fish. These are similar results to the last time we went fishing - Ben - 6, GP (that's short for Grandpa) - 0. So, I guess I did a little better on this occasion.

Of course, even though it was sunny and I personally considered it a magnificent day for a beach outing, Ben & Grandma did seem to find things a bit chilly. Not even rugging up and sitting back in the comfy chairs seemed to help their situation.

When not tending the rod, concentration though, can be a bit difficult, especially when a plane flies overhead. At these times, not even a big bite on the line would distract Ben from his true interest (at that moment). Maybe he was hoping a fish would miraculously just drop from the sky.

It was about the time that Ben & Grandma were starting to look like Ben & Yoda that I decided it was probably time to head home. Still, it is always pleasant at Killarney. The day was fine and sunny - only a little bit chilly. I am still waiting for that elusive day that I might catch the 'big one'. My son, Adrian, and I used to go there at night with lights to spear for flounder and hopefully to net gar-fish or other free swimmers of the night. Ben's still a little young for such an outing but, it won't be all that far off before he may show an interest in such things.

Anyway, due to getting back a bit late and the need for everyone to dry out and warm up, it seems that he will be staying an extra night. Which means I will have the pleasure of dropping him off at school tomorrow morning - lucky me! :-)

Hello World!!!

This is my first posting so it will be absolutely BOOOOORING!! Too bad. Given my interest is CRICKET, I have e-mailed the ICC with proposals to rid the game of time-wasting (have 30 over sessions, NOT 2 hour sessions) and frivolous appeals (fine the bowling team 4 runs for evry appeal turned-down). Don't really expect a response and given their recent track record, don't even expect anything positive to happen - but WHO KNOWS! Maybe miracles can occur.